Day+8+-+OS+Accessibility+and+Funding

What accessibility options, if any, should be added to operating systems? Why would or wouldn't you use accessibility options with your students?

Jamie- Well, I suppose you would use accessibility options with students for those who would benefit from it because it will provide easier access to computer programs. For example, the contrast feature would be beneficial for someone who may have a visual impairment as well as the microphone that we experimented with in class. Perhaps you would not use accessibility options with your students because you do not want to take the time to train them to use the various options. Time is limited in the classroom, so perhaps you may feel as if they are not necessary enough to take the time to teach each student. Making computers accessible to all is vital in today’s society given the statistic that more than half of computer users in the US experience limitations. Magnifiers, narrators, and high contrast settings are all options. Those who have visual impairments may benefit from magnification, colors, contrasts, Braille utilities, and screen readers. Thos who have hearing impairments may benefit from information that is repeated, or sound used to supplement visual text. Those who have issues with dexterity may benefit from programs that permit accessibility through a mouse or a keyboard. Those who have cognitive disabilities may benefit from functions that hide complexity and visual aids. Those who have speech or language disabilities may benefit from spell-check and grammar checks and/or speech recognitions technology. Jessica - Various assistive technology options are underused and underappreciated, and the best part is they are free! Today I learned that these options can be found in the computer’s control panel. For example, mouse keys turn the number keyboard into a mouse, moving the cursor left-right-up-down, etc… For students that have limited mobility and need an alternate form of mouse, mouse keys can be more practical to use than a mouse. The magnifier is also a useful function for those that have visual impairments. I could see my grandmother using the magnifier, actually, since she writes me e-mails in huge font and often reminds me to use large font when I write to her. I could also envision her using the speech recognition functionality when composing an e-mail or writing a to-do list. Again, for those with mobility issues, whose strength is speaking, operating the computer via voice could be very powerful. When Katie and I went through the speech training today, we were amazed at how we could navigate to the Internet, and eventually watch a YouTube video with only our voice controlling the computer. I can definitely see myself using this function with students who want to interact with the computer but are either, struggling writers, or need motivation to pursue writing. Narration of text is also an obvious choice for individuals who have vision impairments or in need of developing their reading skills. In general, there are many functions that are useful, and free, already on the computer. Those options will be the first place I look if I feel I need an AT service but am limited by funding/resources.

Bill: I would think that with the millions of dollars that go into research and development of operating systems, there would be better accessibility options built in. The voice recognition feature on Windows Vista that I used today seemed adequate at best and still required regular use of the mouse when the computer failed to recognize my vocal commands. I think that an ideal operating system would first have to come "uncluttered when first installed. OS's have so many components that come with them that a person may never want to use that could hinder the use of the computer. Look at windows - you get Media Player, Internet Explorer, and tons of sample software that you may never use. I think features like the narrator would be more effective if there wasn't so much junk on the screen to narrate. Perhaps, much like accessible websites, windows should cut out some of the menus and control bars, or allow for a simplified screen layout that would work better with its voice recognition and narration functions. Obviously the ideal system would be compatible and friendly to users of switches and other alternative input devices. Windows already allows for lots of customization of the mouse and keyboard inputs, and for screen resolution and contrast, which are also important features.

Katie: I would make the accessibility options that are available now better. I think that they should be improved in their quality and ease of use. Today when using the voice recognition software, the program often did not understand what I was saying. If think it would be a great idea to improve all of the "ease of access" features in Windows because there are 59 million people with disabilities, so wouldn't it be worth it!?!

I would not use any of these options in my classroom. I work with 5 and 6 year olds who are just beginning to learn how to use the computer. I think the accessibility options would be more of a head than a help to my students. For example many of my students have speech impairments, so the voice recognition software would not work very well with those students. Maybe when the students are older, I would use the accessibility options.

Rob I am embarrassed that I never knew the capabilities that come standard on both the PC and the Mac. I consider myself to be very tech savy and having never even thought or stumbled upon these options disappoints me. With that said, I thought the accessibility options that come standard on these things are phenomenal! They weren't the best, but what factory issued tool ever is? If you want it to be more specific and accurate, like anything else, you have to upgrade. But what a great start for someone to get used to changing the size of the screen, color of the interface, speech recognition, and voiceover. But if I had to add features to the operating system standard settings, I would think about throwing in a cursor that a person can control with a pair of glasses or with the sensor sticker on your forehead. We saw both of these tools on a video earlier in class...I think it is logically the next step for accessibility of operating systems. They have tools for hearing and visually impaired individuals. They should start focusing on those who have difficulty with fine motor skills. Sticking with my comments above...it would be a very basic version of that, so don't expect it to be perfect.

Kristin: Web accessibility is very important because it gives access to people who may have difficulties using the normal operating system. One important option I would include would be Sticky Keys, which when accessed allows a key such as Shift, Control, or Alt to remain active until another key is pressed. This is used when one of those keys is used in a combination. This feature is good for people who have limited use of one of their hands. Another option that I would include would be showsounds, which in windows is a program that provides all information visually that is usually provided by sound. If I had highschool students I would use some of the accessibility options if the need came about. Some options might be beneficial in composing papers or letters but the options included with the operating system are not reliable so I would be hesistant.

Brian- I think that these accessibility options that we veiwed were good tools to assist individuals with disabilities, though they seem to be in the rudimentary stages of development, containing many flaws and quirks. These tools are free and you basically get what you pay for, many up grades are available but for a price. Many individuals usually don't have the funds to get all the software or uprgades neccessary to ease the use of many assistive tools. I have been frustrated in classs by the use of many of these tools and I don't have an impairment. The speech recognintion misunderstood me often, it was more difficult to fix errors then in the preview, and errors were time consuming to fix. The vision impaired activity was much more frustrating for me and if that was how I had to access the internet, I doubt I would spend much time surfing the web, or use it at all. Operating systems should uprgrade these tools to a more functional and accessible grade. I would not use these options with my students until they were upgraded. If I was getting frustrated, I am sure that my students would also get frustrated. Recognizing speech and understanding read text seem to be the areas of biggest concern. These areas are the ones where my students would benefit the most from though they are the lowest quality tools. I would encourage companies to improve the tools they have before adding more.

Melissa- Wow! It seems like we are all on the same page with this one. Being that I was not aware of the many accessibility options as well, I currently cannot think of any more I would add. The ones I learned about in this class were amazing at it is. However, I do agree with many of the comments above my post about how they still need much more development. Being that we now have the technology to manipulate the computer with our minds, I would think that accessibility options such as voice recognition software would be more accurate.

If needed I probably would use most accessibility options with my students that we looked at today. Amazingly, they are free on most computers, and free is one of my favorite words. What I would actually use would probably depend on the student (e.g., needs, maturity, and ability).

Personally, I wish that I could control some of the web accessibility options on my school computer. I cannot access most videos, and this does a great disservice to a population that benefit from this type of instructional media. Actually, now I am wondering if any operating systems accessibility options work given the stringent restrictions on Christina’s computers. When I am given a new computer (hopefully in the fall!), I will check out these options.