Scheduled at 2:30 PM in Denver 4-6 on Thursday, November 19.
#43293Speaker(s)
- Gregg Vanderheiden, Professor, University of Maryland
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: Beginner
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
This session will introduce a new free tool for quickly finding all access solutions for any computer or phone as well as demonstrating the ability to use AI to create your own tools. The tool will allow anyone without AT knowledge to quickly identify all the commercial, free and built-in solutions to meet the individual needs of students using Windows, macOS, iOS, ipadOS, or Android computers, tablets or phones. Over half of the 320 solutions are free and 9 of 10 are free or free to try.
Abstract
This session will introduce a new free tool for quickly finding all accessibility solutions for any computer, tablet or phone. The tool allows AT evaluators, student support personnel, disability programs, practitioners of all types, parents and consumers to identify any and all of the free and the built-in accessibility tools available for the computers and mobile devices that might address an individual’s needs. It covers Windows, macOS, iOS, ipadOS, and Android built-in and commercial AT. Over half of the 320 solutions are built-in or otherwise free to use.
This tool also includes all commercial products to meet any needs not sufficiently met by the free and build-in tools. The goal is to allow everyone, including those from schools that have low resources and schools that do not have their own assistive technology professionals to be able to easily find computer/mobile accessibility tools for themselves or those they work with. As an added bonus, 9 out of 10 of the solutions allow users to try out the solutions free, or with free trial, to allow users to have hands on experience before having to commit to any software. Each entry in the tool includes a description of the tool/software/feature, a short video demonstrating it, and information on where to find it (if it is built-in), how to use it, and, if it is not already built into their devices, how to get it (free or commercial). The tool was developed collaboratively with input from AT specialists and evaluators across the country as well as from small, rural school districts to ensure its utility even by those with limited resources or no prior assistive technology knowledge.
As an added bonus, the use of AI for creation of new tools without writing any code will be demonstrated. A tool created in just 1.5 weeks without even seeing any code will be provided – showing that consumers and practitioners are now able to create their own tools rather than being limited to only tools created by others.
Keypoints
- Free tool now available for all accessibility options (including built-in) for all computing platforms.
- Over half of accessibility tools are free, 9/10 are free to try; so reachable by communities of all resources.
- AI now puts the power of creating new tools into the hands of tool users, not others who guess user needs.
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Accessibility and Accommodation in the Current Political/Legal Environment, Artificial Intelligence, Assistive Technology, Other, Teaching about Accessibility in Curriculum, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access
Speaker Bio(s)
Gregg Vanderheiden
Dr. Vanderheiden is founder of the Trace R&D Center and Professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland. He has been active in the field of technology and disability for 50 years and was a pioneer in the field of Augmentative Communication (a term originating from his writings), assistive technology and computer access. Access features developed by Dr. Vanderheiden and Trace can be found in every computer and mobile device internationally (Windows, MacOS, iOS and Linux), in the Library of Congress’s talking book player, Kiosks, and worked with over 50 companies on increasing the accessibility of their products. He wrote the first Web Guideline in 1995 and co-chaired WCAG 1.0 and 2.0. Dr. Vanderheiden is a past President and Fellow of RESNA, a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and Fellow in the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.