Recognizing Differences

I started using my first tablet PC computer in 2003. Mine was a Motion slate tablet and full of all the wonderful bells and whistles that allowed me to use my voice to write, write with digital ink and transform the technology into handwritten text, and record audio and video within my files. A wonderful tool and we saw so much for how this could be used by faculty in the classrooms or students.

Today we see multiple devices with multiple uses. I carry a laptop, an iTouch, and iPad and a smartphone. Each has a multitude of features and functionality that offer convenience and flexibility for the ways that I work. And, over the years, these tools have continued to include a great deal of what I call “smart” technologies that help me (and probably many others) work. For example, my LG Ally smartphone allows me to use my voice to write a text message, search a Google term or find a location in my Google maps. Within my maps, the location can then provide step-by-step directions and the ability to choose navigate to drill down to voice direction points through a GPS. These tools and the developments that they contain assure me that we will continue to see technologies that are developed with all users in mind. A recent article in the Washington Post confirms how important the design of electronic devices needs to be to meet the needs of all users. The more developers embed these features into technologies, the more universally designed they become and, the more users who can benefit.

This is always encouraging to see and recently forwarded to me by a colleague “Department of Ed Lays Down Law on Kindle E-Reader Usage
The United States Department of Education and Department of Justice have just issued a reminder calling for colleges and universities–as well as K-12 school districts–to make sure devices such as e-readers that are required in the classroom comply with accessibility laws. The federal action came on the heels of a settlement agreement made by Justice with five institutions that were running Amazon Kindle e-book readers as pilot programs. According to the agencies, Kindle devices aren’t accessible to students who are blind or have low vision”
http://www.1105newsletters.com/t.do?id=5296263:19856432 I’m encouraged to see these types of statements which help us shift the importance of accessibility back to the developers!

It is always comforting when a seasoned technology innovator predicts that a technology of 20+ years is still in its infancy. That was the case last night on the 60 minutes show and the discussion from the inventor of the cell phone. I was pleased to hear this inventor discuss the importance of having cellphones that offered features that provided important functions—those that really addressed the needs of the user. In fact, I was amazed to hear that this inventor is also responsible for developing the Jitterbug phone that is such a great tool for those needing simplicity in their lives. Listen to this broadcast and especially what his predictions are for the future. Sounds alot like good principles of universal design to me
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6512514n&tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

I recently had the opportunity to visit some foreign countries. One of these was Paris, France and I was pleasantly impressed with some of the architectural elements that were in place. Apparently, as a city limited in real estate and surrounded by centuries of old buildings, city developers are trying to maximize designs and modifications that are more inclusive. One was the design built into the Louvre museum that provides an elevator that opens at floor level sitting adjacent to an escalator–multiple options provided. Another was a sign beside a new public toilet that included an icon for a male, a female and an individual in a wheelchair–all able to use the same facility. No differences, no stigmas!

Last week I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Textbooks offered for iPod, iPhones“. It is encouraging to see the groundswell of resources evolving from print to digital form. This article discussed that conversation as it relates to textbooks — certainly an important conversation. For instance, increasingly, students are using handheld devices to view/organize most of their information. Of course, these are the net generation! For others, having access to the same information in digital form increases their need to view/organize information in a form/format that is more flexible, malleable, and essentially universally designed.

However, as the article noted in this post, providing e-textbooks to college students for their portable devices does not assure that these are truly accessible. In many cases, these types of conversions continue to be formatted into a pdf file, essentially a graphic format. For students who need the assistance of a text aloud reader, this e-textbook format is limited. I look forward to seeing more of these developments in the mainstream start to embrace truly universal features that make reading e-textbooks an enjoyable experience!

A very interesting article appeared in my issue of the Wall Street Journal yesterday, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203577304574277041750084938.html As these authors contend, debates continue around the evolving growth of e-book readers, the interest in expanded access to e-books, and the limited access of many formats. But this is a step in the right direction! As students gain access to digital texts, they have much more opportunity to access the material. Many text aloud readers can then speak the digital text aloud, highlight content, link to additional information, and provide opportunities to magnify the information. So important for any of us at various times that we access material.

From our friends in the Art world(s)…

It is always a good thing when a senior IT staff member sends one an email to share cutting edge technology developments that address assistive technology. That was how my day evolved yesterday. Then, as I reviewed my Wall Street Journal, I found yet another article addressing these evolving new features in the new iPhone/ iTouch release this week. Bravo!

As this review notes, the new 3Gs offers a number of tools such as voice over tools that can be controlled through the touch display. So, for someone who may be blind, they can touch the screen and “hear” the functionality and navigate their way around the tool features. Their access and use of many of the same tools a sighted user accesses on the iPhone/ iTouch can now be available. What an important universal design feature! To hear more about that broadcast, listen at http://media.macworld.com/media/podcast/mwpodcast163.mp3

I’m addicted to the website TED Talks. These folks offer such a comprehensive array of informative discussions on topics across technology, entertainment and design. But, I love them even more as I appreciate their design and functionality…offering the clickable ease to turn on/off subtitles in a range of languages.

It’s interesting to read all the recent press about the growing “E-book Revolution”. For example, in today’s Wall Street Journal, the authors discuss the pros and cons of what this might mean for the future of reading (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123980920727621353.html).

While I’m not a proponent of shifting all our reading to digital platforms, I do see the value in these resources. Text in digital forms provides additional flexibility for many readers to adjust font size (for low/limited vision), hyperlink to websites that can expand context and meaning, and include additional assistive supports. Unfortunately, the e-book revolution has not embedded ALL of the great tools we assistive technology practitioners find most valuable – the ability to turn on/off speech aloud functionality, the ability to have pages turned automatically, or the ability to highlight text in color — word for word, paragraph by paragraph, etc.

These are exciting and controversial times with these new trends. What’s your take?