Using Information Communications Technologies to Implement Universal Design for Learning

The purpose of this paper is to assist Ministries of Education, their donors and partners, Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs), and the practitioner community funded by and working with USAID to select, pilot, and (as appropriate) scale up ICT4E solutions to facilitate the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), with a particular emphasis on supporting students with disabilities to acquire literacy and numeracy skills. The paper focuses primarily on how technology can support foundational skills acquisition for students with disabilities, while also explaining when, why, and how technologies that assist students with disabilities can, in some applications, have positive impacts on all students’ basic skills development. In 2018, USAID released the Toolkit for Universal Design for Learning to Help All Children Read, section 3.1 of which provides basic information on the role of technologies to support UDL principles and classroom learning. This paper expands upon that work and offers more extensive advice on using ICT4E1 to advance equitable access to high quality learning. Like the UDL toolkit, the audience for this guide is mainly Ministries of Education and development agencies working in the area of education, but this resource can also be helpful for DPOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) wishing to pilot or spearhead ICT initiatives. Content for this paper was informed by expert interviews and reviews of field reports during 2018. These included programs associated with United Nations, Zero Project, World Innovation Summit, UNESCO Mobile Learning Awards, and USAID’s All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development. Relevant case studies of select education programs integrating technology to improve learning outcomes for students with disabilities were summarized for this document

Printer Penerjemahan Teks ke Audio-Braille Menggunakan Sistem Arduino Uno Untuk Tunanetra

Keterbatasan penglihatan pada tunanetra berdampak pada kehilangan informasi tentang apapun yang bersifat visual seperti ketidakmampuan dalam membaca buku-buku biasa atau buku-buku dengan tulisan awas. Printer Penerjemah Teks ke Audio-Braille atau PRIPEN TAB dirancang untuk dapat membantu tunanetra dalam memperoleh informasi melalui buku-buku dengan tulisan awas. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini ialah penelitian pengembangan atau Research and Development. Model pengembangan yang digunakan ialah Model ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation). Dengan adanya PRIPEN TAB akan sangat membantu tunanetra dalam memperoleh informasi melalui buku-buku dengan tulisan awas tanpa bantuan orang lain, membantu guru dalam membuat bahan ajar braille demi menunjang pembelajaran tunanetra di sekolah

A conceptual multi-model HCI model for the blind

The ability for blind people to read and write Braille aids literacy development. A good level of literacy enables a person to function well in society in terms of employment, education and daily living. The learning of Braille has traditionally been done with hard copy Braille produced by manual and more recently electronic Braille writers and printers. Curtin University is developing an electronic Braille writer and the research on an interface for Braille keyboard devices, presented in this thesis, forms part of the Curtin University Brailler project.The Design Science approach was the research method chosen for this research because of the flexibility of the approach and because it focuses upon the building of artefacts and theory development. The small sample size meant that both individual interviews and a focus group were employed to gather relevant data from respondents. The literature review covers a variety of areas related to computer interfaces and Braille keyboard devices. A key finding is that the interaction paradigm for Braille keyboard devices needs to differ to interfaces for sighted individuals because of the audio, tactile and serial nature of the information gathering strategies employed by blind people as compared with the visual and spatial information gathering strategies employed by sighted individuals. In terms of usability attributes designed to evaluate the interface consistency was found to be a key factor because of its importance to learning and memory retention.However, two main functions carried out on a computer system are navigating and editing. Thus the model of interface for Braille keyboard devices presented in this thesis focuses upon navigation support and editing support.Feedback was sort from by interviews with individuals and a focus group. Individual interviews were conducted face to face and via the telephone and the focus group was conducted via Skype conference call to enable participants from all over the world to provide feedback on the model.The model was evaluated using usability attributes. Usability was important to the respondents, in particular consistency, learnability, simplicity and ease of use were important. The concept of rich navigation and infinitely definable key maps were understood by respondents and supported. Braille output is essential including the ability to show formatting information in Braille.The limitations of the research included the few respondents to the interviews and the choice to focus upon a theoretical model rather than implementing the model on an actual device. Future research opportunities include implementing the interface concepts from the model on to touch screen devices to aid further development of the interface and implementing the interface on a physical device such as the Curtin University Brailler

Voice-For-Blind: An Utilizable Email Client for Visually Impaired Users

For people who are sighted, visually impaired, or blind, electronic mail has evolved into a vital tool for collaboration and communication. However, the current email-related activities on smartphones cause a number of problems due to insufficient mapping of haptic feedback, complex text-entry layouts, a variety of screen sizes and orientations, illogical ordering of navigational items, and inconsistent interface design. The Components on touch-screen interfaces that can't be seen can be difficult for blind people to precisely access, making it difficult for them to carry out common mailing tasks such as receiving, sending, organising, managing spam, deleting, searching, and filtering. Due to these issues, blind people are having trouble using smartphones and completing a number of tasks related to email. Junk and Spam email frustration and cognitive overload are additional effects. We proposed Voice-For-Blind an utilizable email client that is friendly to visully imapired individuals to get around the obstacles relating to the usability and accessibility of smartphone-related mailing activities. 38 blind participants in an empirical study who carried out 14 email-related tasks are used to evaluate the proposed email client. The outcomes of this prototype's use demonstrate an elevated accuracy in complettion, improved user experience, and improved touchscreen interface control for basic tasks like email management. The findings show that Voice-For-Blind is an email client that is inclusive of accessibility, giving blind individuals an enhanced user - interface experience and reducing cognitive load when managing emails

Digital Media Usage of Sensory Impaired Users in Wales 2018 Report

What benefits have digital media brought to sensory impaired users in Wales and what are the barriers that affect people who have sensory loss in using digital technologies

Digital Media Usage of Sensory Impaired Users in Wales 2018 Report

This document reports the main statistical findings from a survey of digital media usage and attitudes of sensory impaired users in Wales. The report offers a comprehensive review of the benefits that digital media has brought to sensory impaired users in Wales and some of the barriers that affect people who have sensory loss. Reported data shows that although only used by half of the sight-impaired community, digital media is crucial to the wellbeing of the sight-impaired users. However, blind and partially sighted people who responded to the questionnaire demonstrate a disadvantaged level of digital media engagement. This report has identified a number of barriers facing people who are sensory impaired in Wales in accessing information, education and services. Barriers were identified mainly in the areas of financial restraints, access to training opportunities, and web accessibility. In addition to emphasise the importance of financial support, digital skills training and web accessibility, the report also recommend a new technology design agenda to the industry in both public and private sectors. Authors endorse what Graham Pullin (2009) suggests the ‘resonant design’ approach, which incorporates disabled and non-disabled users based on coincident needs. Design should emphasize on users and tailor the technology capacity around the need of the user, even such design might look like low-tech and long-lasting

Цифрові засоби підтримки інклюзивної освіти на різних рівнях

In the article, it is stated that the current level of ICT development significantly expands the opportunities for teachers and students in inclusive education. Using ICT, people with disability are able to overcome barriers to learning by accessing a variety of teaching materials in an accessible format. The authors stress that ICT in special and inclusive education can be used as a compensatory, communication, and didactic tool. The main areas in which it is advisable to provide ICT support for inclusive education, are described. The implementation of ICT provides access to alternative sources of information that can be selected and used by each student according to his / her individual capabilities. It is noted that ICT tools should be selected taking into account the specifics of various disability types. Pedagogically balanced and appropriate use of ICT will allow students with disability to participate in the educational process fully, to develop individual educational strategies acceptable for them.У статті зазначено, що нинішній рівень розвитку ІКТ значно розширює можливості для вчителів та учнів (студентів) інклюзивної освіти. Використовуючи ІКТ, особи з інвалідністю здатні подолати бар'єри для навчання, отримати доступ до різних навчальних матеріалів у доступному форматі. Автори підкреслюють, що ІКТ у спеціальній та інклюзивній освіті може бути використаний компенсаційний, комунікаційний та дидактичний інструмент. Описано основні сфери, в яких доцільно забезпечити підтримку ІКТ для інклюзивної освіти. Реалізація ІКТ забезпечує доступ до альтернативних джерел інформації, яку може використати кожний учень (студент) відповідно до його індивідуальних можливостей. Відзначено, що інструменти ІКТ слід обирати з урахуванням особливостей різних типів нозологій. Педагогічно виважене та доцільне використання ІКТ дозволить учням (студентам) з обмеженими можливостями повноцінно включитися у навчальний процес

Delivering together for inclusive development : digital access to Information and knowledge for persons with disabilities

This report focuses on digital inclusion as it relates to four of the 17 Goals for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda: SDG 9 - Innovation, Industry, and Infrastructure, SDG 16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals, SDG 4 - Quality Education. For each of the goals, a number of major challenges and key recommendations are defined. Finally, general recommendations are given for improving global digital inclusion overall

Evolving Beyond Reasonable Accommodations Towards Off-Shelf Accessible Workplaces and Campuses

One of the hallmarks of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of disability, is that it defines “discrimination” to include “not making reasonable accommodations to the known mental or physical limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability.” This concept of reasonable accommodation was seen as innovative in two ways. It recognized that employers must sometimes take affirmative steps or make adaptations to afford individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to apply for and perform jobs. And it identified the failure to take such affirmative steps as a type of discrimination that would be just as actionable under the statute as a refusal to hire or other adverse employment action taken because of a person’s disability. In contrast to the first generation of civil rights laws that simply prohibited unequal treatment based on race, national origin, sex, and age, the ADA recognized that a one-size-fits-all approach does not always yield fair outcomes and that sometimes equity requires treating differently situated people differently. However, this Article argues that the reasonable accommodations framework, which has transcended employment to dominate nearly every context in which people with disabilities interact with society (including K12 and post-secondary education), has had unintended, harmful consequences. Further, this Article argues that those consequences have hindered the ADA’s goals of integrating people with disabilities “into the economic and social mainstream of American life.” By requiring that employers and educational institutions consider the accessibility of their work and learning environments only when a person with a disability arrives on the scene, the legal framework of reasonable accommodations reinforces the notion that inaccessible spaces, products, and ways of doing things are the default, to be altered if and only if a “special” person comes along who requires that something be done differently. Unfortunately, this after-the-fact approach to accessibility all too often stigmatizes workers and students with disabilities, has created unhelpful incentives and has led to far more litigation about the reasonableness of particular accommodations than actual progress in reducing the staggeringly high unemployment rate among people with disabilities. This Article calls for moving beyond the reasonable accommodations framework while not dispensing with it entirely. Part I traces the concept of reasonable accommodations from its origin in the Rehabilitation Act to the Fair Housing Amendments Act to the ADA. Part I will also describe how this concept has come to permeate other areas of law affecting individuals with disabilities. Part II discusses alternative approaches such as universal design and inclusive design that consider how to build accessibility into products and the environment from the beginning and will profile a few successful examples of such “off-the-shelf accessibility.” Part III describes the advantages of “off-the-shelf accessibility” over reasonable accommodations from the perspective of individuals with disabilities in schools and the workforce, from the perspective of employers and educational institutions, and from the perspective of society as a whole. Finally, Part IV offers recommendations for how employers and schools can move from a purely accommodations-based paradigm to embracing more “off-the-shelf accessibility” and suggests law reforms and policy proposals to facilitate and accelerate that shift

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program