2. Tablets as an assistive technology
- New story or old?
3.
4. Tablet PC’s & OneNote for
Engineering Students (2007)
“Notes are less confusing as errors are erased
easily”
“So much easier - everything is in the same
place, all organised, not a piece of paper floating
in the bottom of the bag.”
5. But Tablet PC had
shortcomings…
• Weight: ~2kg
• Battery power: ~ 3 hours
• Performance affected when running many
apps
• Interface – pen driven devices running
Windows
• Screen size too small required external
monitor
• Expense – more than standard laptop
6. Is a Tablet the same as a
Personal Computer? No
• The devices have
different feature and e-book
function reader
• They are designed
for different
purposes PC Tablet
• How are they best
used for those
studying at HE level?
7. Where do we use these
devices in studying?
On the next slide…
• 2 stars = a task this device is designed to do
and it does it well
• 1 star = a task you can achieve with the device
but it can be a complicated (and possibly
unreliable) process
• No star = a task the device can not achieve
without additional devices or too many
compromises
8. Usage E-book Tablet e.g. Touch, Desktop / laptop with
device ipad, Android AT software
Purchase ebooks
Search & download
academic papers
Read aloud text books
Read aloud papers &
learning resources
Record audio and
graphical notes
Take text notes in lectures
Research on the internet
Create a mind map
Make notes from a text
book
Draft an assignment
Proof read an assignment
9. But its more about the
practicalities of the device….
Practicalities E-book device Tablet e.g. Touch, Desktop / laptop
ipad with AT software
Battery life 30 – 100 hours (only 5- 10 hours 1.5 – 4 hours (some
uses power when lightweight models
change page) may go to 8 hours)
Performance N/A basic TTS, internet , Possible to run all
word processing, applications
online tools
Weight 0.2-0.3kg 0.35 – 0.8Kg 1.5 – 3.0 kg
Screen E-ink, 6-7 inches High resolution, full 13 – 17 inches
colour 7 – 10 inches (laptop)
19+ inches desktop
Interface Buttons and arrow Touch interface; Keyboard and mouse
keys external keyboard,
mouse
11. Assistive Technology & Mobile
Tablets: Don’t forget they are not
computers
One One
app at a task at
time a time
Simple Simple
to use to move
12. Why do tablet devices work as
assistive technology or learning
device?
• Instant on, discrete yet
• Powerful and long battery life
• Wide range of apps and resources available
• Mainstream device with mainstream support
• But not all tablets are the same….
13. Android vs. iOS tablets
Android iOS
File Management More like a PC Difficult, requires cloud tools
Range of tools Limited but growing 500 000+ but AT mainly aimed at
ASD and communication support
Multi-tasking Can offer a range of tools Apps are Sandboxed, often
in one app or that link focussed on a single task
together
Accessibility Improving but still Built-in, good support particular
requires additional apps for VI
Assistive Can provide an AT Range of education focussed tools.
Technology supported working Reading/Writing support tools
environment with a range hampered by Sandboxing but
of At tools improving e.g. ClaroSpeak
Accessing web High-spec tablets can Limited by lack of Flash support
content access Flash content
Range of devices 7 – 13 inch screens. Wide iPad only
range of quality and
power
14. CapturaTalk for Android:
Reading & Writing Support on a
tablet
CapturaTalk for Android provides a range of reading
& writing support tools for Android devices :
• Reading aloud with highlighting web pages, text
documents, PDF files and eBooks
• OCR photos and images & hear text read aloud.
• Talking word processor to assist editing, proofing
and writing of text.
• File management tools and integrated dictionary
17. Office 15 / 2013
• All about document sharing on the Cloud via
SkyDrive & other Microsoft services
• Using the ribbon interface but also hints that
it is designed more for reading content with
PowerPoint “Read” view & reflowing PDFs in
Word
• AT packages that integrate with Office will
need to be extensively tested
18. Cloud, eBooks & accessible
content
• Mobile devices & touch interfaces are all
about accessing content
• For disabled students content must be
accessible and personalised to suite their
individual needs.
• eBook & content providers e.g. journals do
not always match these needs
• Accessible services like azzapt being launched
to fill this gap.
19. azzapt service
www.azzapt.com
• Web portal and iPhone app acts as
front-end for cloud storage azzapt.com/login
...
provider
• Files automatically convert to
users preferred format on upload
• Format preferences by devices
type – desktop, tablet or mobile
devices
In beta, will be launched early 2013
20. What Conversion are available with azzapt?
azzapt Output Can be applied to
action
Edit *.docx with different font style MS Word, Open Office
and sizes, font and background documents, PDF & RTF files.
colour e.g. large print version
Read *.pdf with different font style MS Word, Open Office
and sizes, font and background documents, PDF & RTF files
colour e.g. large print version
Audio *.mp3 audio file created using MS Word, Open Office
text-to-speech engine documents, PDF, RTF, Plain
text files, ePub books
Book *.ePub eBook format, opens in MS Word, Open Office
eBook software or apps documents, PDF & RTF files.
21. Example of an azzapt service
user
• Emma, studying part time & travelling to college and
to different locations for work.
– Prefers to work on mobile or tablet whilst travelling
– Slow reader, prefers to absorb information via audio.
• Gets emailed PDF from tutor/colleague.
– Uploads PDF using azzapt web site on her desktop computer.
– On the way home she access her azzapt enabled app on her
tablet and accesses ePub version which is read aloud and
can be annotated
– While at the gym she listens to MP3 audio version on her
mobile
22. Cloud makes M-learning real:
AT support on the go
Through cloud
tools additional
support can be
provided to
students when
they need it
Where do we use these devices in studying?2stars = a task this device is designed to do and it does it well1 star = a task you can achieve with the device but it can be a complicated (and possibly unreliable) processNo star = a task the device can not achieve without additional devices or too many compromisesNB – iPad now acceptable device for exam arrangements and delivering digital examsGraphical notes in a lecture.Review
