I really appreciate the topic of diverse learning design for a number of reasons. Particularly because of a number of issues that friends of mine have encountered, as color-blindness isn’t dealt with well in some academic settings in the US. This problem extends through many fields, including art and science, with lessons involving color theory, and practical exams involving titration and color change.
However, it is important to note that this is only a real improvement if they manage to impliment one of their more unlikely features. USB’s that change accessability settings on virtually any machine that they’re plugged into.
I admire the planned implimentation of braile in technology for those users who are blind and deaf, as this would allow them a larger amount of freedom. Overall, I think I like the hardware useage far more than the software side of things. The webcam tracking head or eye movement for people unable to use computers in a traditional manner is wonderful. Really, anything that expands range of communication for those people most unable to do so is wonderful, as it has the potential to increase their quality of life the most. As described by their project, the largest issue with older folks is educating them on the options that are avalible, however I think this issue expands to the population at large.
I am concerned about their example inclusive project not working very well on my computer, as the point of it is to be able to work on any device with minor effort on the part of the learner, and I hope that the final project will be much more effective. I’m also concerned about the project managers leaving something out, just because they weren’t aware of it. I don’t believe it’s a very high liklihood, as the example they gave were fairly comprehensive, but I could see options that would make things better for people with overstimulation being left out by accident, or a person with a different set of requirement attempting to use a divice configured to a different person’s needs who forgot to log out. Regardless, I think it’s a project with a lot of merit behind it, and I look forward to them ironing out the kinks.
As I mentioned, the developers might not have thought of everything. Is there any condition, or set of conditions that might make technology difficult to use that they might have overlooked?