Adventures in Assistive Technology

From The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/science/25shirt.html?_r=1

John Volakis wants to make the world hands-free.

The director of the ElectroScience Laboratory at Ohio State University, he is trying to end the need for cellphone hardware like the Bluetooth earpiece by fabricating communication devices out of something that most states require we carry with us all the time anyway: clothing.

"You won’t have to hold your cellphone to your ear," said Dr. Volakis, an electrical engineer. "We’ll eliminate all that. It will be part of your attire."

His effort is part of a broad technological effort to make "smart textiles": wearable fabrics with embedded electronics that can collect, store, send and receive information. His lab is focusing on the sending-and-receiving part, trying to transform military apparel, hospital gowns, even everyday T-shirts into antennas.

Aside from enabling a science fiction luxury — simply speaking into your collar when you want to talk to somebody — antenna clothing could offer covert communication for soldiers, wireless monitoring for the sick and much better reception in general.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/science/25shirt.html?_r=1

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From Education Week: http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2011/10/13/01assistive.h05.html

Assistive technology is designed to make hard or even seemingly impossible tasks doable—and for students with disabilities, writing can be one of the hardest school tasks of all. But since difficulties in writing are wide-ranging—and technology is rapidly evolving—finding the right AT device can be an ordeal.

One key is to ensure you understand the student's challenges first, and then to match the right technology to his or her needs, speech-language pathologist Joan Green, author of The Ultimate Guide to Assistive Technology in Special Education, says. For example, a word-prediction program, which only requires a few keystrokes before it generates word lists for the user to choose from, can help students with severe spelling problems who do not benefit from regular spell checkers. On the other hand, tools such as graphic organizers can be more helpful to students who have difficulties generating ideas and organizing coherent thoughts.

Although Green generally encourages educators to use free online resources, she says a digital pen, such as the Livescribe Pen, is a worthy investment for some students. "I use this with kids who have difficulty taking notes in class," she says. The Livescribe Pen (which costs up to $170) captures the audio in the classroom, which can then be uploaded and shared online. Students can later tap on the notes they took during class and hear the audio recorded at the moment they were writing. The pen is most helpful for students who have trouble catching the main points during class, since they no longer have to worry about missing out on what was said while they were taking notes.

WordQ is another tool that Green favors, saying she even uses it herself. The software assists with typing and proofreading by providing features such as word prediction, highlighting, and auditory feedback. The program (which costs around $200) also reads back text as the user types. "You’re less likely to miss errors in your work when you hear your writing said aloud," says Green. "And when you’re stuck with spelling, it gives you a list."

Debra Bauder, president of the Special Education Technology Special Interest Group of the International Society of Technology and Education, recommends a program called Inspiration, a graphic organizer that can serve students with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, aphasia, or those who simply struggle with organizing their writing. The goal of the software (which costs $69 for a single user) is to engage kids in the writing process through diagrams,outlines, graphics, video, and sound. Teachers can link up the software to an interactive whiteboard to demonstrate it for the class. "It’s the whole idea of engagement that gets them involved in the learning process," says Bauder, also an associate professor of special education at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

In addition, Bauder says that some well-known (and free) Google tools can serve as effective assistive-writing options. For example, Google Scribe. Word prediction was originally for individuals with disabilities, but now its for anyone encountering writing difficulties, says Bauder. She adds that purchasing assistive-tech developer Don Johnston's word-prediction program is a good next step to consider after using Google Scribe, if more comprehensive services are needed.

Free Assistive-Tech Writing Resources

Graphic Organizer
Mindomo
Graphic organizers help to get an individual started with the writing process by providing organization and structure and allowing students to develop writing ideas through outlines and brainstorming. This software application, which offers free and paid plans, consists of mind-mapping and brainstorming activities that help to foster creativity.

Multi-Function Literacy Support
Universal Design for Learning Tech Toolkit
This website provides a number of free resources, including tools to help students throughout the writing process, such as text-to-speech features, graphic organizers, and tools that compensate for handwriting issues.

MyStudyBar
Made for students who struggle not just with the writing process but with reading and studying, this software comes with a literacy toolbar, which includes programs such as mind mapping, screen masking, word prediction, a talking dictionary, and text-to-speech that help students get a written message across. The package can be downloaded for free.

Spelling Software
Vocabulary and Spellingcity.com
The goal of this program is to help improve the user's spelling and vocabulary skills. Features include word games such as crossword puzzles, HangMouse, and other activities that utilize the words entered by the user. Users can hear words read aloud to them as well as how they are used in a sentence. There is also a "Teacher Resources" section that shows teachers how to incorporate this program into classroom activities.

Visual Dictionaries
Shahi
This site uses images and graphics from Flickr, Google, and Yahoo to convey a word's meaning.

Visuwords
This online dictionary uses diagrams to demonstrate a word's links and connections to other words to help students better understand its meaning.

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From the Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19109321

The iPhone has grabbed widespread attention for its sleek design, revolutionary multitouch display and countless apps.

Not as well known is this: It's the only smartphone that blind people can use out of the box.

That has local advocates downright giddy about the iPhone 4S, Apple's latest creation hitting stores today with an advanced voice-command feature called Siri.

"The blindness community is really hyped about what (the iPhone) does now and what it can do in the future," said Wes Majerus, a technology specialist and instructor at the nonprofit Colorado Center for the Blind. "There is a lot of hype about Siri."

Early reviews suggest Siri is a technological breakthrough, although it could use some tinkering.

Siri responds to spoken commands such as "Set my timer for 30 minutes," but it struggles with questions like "When is the next flight to Denver from San Francisco?"

Apple says the software is still in beta, or test, mode. The company's video promoting the feature concludes with a blind woman responding to a text message simply by speaking to her iPhone.

"There's something to be said for being on the move and just pulling out the phone and dictating a text to somebody and getting it sent off," said Majerus, who is blind and owns an iPhone 4.

An estimated 240,000 Colorado residents are blind or visually impaired, according to the American Council of the Blind.

Apple first made its popular smartphone accessible to blind people in 2009 with the iPhone 3GS. VoiceOver was a standard feature on the device and subsequent updates. When the option is activated, the iPhone speaks almost everything that otherwise would be read on screen by the user, such as e-mails, phone numbers and letters on the virtual keyboard when they are tapped.

"The iPhone is the only fully accessible handset that a blind person can buy," said Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, a nonprofit advocacy organization. "Android has some accessibility capabilities, but they don't work as well as Apple."

Before the iPhone 3GS, blind people had to purchase expensive third-party applications to make their cellphone accessible, Danielsen said.

In addition to working out of the box, the iPhone has access to apps that support the VoiceOver option. There are also a number of third-party apps designed for blind people, such as LookTel's Money Reader app, which identifies currency with the iPhone's camera and speaks the denomination.

Danielsen, who is blind, plans to switch from a Nokia phone to the iPhone 4S. Siri is just one reason.

"Apple is rolling out a bunch of new features that are going to enhance the ability of blind people to use the iPhone," he said, referencing the release of iOS 5, Apple's latest mobile operating system.

The new features include clearer speech technology and the ability to add a custom spoken label to buttons and commands. In addition to powering the iPhone 4S, iOS 5 was released this week as a free update for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPads and recent generations of the iPod Touch.

Colorado Center for the Blind instructor Chip Johnson is excited about the new features, although he has a more cautious view.

"Sometimes the hype is more than the reality," he said, "but it sounds like there's going to be some definite improvement."

Majerus said Siri's artificial intelligence could help ease a concern that still exists among the blind community about using a touchscreen on a cellphone instead of raised keys.

"As a teacher, I'm still going to tell people that (the iPhone) has a touchscreen and you need to be able to use that touchscreen," Majerus said. "But if it gets to the point where for some reason that's not working, hopefully they can get a lot out of the phone using Siri."

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From NewScientist: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/10/tablet-app-puts-braille-keyboa.html

The lack of tactile feedback makes typing on a touchscreen difficult at the best of times, but the problem is even worse for blind and visually impaired users. That's set to change thanks to Adam Duran, a student on a summer course at Stanford University who has come up with a Braille keyboard for tablets.

The standard QWERTY keyboard on most tablets requires you to find small keys on a smooth, glass screen without any touchable clues to guide you. Instead, Duran's app offers a standard eight-key Braille keyboard that appears wherever you place your fingers on the screen.

That means you don't have to worry about locating the keys and can just start typing Braille code, in which combinations of the keys are used to type letters, numbers, and symbols. The tablet provides feedback by reading out each letter as it is typed. Users can also choose from a variety of specialised keyboard layouts, such as one for chemical formulae.

Currently, Braille typists rely on expensive dedicated devices that can cost over $6,000 and have few other uses. "Your standard tablet has more capability at a tenth the price," says Duran, but adds there are "technical and legal hurdles to address" before the keyboard becomes widely available.

Posted by jla134 at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From mashable: http://mashable.com/2011/10/05/tech-disabled/

Adaptive technology is a fairly new term, but the basic idea is not. Some adaptive devices are simple, like the cane, which has a history as old as mankind itself. Others seem to come more from the realm of science fiction.

However mundane or complicated, all are a testament to human determination, creativity and ambition. Here, we look at seven high-tech assistive devices and how they’re helping those with disabilities lead full and fulfilling lives.

For full details and images of each device, please visit the mashable site: http://mashable.com/2011/10/05/tech-disabled/

1. The DynaVox EyeMax System

2. The Kapten PLUS Personal Navigation Device

3. The Car for the Blind

4. Google’s Driverless Car

5. The DEKA Robotic Arm

6. Cochlear Implant

7. The iBot Stair-Climbing Wheelchair

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