The deadline for both aspects of this project (IT and DT aspects) and the written work will be 1300 hrs Tuesday May 30th.
Those of you interested in getting to know the ins and outs of CAD/CAM may also wish to have a look at FreeCad.com, which has a listing of many CAD packages free for download and trial.
More tutorials for Pro Desktop are available here.
Some guidance for the interfaces projects – getting your DT folders right:
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From the BBC website
Disabled users to test websites
This will involve making written reflections on how your users will be able to access your database of services.
To include
Some broad ideas about how the pointing device you intend to design will work with your database. How your user group will be able to navigate from layout to layout and search for entries (buttons scripts) etc.
If and when you complete that work you should be completing your list of services available to your users.
The Wikipedia has a comprehensive list of disabilities by category, including:
8th grade students need to choose a disability that they will be designing a hardware database interface for.
Via Joystiq:
"With the possibility that many Revolution titles will be controllable with one hand, comes hope from disabled gamers like Travis Taft. Taft, who suffered a spinal-cord injury while body surfing, retains strong use of his right hand, but he is unable to use a standard two-handed gamepad because of his left. Taft is confident that when the Revolution is introduced into the market (presumably later this year), he'll be able to resume his lifelong passion for gaming."
Oxford University Computing Services has a rather comprehensive list of it's facilities for users with disabilities, including monitors, height adjustable desks and other ergonomic equipment. From their website:
"Oxford University Computing Services aims to make reasonable adjustments, where possible, for anyone with a disability or condition in order for them to access our services. In particular, the lecture rooms and Help Centre at OUCS have a comprehensive range of enabling technology and other equipment."
This is of particular interest for Grade 8 students who will be working to design a database interface for disabled users this trimester. Students: Can you find any resources like this and comment on this post?
Update: Here's another link to a list at the National Centre for Technology Education.
This article tells the story of a man who hacked his own cochlear implant in an attempt to extend his hearing range beyond that of standard speech recognition. From the article:
"When the device was turned on a month after surgery, the first sentence I heard sounded like "Zzzzzz szz szvizzz ur brfzzzzzz?" My brain gradually learned how to interpret the alien signal. Before long, "Zzzzzz szz szvizzz ur brfzzzzzz?" became "What did you have for breakfast?" After months of practice, I could use the telephone again, even converse in loud bars and cafeterias. In many ways, my hearing was better than it had ever been. Except when I listened to music."
This article, "Can everyone do the iPod shuffle?" (published by the American Foundation for the Blind) is a review of the interfaces of the iPod, and how they can be used (or not used) by the visually impaired.
Should companies who mass-produce luxury items have a social/corportate responsibility to provide interfaces for those with impairments?
