Investigation of Smartphones as assistive technology

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Investigation of Smartphones as assistive
technology

• Brian Tompsett, Neil Gordon, Jim Keane
• Department of Computer Science
• University of Hull, Hull
• HU6 7RX England
• http//www.hull.ac.uk

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Introduction

• Aim of the project was to consider how a disabled
  student could use modern devices to overcome
  their disability and better engage with their
  learning than with traditional assistive
  technologies
• We also wanted to evaluate whether this could
  provide a more cost effective solution and/or
  usable solution

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Technologies - devices

• Nokia N96 smartphone with keyboard
• Supports note taking, sound recording and video
  recording
• Problems dropping keyboard connection
• Difficult to connect to eduroam and lack of
  support for some VLE technologies
• Flimsy appearance
• Lack of multitasking (e.g. sound recording and
  note taking)

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Devices

• Nokia N810 Internet Tablet
• Limited note taking 20 mins or so
• Good for viewing PDF files
• Effective resource WikiPedia and email access
  good
• A helpful supplementary device but not a
  replacement for a laptop

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Devices

• Apple IPod Touch
• Good way to read lecture notes in PDF or
  PowerPoint
• Could support various VLE sites
• Lack of file/folder support for files though so
  need emailing to an account in order to read them
• More suitable as a way of accessing resources
  than creating notes etc.

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Technologies

• Development platforms Mac, Windows
• WiFi Eduroam
• Virtual Learning Environments
• SharePoint
• Blackboard
• Sakai (eBridge)

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Plan and approach

• Initial task to evaluate how easy it was to
  connect each device to eduroam
• From this, to provide guidance documents to
  students on using the network
• Then to determine how easily the device worked
  with various VLE technologies
• Several students with different special needs
  were loaned the devices and recorded their
  experiences using the devices

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Developments

• Keyboard Size is important
• A folding wireless keyboard is probably essential
  for small devices
• Multitasking is important

• Wi-Fi in learning spaces is fundamental
• Proprietary technologies in VLEs is a barrier

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Other points

• Small screen size makes them portable but the
  option to link to a larger screen would be
  helpful
• Application development could further their
  utility

• Standardisation and interopability of Eduroam
  will be critical for future development
• Restrictions on network connectivity may limit
  their utility

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Benefits/outcomes of approach

• Identified difficulties in using such devices
  allowing advice to be prepared on overcoming
  these
• Students already had experience of traditional
  supportive technologies and could compare the
  utility of the new ones
• The students appeared to value the initiative

• Technical notes on usage produced
• Presentations on the use to disseminate good
  practice
• Devices that seem good in the short term can
  become irritating in the longer term
• Standard approaches to technology support can
  become a barrier to these types of assistive
  technology

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Conclusions

• Small person devices have definite value as
  assistive technology, but their capability is
  still not fully mature.
• Key issues
• Keyboard size
• Multitasking
• WiFi support and availability
• Difficulties with non-standard technologies e.g.
  VLEs and Eduroam

• These types of small project are valuable in
  engaging students and disability services.
• Future work on new devices and approaches would
  be valuable, and dissemination within the
  community
• Also, development of software for portable
  devices to support learning would be beneficial