Simon Hayhoe Faculty, B.Ed. Educational Technology Information Technology, Sharjah Women’s College

1. Using an iPad as an assistive deviceto improve technical literacy:Trial usage with an Emirati student Simon Hayhoe Faculty, B.Ed. Educational Technology Information Technology, Sharjah Women’s College

2. What this project was about Introduction

3. Outline of the presentation • This paper presents a case study of the use of the iPad 2 by a blind student at Sharjah Women’s College. • Emma was finding it difficult to read, write, understand normal graphics, use her computer without a great deal of assistance and use the complex equipment that she needed to be familiar with in her classes in order to work through her assessments. • I was asked to work with Emma and recommend assistive technologies, literature and graphics, and help with technical language tuition. • As a primary tool of assistance, I recommended using the iPad 2, as it appeared to have a broad range of available literature, and included accessible software to enlarge text, change the color of the interface and provide a synthesized voice.

4. The iPad 2 • It has many new accessible features including: • a voice function to identify objects and text on screen • zoom facility for users with low vision. • These features are also being used by other Apple products, such as the iPhone 2 • Data gathered about the usefulness of this product given particular circumstances in order to measure its effectiveness as a learning assistive technology in an Emirati context.

5. Physical and educational problems Emma

6. Emma’s impairment • In early October last year, Emma had advanced surgery for cataract removal and to implant a new form of plastic lens. • Her surgeon warned that it would take time for her eye and nerves to adapt to this treatment, resulting in all but a 15% increase in vision in the medium term at best. • It was believed that it was also likely that she would lose her sight completely in the long term.

7. Social & educational difficulties • Caused social uneasiness about her condition. • She seemed to have very little support at school and her parents could only offer limited help as they did not know how to help properly. • The UAE has only recently developed services for disabled people so there was relatively little awareness of how to adapt to such conditions in her small village community. • She also had difficulty in being accepted and developing an understanding that she had the ability to progress successfully in her educational career. • She appeared to have what seemed to be low levels of self-confidence and feelings of unhappiness with her ability in class. • Her existing assistive devices were large and unwieldy to carry around classes, expensive enough to make it difficult to secure further funding for them and socially awkward for her to be seen with them.

8. Emma’s previous support and adaptation • Assistive technology: • A computerized camera with an arm that cost US$2895, • Alarge print keyboard that cost US$65. • She often asked friends on nearby benches for help if she could not recognize a color or the smaller components that she had to use. • She had also learnt to distinguish between the textures and widths of certain wires, memorized their corresponding colors and meanings. • She managed to distinguish many areas of the Computer Aided Design / Manufacturing system used in the course.

9. Previous and suggested Strategies for support

10. Strategies for supporting Emma • Whatever support I provided her had to be as socially inclusive as possible. The assistive devices that I recommended were to be as close to ones used by able-bodied people as possible. They should also have an element of allowing her to use the devices for other leisure activities that would help her communicate and fit in with her friends and other students she mixed with. • I needed to find a cost effective solution to Emma’s support. In common with many other higher education colleges and universities, there was no specific funding for assistive devices or new equipment. Thus what I recommended had to be affordable and preferably usable in a number of different learning contexts. • I needed to develop training and recommend technologies with a certain degree of future-proofing built in. In particular, whatever strategies I taught her and whatever equipment I suggested had to be usable by a person with very little or no sight in years to come, and also needed to be upgradeable to incorporate more advanced forms of assistive technologies later in her education.

11. Emma’s teaching help in class • Extensive technician support during practical activities, in particular; Mechanical tasks… • Written course material (notes/[handouts]/etc.) should be scanned and loaded on the G: drive for [Emma] to access and magnify as required (ILC); • Install…SW/resources on [Emma’s] LT/iPad (IT Support); • Provide all paper material (course notes/HO) on A3 (ILC); • Request (IT Support) to configure [Emma’s] LT/iPad (Win) special settings for ease of access including Magnifier, On Screen KBRD, Narrator and High Display Contrast; • Extra support for technical English? [This became my role]. Personal communication from a Faculty Member, Sharjah Women’s College, received 24th November, 2011.

12. Initial observations on Emma’s use of the iPad The iPad 2 Interface • I advised Emma to buy an iPad2, approx. US$580 • It had received good reviews from organizations for the blind. • The particular features that were noted: • Its use of speech – particularly in making talking books accessible, • Its ability to change the background color to suit the reader • Its zoom facility that enabled on-screen text to be increased by up to 200%.

13. Special Features of the interface The zoom facility The accessibility interface

14. Good and bad points discovered during practice with the iPad 2 Findings on accessibility issues

15. Good points about the iPad 2 • A large amount of technical literature was available wirelessly through iTunes and other applications. Emma managed to find works relating to science and science fiction, often at no cost; • The screen zoom was useful, but still had to be held very close to her face when reading, or she had to use an extra magnifying lens; • The white writing on a black page feature made the text easier for her to see, although pictures in scientific texts were often difficult to make out in the same mode, as they became a photo-negative; • The devise was small, light and could easily be carried with her books and equipment (see Figure 4); • As it was a mainstream, fashionable technology she was not embarrassed to be seen with it; • It was considerably less expensive than her camera arm; • Emma also had access to a number of other interactive multi-media features on the iPad for leisure or education, which she found useful.

16. The width and lightness of iPad 2

17. Bad points about the iPad 2 • The control panel was complicated enough to make it confusing without specific instructions; • It is unknown whether Apple sells a model that is already setup for blind people; however, it is doubtful whether someone with little or no sight would be able to read or comprehend the icons and small writing on the accessibility setup screen; • As Emma had not used a tablet computer before it was difficult to get used to tapping the screen; • The instructions in the booklet were in small print and inaccessible to Emma’s low vision. This made setting up the computer particularly difficult; • The voice facility to name the icons could be confusing – it constantly spoke very quickly when she moved her hand over the screen – and was loud and embarrassing to use in public areas. Emma also found it difficult to understand the accent. We eventually turned it off.

18. Specific and general conclusions Conclusions

19. Specific Conclusions • Although the evaluation is still in its early stages, the iPad’s usages as an assistive tool for Emma presented a number of noteworthy problems, which made it an imperfect educational aid. • However, we found that it was more economical and easier to carry than many similar devices. • It also allowed Emma the inclusive use of a mainstream technology rather than the symbolic use of existing, indecorous assistive technologies which she found to be embarrassing to use and singled her out as an impaired user in her classes. • Although she will have to work her way through the evolving educational functions, she will be able to use its social and multi-media functions to gain a greater degree of mainstream technological inclusion. • Because its facilities can be used by low vision and totally blind students, it also has a significant degree of future proofing.

20. The Emirati context • From an early trial on the iPad it would appear that there is scope to be optimistic about moving away from specialized, often clunky traditional technologies to more inclusive assistive technologies in the classroom. • It represents a big step forward not only in the provision of technology for students with impairments but also presents a significant step forward in the greater social inclusion of students with impairments. • It should be noted by technologists, computer scientists and industrial designers that people with visual impairments generally often need to feel as socially “normal” as possible to fit in with their sighted peers. • The nature of impairment also often necessitates a need to design for future deteriorations in impairments. • In these two respects, it would appear that the iPad 2 has made these two steps forward in its accessibility remit.

21. Questions?