What’s New?September 2012

Abi James

Tablets as an assistive technology - New story or old?

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.”

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

Is a Tablet the same as a Personal Computer? No

e-book reader

TabletPC

• The devices have different feature and function

• They are designed for different purposes

• How are they best used for those studying at HE level?

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

Usage E-book device

Tablet e.g. Touch, ipad, Android

Desktop / laptop with AT software

Purchase ebooksSearch & download academic papersRead aloud text booksRead aloud papers & learning resourcesRecord audio and graphical notesTake text notes in lecturesResearch on the internetCreate a mind mapMake notes from a text bookDraft an assignmentProof read an assignment

But its more about the practicalities of the device….

Practicalities E-book device Tablet e.g. Touch, ipad

Desktop / laptop with AT software

Battery life 30 – 100 hours (only uses power when change page)

5- 10 hours 1.5 – 4 hours (some lightweight models may go to 8 hours)

Performance N / A basic TTS, internet , word processing, online tools

Possible to run all applications

Weight 0.2-0.3kg 0.35 – 0.8Kg 1.5 – 3.0 kgScreen E-ink, 6-7 inches High resolution, full

colour 7 – 10 inches13 – 17 inches (laptop)19+ inches desktop

Interface Buttons and arrow keys

Touch interface; external keyboard, mouse

Keyboard and mouse

Windows 8 on Tablets

Assistive Technology & Mobile Tablets: Don’t forget they are not computers

One app at a

time

One task at a time

Simple to use

Simple to move

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….

Android vs. iOS tabletsAndroid 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 in one app or that link together

Apps are Sandboxed, often focussed on a single task

Accessibility Improving but still requires additional apps

Built-in, good support particular for VI

Assistive Technology

Can provide an AT supported working environment with a range of At tools

Range of education focussed tools. Reading/Writing support tools hampered by Sandboxing but improving e.g. ClaroSpeak

Accessing web content

High-spec tablets can access Flash content

Limited by lack of Flash support

Range of devices 7 – 13 inch screens. Wide range of quality and power

iPad only

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

Exploring CapturaTalk for Androidwww.capturatalk.com

Assistive Technology & the Cloud

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

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.

azzapt servicewww.azzapt.com

• Web portal and iPhone app acts as front-end for cloud storage 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

azzapt.com/login...

What Conversion are available with azzapt?

azzapt action

Output Can be applied to

Edit *.docx with different font style and sizes, font and background colour e.g. large print version

MS Word, Open Office documents, PDF & RTF files.

Read *.pdf with different font style and sizes, font and background colour e.g. large print version

MS Word, Open Office documents, PDF & RTF files

Audio *.mp3 audio file created using text-to-speech engine

MS Word, Open Office documents, PDF, RTF, Plain text files, ePub books

Book *.ePub eBook format, opens in eBook software or apps

MS Word, Open Office documents, PDF & RTF files.

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

Cloud makes M-learning real: AT support on the go

Through cloud tools additional support can be provided to students when they need it

Further information

Iansyst LtdFen HouseFen RoadCambridge CB4 1UNTel: 01223 420101

Abi James abi@iansyst.co.uk