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Assistive Technology and Universal Design

Clara Noomah

Instructional Designer

UAF eCampus

Marissa Jesser

Student Accommodations Manager

UAF Disability Services

Mar. 10, 2021

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What is Assistive Technology?

"Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities."

Disabilities Act of 1988

Impairment

+

Environment

Disability

=

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Universal Design

The design and composition of an environment so that it may be accessed, understood and used

To the greatest possible extent
In the most independent and natural manner possible
In the widest possible range of situations
Without the need for adaptation, modification, assistive devices or specialised solutions, by any persons of any age or size or having any particular physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual ability or disability.

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Context at UAF

Personal Tool

Used in daily life
Student owned (e.g., wheelchair, sunglasses)

Accommodation

Specific to academics
Provided by Disability Services (e.g., adjustable desk, video remote interpreting)

Less Common:

Captioning
Speech to text
Roger Pen
Transcription

Spring 2021

Most Used:

50% audio recording
37% screen reader
20% tablet or laptop in class
20% assistive note taking

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Focus

Assistive Note Taking

Sonocent/ Glean
Note Taking Express
Livescribe Pen

Screen reader compatible content

Course materials
Textbooks

Calculator
Headphones
Controlled Lighting

Directing attention where you want.

To focus the mind on one subject, object, or thought without being distracted.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Schizophrenia

Anxiety Disorders

Depression

Epilepsy

Migraine headaches

Sleep disorders

Acquired Brain Injury

Specific Learning disorders

Brain Fog

Adaptive Technology

Explanation

Common Diagnoses

Description:

- difficulty switching tasks/ multi-tasking

- reduced processing speed and accuracy

- hyper focus: losing track of time due over attending to one thing and ignoring all other stimuli

- cognitive fatigue

Assistive Note Taking

Note Taking Express
Sonocent/ Glean

Can also upload slide to follow along and time stamp with audio

Livescribe Pen
Tablet or laptop for typing and recording
Provide lecture notes in advance
Audio and/or video recording of lectures

Screen reader accessible content

Online proctoring services
OCR options

Adobe Acrobat Pro
Disability Services

Textbooks

Bookshare/ Dolphin
Disability Services

Screen reader options

Read&Write
Google extensions

Use of Calculator

Reduce cognitive fatigue
Reduce sequencing and task switching burden

Headphones

Decease outside stimuli

Controlled Lighting

Reduce flicker and glare helps students with sensory distractibility better maintain concentration.
Hat
Sunglasses
Screen overlays
Screen adjustments

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Organization

Providing assignments in advance
Detailed instruction and expectations
Refrain from spontaneous changes

A set of techniques used to make learning, problem-solving, and task completion more efficient.

Designing and maintaining systems for keeping track of information + materials.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Traumatic brain injury

Brain Fog

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Universal Design Principles

Organizational software
Timers and reminders
Color coding
Assistive Note-taking Systems (See Focus)

Adaptive Technology

Explanation

Common Diagnoses

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Question time

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Reading

Screen reader compatible materials
Google Extensions
Reading focus cards
Screen masking
Talking and picture dictionaries
Texthelp’s Read&Write

Reading with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Understanding and interpreting what is read.

Specific Learning Disorders

Acquired Brain injury

Blindness

Brain Fog

Adaptive Technology

Explanation

Common Diagnoses

Description:

Reading fluency: dependent process speed + working memory
Comprehension: understanding and interpreting what is read
Reading the same thing 2 to 3 times to understand meaning is time consuming - extra time on quizzes, tests, exams

Screen reader compatible material and textbooks:

GOAL: provide students an alternative processing style or combined style
Adobe Acrobat OCR
Disability Services

Request textbooks
Resource for faculty

Google extensions:

Dark Reader - high contrast
Open Dyslexic - weighted characters
Natural Reader - text to speech
Read&write

Reading focus cards:

Opaque with open notch

Translucent with guiding line (color options)

Screen masking:

cover (or mask) parts of the screen to lessen distractions while reading

Read&Write:

Features include:

Hear web pages and documents read aloud to improve reading comprehension, with choice of natural voices
Understand unfamiliar words with text and picture dictionaries
Develop writing skills with word prediction
Support independent student research with valuable study skills tools

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Fine Motor Control

Speech to text

Dragon
Google Docs

Assistive Note Taking

(See Focus)

Electronic content not pointer dependent
Quizzes, Test, Exams

Scribe and/ or verbal response

Lab assistant

Making movements using the small muscles in our hands and wrists.

Acquired brain injury

Arthritis

Autoimmune disorder

Blood disorder

Cerebral palsy

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic pain

Fibromyalgia

Lyme disease

Multiple Sclerosis

Muscular Dystrophy

Carpal Tunnel/ Trigger Finger

Restricted Limb use

Stroke

Adaptive Technology

Explanation

Common Diagnoses

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Question time

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Hearing/Processing Speech

Assistive listening device (hearing aid)
Roger Pen
Interpreting
Captioning
Transcription
Written notifications/ instructions
Flashing fire alarms

A problem with or damage to one or more parts of the ear.

Trouble hearing clearly, understanding speech, and interpreting various sounds.

Acquired brain injury

Meniere's disease

Autoimmune inner ear disease

Tinnitus

Deafness

Single-Sided Deafness

Ear infection

Lyme disease

Meningitis

Adaptive Technology

Explanation

Common Diagnoses

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Sight

Audio recording
Braille
Screen reader compatible content (see Focus)
JAWS/NVDA
Content not pointer dependent
Large Print

Any kind of vision loss, whether it's someone who cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss.

Low vision

Blindness

Color blindness

Digital eye strain

Adaptive Technology

Explanation

Common Diagnoses

Braille

Raised line drawings

Refreshable braille display

There are Braille formats for math and musical notation

With the advent of computers, braille literacy has declined significantly

Screen reader/ Text to speech

Electronic format

Material
Exams

Detailed description of images

Appropriate formatting - e.g. use of headings

Forms are often a big barrier

JAWS ("Job Access With Speech")

computer screen reader program for Microsoft Windows that allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen either with a text-to-speech output or by a refreshable Braille display

JAWS is expensive but considered industry standard, NVDA is open-source and has very similar functionality.

VoiceOver is the built-in Mac/iPhone option

Content not pointer dependent

Keyboard stroke navigation

Large print

Providing material in format that allows the font to be changed such as Word doc.

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Closing Thoughts

Introductory Level

Go check some of these things out!

Interactive Process = Trial and Error

Referring Students

Express concern
Describe observations
Provide resources including Disability Services

Introductory level:

The purpose of providing such a short introduction to a wide variety of tools is to trigger your curiosity.

We want students and faculty to starting looking into ways they can increase accessibility. For students, the goal is to develop as much self-reliance and autonomy as possible.
For faculty and staff, the goal is to reduce and remove barriers to students with disabilities.

The more universal the design the lesser the burden for students and assistive technology

Interactive Process:

No two students are alike just as no two courses or programs are alike. The interactive process refers to the trial and error and refining that is required to remove barriers to each student in each academic setting.

Students who experience a disability:

Student’s may not know that they are experiencing a disability!

Student’s who know they experience a disability don’t have to do anything about it!

For a student to receive reasonable accommodations at UAF, they must self-identify and register with Disability Services.

What should a faculty or staff member do if they are concerned about a student?

DO NOT suggest to the student that they are experiencing a disability
DO express concern to the student and describe observations

Provide resources that the student may pursue including Disability Services
Tutoring, Student support services, training opportunities through eCampus (e.g., blackboard navigation), Peer mentorship etc.

If a student discloses a disability to you, you may refer them the DS