Accessible Technology (AT) has the potential to increase autonomy, and improve millions of people’s ability to live independently. This potential is currently under-realized because the expertise needed to create the right AT is in short supply and the custom nature of AT makes it difficult to deliver inexpensively. Yet computers’ flexibility and exponentially increasing power have revolutionized and democratized assistive technology. A series of courses has explored these trends.
- Accessibility Modules: CSE 340, also known as Interaction Programming, has an Accessibility Assignment and related lectures.
- The Future of Access Technology (MS course): Past: Winter 2023; Spring 2021
- PhD Quals Course: Upcoming: Fall 2023;
- Prior PhD courses relating to accessibility: Fall 2019; 2017 (Focused on Fabrication & Society)]; Spring 2015 (Focused on web accessibility); Spring 2005
Posts relating to Assistive Technology Teaching
Make your Webpage More Accessible
This is an individual project to make your webpage more accessible. Learning goals include Some of the basic rules for web accessibility How to use an accessibility checker to assess whether a web page is accessible How to fix accessibility problems How to work within the constraints of end-user content editing tools and still make … Continue reading Make your Webpage More Accessible
Final Project
The goal of your final project is to explore an accessibility issue in more depth than you’ve been able to do in our projects so far. In choosing this project, you may want to draw from personal expertise, literature, or user data should you have access to it. Your final project will have three phases: … Continue reading Final Project
3D printing on the Ultimaker
Cura is the software yo ushould use. It has built in slicing, runs on macs and windows, and has pre-configured options for all Ultimaker models in the add-a-printer dialogue (instructions for adding a printer). You will need to first export your model as an STL from OpenSCAD: First you render, not just preview, then you … Continue reading 3D printing on the Ultimaker
Use 3D printing to make something Accessible (Due 10/16)
The goal of this assignment is for you to develop basic familiarity with OpenSCAD. Your goal is to create a model of something that makes something more accessible for you or someone else. To keep this problem within reason for a first assignment, you should focus on things that are fairly simple to model. You … Continue reading Use 3D printing to make something Accessible (Due 10/16)
Setting up your BlueFruit
Setting up your bluefruit is fairly straightforward, but there are a couple of things you will need to do. They are (almost) all documented on the AdaFruit website BlueFruit page. Some things you will need to do: Install the Arduino software Open Preferences and put ‘https://adafruit.github.io/arduino-board-index/package_adafruit_index.json’ in the Additional Boards Manager URL Open Tools>Board…>Board Manager … Continue reading Setting up your BlueFruit
Observation & Reflection (due by end of quarter)
Much of this quarter will likely be spent inventing and building accessibile technology, and you may not have time to also do the sort of participatory design project that would ideally ensure that your technology fully reflects your target user. This project is your opportunity to focus on learning rather than building, observing rather than … Continue reading Observation & Reflection (due by end of quarter)
Project 2: Build a Better Button
Learning Goals for the Project Learn about Circuit design Learn how to communicate between an Arduino and your phone Build a simple circuit that is enhanced by its connection to your phone Basic Requirements for Project Your project should demonstrate your ability to either: Take input from at least one button (or other sensor), and … Continue reading Project 2: Build a Better Button
The Future of Access Technologies
Sieg 322, M/W 9-10:20 How can physical computing enable new solutions to accessibility, including both access to the world and access to computers? Similarly, how can a disability studies perspective guide us in developing empowering and relevant solutions to accessibility problems? This course explores both of those questions through a combination of discussions, reading, and … Continue reading The Future of Access Technologies
Assistive Technology
Instructor: Jennifer Mankoff, jmankoff@cs.cmu.edu Spring 2005 HCII, 3601 NSH, (W)+1 (412) 268-1295 Office hours: By Appointment & 1-2pm Thurs Course Description This class will focus on computer accessibility, including web and desktop computing, and research in the area of assistive technology. The major learning goals from this course include: Develop an understanding of the relationship between disability … Continue reading Assistive Technology
Accessibility Seminar
The Accessibility Seminar (CSE 590W) is taught most quarters. This fall (2018), it will be taught at 2:30 on Wednesdays. The focus will be at the intersection of fabrication and assistive technology. Past years in which I was involved Autumn 2017 — Focus on hearing technologies Winter 2018 — Focus on student presentations
Rapid Fabrication / Prototyping
Required Readings (videos for these and others found below) Mueller, S., Im, S., Gurevich, S., Teibrich, A., Pfisterer, L., Guimbretière, F., & Baudisch, P. (2014, October). WirePrint: 3D printed previews for fast prototyping. In Proceedings of the 27th annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology (pp. 273-280). ACM. Interactive design space exploration and … Continue reading Rapid Fabrication / Prototyping
Metamaterials
Pick one to read (or read both!) Ion, A., Frohnhofen, J., Wall, L., Kovacs, R., Alistar, M., Lindsay, J., … & Baudisch, P. (2016, October). Metamaterial mechanisms. In Proceedings of the 29th Annual Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (pp. 529-539). ACM. Ion, A., Wall, L., Kovacs, R., & Baudisch, P. (2017, May). Digital … Continue reading Metamaterials