HTML5 video on mobile browsers

This paper reports on research investigating the current ability of HTML5 to play video in mobile browsers. Smartphones and the Mobile Internet are rapidly becoming an important platform for access to information anytime and anywhere. HTML5, the new HTML standard incorporates features like video playback that have been previously dependent on third-party browser plug-ins but there are no browsers that currently provide 100% support for HTML5. All the tests reported in this paper were carried out using smartphones with screen sizes 3.0 to 4.8 inches and the ability to replay videos of a range of formats, move directly to time points in the video and display closed captions were investigated. Key findings were that: video cannot be started programmatically; only selecting on the screen can trigger playback; no visual elements sitting over the <video> will receive click events while the video is visible (playing or paused); there are many HTML5 video players but MediaElement.js was found to currently be the open source player satisfying the greatest number of requirements

Synote mobile HTML5 responsive design video annotation application

Synote Mobile has been developed as an accessible cross device and cross browser HTML5 webbased collaborative replay and annotation tool to make web-based recordings easier to access, search, manage, and exploit for learners, teachers and others. It has been developed as a new mobile HTML5 version of the award winning open source and freely available Synote which has been used since 2008 by students throughout the world to learn interactively from recordings. While most UK students now carry mobile devices capable of replaying Internet video, the majority of these devices cannot replay Synote’s accessible, searchable, annotated recordings as Synote was created in 2008 when few students had phones or tablets capable of replaying these videos

Evaluating the mobile web accessibility of electronic text for print impaired people in higher education

The aim of this extended abstract is to demonstrate a framework that provides a novel solution for evaluating the mobile web accessibility of electronic text for print impaired people in Higher Education (HE). The current framework explores over 500 device settings. Furthermore, the scope of this research is outlined alongside two research questions. The paper then concludes by suggesting the potential impact this research could have on existing standards, the public availability of metadata and guidelines, and the automatic generation of personalised eTexts as per user need

Synote Discussion. Extending Synote to support threaded discussions synchronised with recorded videos

Synote Discussion has been developed as an accessible cross device and cross browser HTML5 web-based collaborative replay, annotation and discussion extension of the award winning open source Synote which has since 2008 made web-based recordings easier to access, search, manage, and exploit for learners, teachers and others. While Synote enables users to create comments in ‘Synmarks’ synchronized with any point in a recording it does not support users to comment on these Synmarks in a discussion thread. Synote Discussion supports commenting on Synmarks stored as discussions in its own database and published as Linked data so they are available for Synote or other systems to use. This paper explains the requirements and design of Synote Discussion, presents the results of a usability study and summarises conclusions and future planned wor

Arabic/English symbol dictionary: early challenges and technological opportunities

Over the last ten years there has been an expansion in the number of symbol sets available to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) users, their therapists, teachers and carers. They have tended to be developed in USA or Europe with English or European language word lists, although some have other language options including Arabic. The problem is that few show the traits of true localisation where solutions have to be found for “the differences between cultures and the problems that are likely to occur because of these differences” (Evers et al., 2000). Researchers have shown in relation to symbol use for communication that it is important to have: • translucency (How appropriate is a proposed symbol for a suggested meaning?) (Bloomberg et al. 1990),• guessability (Can subjects guess the intended meaning of a symbol?) (Hanson & Hartzema 1995, Dowse & Ehlers 2001,2003), and• iconicity (How distinctive are the symbols?) (Haupt & Alant 2003).Simple language translations may offer word for word matching within the lexicons, but they tend to miss the issues of local colloquial vocabulary, cultural, social and environmental differences which can all impact on the speed of communication especially when using many inappropriate icons, pictorgrams and other types of imagery to support dialogue and literacy skills

Generating acceptable Arabic Core Vocabularies and Symbols for AAC users

This paper discusses the development of an Arabic Symbol Dictionary for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) users, their families, carers, therapists and teachers as well as those who may benefit from the use of symbols to enhance literacy skills. With a requirement for a bi-lingual dictionary, a vocabulary list analyzer has been developed to evaluate similarities and differences in word frequencies from a range of word lists in order to collect suitable AAC lexical entries. An online bespoke symbol management has been created to hold the lexical entries alongside specifically designed symbols which are then accepted via a voting system using a series of criteria. Results to date have highlighted how successful these systems can be when encouraging participation along with the need for further research into the development of personalised context sensitive core vocabularies

Web Accessibility and Usability—Can It Happen with Flash?

Issues of accessibility and usability in relation to interactive multimedia Web content are discussed; in particular applications producing animation on the Web, such as Flash movies. The barriers that these types of technologies cause to some assistive technology users is mentioned, but it is stressed that with a pragmatic and proactive approach at the design initiation stage, it is possible to ensure that many more people can enjoy the rich media that the Web has to offer on a wide range of devices

Exploring disabled learners’ experiences of e-learning: LEXDIS Project Report

The LEXDIS Project was funded under phase two of the JISC e-learning pedagogy programme. The overarching aim of the study was to explore the e-learning experiences of disabled learners within the University of Southampton in order to increase understanding of the many complex issues and interactions introduced by disabled learners’ requirements for accessible e-learning, compatible assistive technologies and effective learning support.Linked to the overarching aim of exploring the e-learning experiences of disabled learners, the LEXDIS Project had a related objective which is to develop usercentred methodologies for eliciting the e-learning experiences of disabled students and to disseminate these widely in order to promote a participatory approach to designing and evaluating e-learning.With regards to the participation of learners in the LEXDIS project, there were three key phases of participation: • Phase One: Consultation regarding proposed research questions and research methods; • Phase Two: Opportunity to contribute own experiences of using e-learning; • Phase Three: Opportunity to validate and interpret the results of the study and to contribute to the design, content and dissemination of project deliverables and outcomes.The data collection tools that were used in this project consisted of an online survey; interview plus and focus groups. These data collection tools have been used in both participatory design and learning disability related participatory research.The LEXDIS project recruited 30 participants from the University of Southampton who participated in all three phases of the project. The results are presented in main themes:Use of technologies to support study Use of social networking tools to support learning Influence and impact of assistive technologies on learning: Disabled learners’ feelings about technology Influence of pre-university education on technology use The role and nature of technology related support Significant factors that influence technology use.Six key recommendations are drawn out from the results from the LEXDIS that can inform the practice of lecturers, support staff and learning technologists within Higher Education Institutions. The majority of these recommendations are based around recognition of where difficulties lie for disabled students

Synote: collaborative mobile learning for all

This paper describes mobile enhancements to Synote, the freely available, award winning, open source, web based application that makes web hosted recordings easier to access, search, manage, and exploit for all learners, teachers and other users. Notes taken live during lectures using Twitter on any mobile device can be automatically uploaded into Synote and synchronised with a recording of the lecture. Syntalk, a mobile speech recognition application enables synchronized live verbal contributions from the class to also be captured on Synote through captions. Synote Mobile has been developed as an accessible cross device and cross browser HTML5 version of Synote. Synote Discussion supports commenting on Synote’s Synmark notes stored as discussions in its own database and published as Linked data so they are available for Synote or other systems to us

A survey of the Use of Assistive Technology by Students with Dyslexia in Post-Secondary Education

Purpose. To identify the types and mix of technology (hardware and software) provided to post-secondary students with dyslexia under the UK's Disabled Student Allowance (DSA), and to determine the students' satisfaction with, and use of, the equipment provided and to examine their experiences with training. Method. A telephone survey of 455 students with dyslexia who had received technology under the DSA from one equipment supplier was conducted over in the period September to December 2005. The survey obtained a mixture of quantitative data (responses to binary questions and selections from a five-point rating scale) and qualitative data (participants identifying positive and negative experiences with technology). In addition, the equipment supplier's database was used to determine the technology supplied to each of the participants. Result. Technology provision is variable between students. The majority of students receive a recording device, text-to-speech software and concept mapping tools in addition to a standard computer system. Ninety percent of participants are satisfied or very satisfied with the hardware and the software that they receive. A total of 48.6% of participants received training, with 86.3% of those expressing satisfaction with the training they received. Of those that were offered training but elected not to receive it, the majority did so because they felt confident about their IT skills. Conclusions. Students express satisfaction not only with the computer systems that they receive but also with the special-purpose software provided to support their studies. Significant numbers of students elect not to receive training and may, therefore, not be using their equipment to its best advantage