Joint presentation delivered with Mark O'Hara at the 34th annual Southwest Popular American Culture Association Conference, February 15, 2013. Provides an overview of research and resources. Addresses the ways technology can help or hinder learning, with a special emphasis on the use of iPads with children on the autism spectrum. More information at http://tinycc/ohara. Twitter: ohara_edtech

1. Apps and
Accessibility
Educative Experiences for
Students with Disabilities
SWTX PCA/ACA Conference
Mark O'Hara, MA, MEd
Karen O'Hara, MTSC
Miami University
Oxford, OH
February 15, 2013

2. "Miami was a university before
Florida was a state."

3. About Us
Karen: M.A. Technical &
Scientific Communication,
working on grad.
certificate in Interactive
Media
● IT Services staff
● Adjunct in tech writing
Mark: PhD candidate (ABD)
● High school English
teacher
● Disability Studies
instructor, main campus

4. Food for thought

5. “Compared to traditional education,
computer-aided education has largely
proved to be more effective and efficient,
primarily owing to additional motivation
enhanced by the interaction with the
computer” (Kirinic, et. al., 2010, p. 13).

6. “Many corners of the Internet still have
not come to terms with accessibility for
online information even with existing
guidelines to refer to. One of the most
galling examples is e-government Web
sites, which are supposed to comply with
Section 508 guidelines yet still have very
high levels of inaccessibility” (Jaeger, 2006,
quoted in Jaeger & Xie, 2009, p. 61).

7. …disability studies might effect a
sea change by asking that the
inclusion-exclusion binary be
reconceived in terms of accessibility
and inaccessibility, thereby taking
power and momentum from those
on the inside and stressing that
societies should be open to
everyone (Siebers, 20, p. 94).

8. Fewer experiences like this...

9. Designing for cognition
● Simplicity and consistency
● Well-organized content and navigation
● Tolerance of user error
● Multiple modes of content delivery (text,
images, video, sound...)
(http://webaim.org/articles/cognitive/)

10. More experiences like this.

11. Research and
Resources

12. AccessIT
● Based at University of Washington
● Focuses on accessible educational
technology, all levels
● Features a knowledge base, checklists,
videos, curriculum
● Useful for educators, policy makers,
librarians, technical support staff, and
students and employees with disabilities
and their advocates.

13. WebAIM
● Non-profit organization within Center for
Persons with Disabilities at Utah State
University
● A leading provider of web accessibility
expertise internationally
● Knowledge, technical skills, tools to help
organizations make their own content
accessible to people with disabilities
● WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool:
Example

14. WebAIM screen reader survey
● Full results available at http://webaim.
org/projects/screenreadersurvey4/
● Latest survey conducted May, 2012
● 1782 valid responses
● 73.1% of respondents were located in North
America
● 93% of respondents use screen readers due
to a disability

15. Accessible Web
● Perception of web content accessibility is
decreasing.
● Use of properly structured headings
remains of great importance for assistive
tech.
● Items that cause the most difficulty on the
web remain largely unchanged over the
last 2.5 years, with inaccessible Flash
content and CAPTCHA being the most
problematic.

16. Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell
Computers and Humans Apart

17. "Invisible" Disabilities

18. Autism
● manifests on a spectrum
● no definitive causes (many theories)
● more common than previously believed;
CDC estimates 1 in 88 children in United
States has been identified as having an
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
● may involve communication, socialization,
sensory processing

19. Technology that enables cognition
● Multiple options for user input (keyboard,
mouse, voice, gesture)
● Tolerance of user error
● Ways to focus attention
● Code/architecture complies with
standards (WCAG, HTML)
Improving web accessibility for this audience
will improve access for everyone.
(http://webaim.org/articles/cognitive/)

20. WebAIM screen reader survey:
mobile is king
● 72% of the respondents use a screen reader
on a mobile device, up from only 12% three
years ago.
● 58.5% of respondents use Apple iOS devices
○ When it comes to accessibility, Apple holds a
distinct advantage over Android
Usage of built-in screen readers is
increasing...and people are satisfied with
the options.

21. Assistive and
Available

22. Before the iPad, Leo's autism made him
dependent on others for entertainment,
play, learning, and communication. With the
iPad, Leo electrifies the air around him with
independence and daily new skills. People
who know Leo are amazed when they see
this new boy rocking that iPad...I don't
usually dabble in miracle-speak, but I may
erect a tiny altar to Steve Jobs in the corner
of our living room.
-Shannon des Roches Rosa
http://www.blogher.com/ipad-nearmiracle-my-son-autism

23. Leo Playing FirstWords on his iPad
http://youtu.be/m9U9U1cPi64

24. iOS 6 accessibility functions
(activated from
Settings>General>Accessibility)
● VoiceOver: gesture-based screen reader
● Invert colors: higher contrast for reading
● Speak Selection: used like Voice Over for
speaking text snippets
● Guided Access: a teacher can lock an app,
disable some buttons, and restrict touch
input to certain parts of the screen
● Assistive touch: programs in different
gestures to enable one finger or a stylus

25. Fleksy - Happy Typing
http://youtu.be/MhzHyHLIg4g

26. EXO U
http://youtu.be/IqUt37td76Q

27. The future....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6W4CCU9M4

28. Thank you!
Follow on Twitter:
@ohara_edtech
Web:
http://tiny.cc/ohara
Email: oharam@miamioh.edu
oharakm@miamioh.edu

29. References
CDC.gov (2008). CDC Features - New Data on Autism Spectrum Disorders. [online] Retrieved from:
http://www.cdc.gov/features/countingautism/ [Accessed: 30 Jan 2013].
des Roches Rosa, S. (2010). The iPad: a Near-Miracle for My Son With Autism. [online] Retrieved from:
http://www.blogher.com/ipad-nearmiracle-my-son-autism [Accessed: 29 Jan 2013].
Jaeger P, Xie B. Developing online community accessibility guidelines for persons with disabilities and older adults. Journal Of
Disability Policy Studies [serial online]. June 2009;20(1):55-63. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA.
Accessed January 29, 2013.
Kirinic, V. V., Vidacek-Hains, V. V., & Kovacic, A. A. (2010). Computers in Education of Children with Intellectual and Related
Developmental Disorders. International Journal Of Emerging Technologies In Learning, 12-16. doi:10.3991/ijet.v5s2.1246
Siebers, T. (2008). Disability theory. Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, c2008.
Washington.edu (2002). Welcome to AccessIT. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.washington.edu/accessit/ [Accessed: 29 Jan
2013].
Webaim.org (2013). WebAIM: Web Accessibility In Mind. [online] Retrieved from: http://webaim.org/ [Accessed: 29 Jan 2013].