Student perspectives on assistive technology

1. Student Perspectives on
Assistive Technology.
E.A. Draffan

2. Blurring of Technologies
• When does IT become AT?
• Future IT Trends a help or a hindrance?
• Movement in Traditional AT
• Where do we go now?
• Mobile phones
• eReading
• Supporting Students.

4. Future IT Trends a help or a
hindrance?
1 year 2-3 4-5
or less years years
Digital
Adaptive Learning
Cloud Computing, Identity, Gesture-
Environments,
Mobile Apps, Social Based
Augmented Reality,
Reading, Tablet Computing, Haptic
Game-Based Learning,
Computing Interfaces, Internet of
Learning Analytics
Things
(Horizon Report HE shortlist 2012)

6. Where do we go now?
SmartPhone
• 79.3% not recommended
• 6.1% recommended smartphone of which 3.3%
found very useful
“None of the organisational
• 14.3% did not respond software was recommended on
a basis that it will sync with my
mobile devices which are the
Tablet only devices I would ever
remember to check. My
• 80% not recommended assessor was aware of this”
• 5.3% recommended, 2.7% found very useful
• 14.3% did not respond
(Student DSA Survey – Wilkinson,S., Viney,D., Draffan,EA 2012)

7. Mobile Phone survey (2011)
Accessing their websites 80% of those who
on a mobile device responded had a smart
(number of visits in one phone. Of that 80% the
month): breakdown was as follows:
• iPhone: 1199 • Android: 42.3%
• Android: 502 • Blackberry 34.6%
• iPad: 488 • iPhone: 11.5%
• iPod: 154 • Windows: 3.8%
• Other: 178 • Other: 7.7%
(http://www.in-traction.com/mobile-browsing-a-student-survey/)

8. Comments – Aspirations
“An iPad. I have since self
funded for one and it really “a smart phone/
helps. I use it to take notes iPad of some kind
sketching internet and for which is light and
keynote presentations. I also easy to carry round
use the reminder facility and with me which
calendar for short term would help me
memory.” organise myself.”
“I was not aware that there was an option for
a tablet to be provided it would be very useful
to have been able to use this during lectures
and practicals to take notes and to access
notes/research that I have prepared in
advance.”

10. iPad versus Kindle study
• Reed College 2011
– Legibility - size, contrast, and resolution – only
one had eyestrain and no comment on difference
to e-ink of Kindle
– Touch screen – speed over joystick and keyboard
– Portability, Durability and Battery life – both good
compared to laptops
– Paper saving – annotations possible on iPad
– Referring to texts in class v distraction of emails!
http://www.reed.edu/cis/about/ipad_pilot/index.html

11. eReading storms brewing
• Over 150 eReader/eBook applications/software
available on varying platforms
• Limited outlets for eBooks in UK esp FREE
ePublications – Load2Learn Project
• Unable to determine if an eBook is accessible
until after the product is purchased.
• Copyright legislation – text to speech availability.
• eReader comparison
http://ereaderleader.com/ereader-comparison/

12. eReading accessibility
• Desktop - Adobe Digital Editions 1.8 & Kindle
for PC Accessibility Plug-in (USA)
• Web based – Kindle Cloud Reader and ePub
reader Firefox extension – Bookworm closed.
• Apps tied to bookstores such as Read2Go for
Bookshare and Blio for Kurzweil – inDaisy
reads any Daisy files also Voice of DAISY.
• Apps – iBooks with VoiceOver, Stanza, Kobo
for large fonts and colour changes etc.

13. Supporting Students
• Training take up remains around 40-50%

14. Student expectations
• Drop in centres
• More expertise to cope with the world of IT/AT
mobile, cloud as well as desktop.
“it wasn't training I wasn't taught anything
everything that he 'taught' me I already knew
he just downloaded rubbish onto my
computer and made it so slow that I can
barely use it!”

15. App Support
• Device specific apps – standards, variable
accessibility and questionable life in the
market place with flexi-updates.
• Google apps – Docs better than spread sheets,
Presentation better than the Calendar – used
in USA education so accessibility improving
• Web apps – HTML5 – cross platform -
potential for accessibility guidelines good.

16. Can we help?
• http://access.ecs.soton.ac.uk
• Research – evidence based – LexDis
• Free and open source – ATbar – 2nd version just
released, Accessible pen drive menu for portable
apps.
• Give us your new ideas on www.realisepotential.org
• Testing Web 2.0 services – www.web2access.org
Thank You