What is inclusive design: learnings from Outer space
Submitted by Robin Christopherson on Fri, 26/08/2016 - 19:09
As a blind person I’m very aware that the majority of apps and websites are still not design to meet my needs, but in this age of extreme computing everyone needs inclusive design. As an example of the extremes some people go to let's go back to 2012 when Felix Baumgartner jumped from a hot air balloon on the very edge of space.
It may not be obvious, but I believe this attempt to break world freefall records has a lot to teach us about how inclusive design delivers better design for every user.
I’ll get back to what we can learn from Felix as he plummets to Earth a little later, but first let’s think about how we use computers today.
We’re living in the age of extreme computing. In this mobile-first world many of us interact with devices in ways that are far removed from the conventional office or home set up. We've grown used to sitting in a comfortable chair, choosing the right keyboard, mouse and screen and having ultimate control over our environment. If the sun is too bright or too dull, for example, we can pull the blind or turn on the lights.
Extreme Computing needs inclusive design
Today you could be juggling a phone one-handed as you weave down the street coffee in-hand, desperately trying to finish off that text before you reach the bottom of the escalator. Or perhaps you’re tilting and shading your screen under the glare of the midday sun as you try to pay for something on your phone. In either case you’re involved in extreme computing – and extreme computing needs inclusive design.
Let me explain. There are two aspects to inclusive design (also known as ‘accessibility’) that will help in this age where we’re all computing on the edge. The first is optimisation and the second is choice.
Optimise for everyone and every situation
That sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it? Optimising your devices (if you’re a device manufacturer) or your content and functionality (if you create websites or apps) for everyone and every situation. Well the accessibility guidelines are actually meant to do just that. In the case of websites or apps, for example, you’re designing to optimise for the needs of people who may have a vision, motor or learning impairment for example.
If you have no disability but you are using your phone one-handed on the move then you actually do have a temporary impairment that is identical to someone who has a motor difficulty 24-7. It’s true. You need exactly the same design considerations (good sized tappable areas separated by enough white space, for example) as is needed by someone with Parkinson’s or a tremor.
In the same way, if you are trying to find out some information or purchase a product online very quickly in the few seconds you have available as you stand on that escalator, then you require that the site or app you are using has extreme usability to be able to complete it in the time you have available. This extreme usability is needed by someone with a learning difficulty to be able to successfully complete it regardless of how much time they have. Exactly the same requirements – and accessibility, or inclusive design, will help to achieve it.
You get the idea. Similarly good colour contrast and choice of font will help those with small screens on a sunny day just the same as it will help those with a vision impairment regardless of their screen size.
Inclusive design means choice
The other aspect of inclusive design is that an accessible website or app then becomes translatable into other forms. Whether you are blind (like me) and need to have content spoken out, or you need to have text magnified or colours altered, the website will accommodate those choices. If you need to use a keyboard instead of a mouse then go ahead. And when a website or app allows for these choices it suddenly becomes less dependent upon the devices that people use.
And this even includes Amazon’s Echo or Google’s Home Hub (both coming soon to the UK) which have no screen or keyboard whatsoever.
Inclusive design is life-changing – and potentially life-saving too.
Let’s get back to Felix Baumgartner who is trying to break both the highest and longest freefall records. He is wearing a state-of-the-art visor with a heads-up-display that shows him his altitude and speed etc. This fancy gadget worked fine on the ground but up there as soon as he jumps off the platform it instantly mists up and he can’t see a thing – no instruments, no ground coming up very, very fast.
So he did what any of us would have done in that situation and he pulls the chord tout suite. Thus he got the record for the highest freefall (nearly 25 miles up) but not the longest freefall as he pulled the chord much earlier than planned.
Now if Felix’s team had thought about inclusive design they would have automatically built in choice – choice to be able to switch to another output method such as haptic feedback every thousand feet fallen for example. The mindset of inclusive design is not to assume that one input or output method fits all. Quite the opposite.
What is the cost of inclusive design?
An accessible website or app allows for everyone’s choice whether it’s driven by a permanent disability or by a temporary impairment brought on by extreme circumstances.
In the case of Felix plummeting to Earth, the lack of inclusive design could have literally cost him his life. For the rest of us it might cost us our life choices.
How tech is helping people with disabilities lead healthier, richer lives
Submitted by Robin Christopherson on Thu, 25/08/2016 - 14:25
With the Rio Olympics behind us the Paralympics will soon be underway and we'll be celebrating the achievements of some of the most amazing disabled people on the planet. We can’t all be athletes, but tech is helping disabled and able-bodied people alike lead healthier lives and reach their full potential.
It’s hard to imagine an area where technology can’t improve the life choices and quality of people with disabilities. Smartphones, tablets and even watches now give us amazingly powerful computers wherever we go. And they all come with a range of sensors such as cameras, GPS and heart monitors that can be incredibly empowering - perhaps even more so when one or more of your own senses don’t work.
Cost and convenience
Whereas a disabled person used to have to purchase expensive (and often relatively limited) devices, they can often now use mainstream gadgets such as a smartphone that have all the necessary accessibility features built-in and which offer thousands of apps that do the same functions for a fraction of the price.
As a blind person I used to need a talking GPS device (£750), a talking notetaker (£1500), a talking barcode scanner (£150) and many, many more specialist devices – all that had to be carried around in a backpack and each with their own charger etc – whereas now I have all that functionality and an awful lot more in one device. That same device is also almost infinitely expandable with each new app or service that comes along.
The future of health and tech
Undoubtedly at the heart of future tech that will assist people to lead a healthier life will be the smartphone. Still the ‘hub’ of a wide ecosystem of peripheral devices for the foreseeable future, it is almost impossible to underestimate the potential of the smartphone to transform the lives of disabled people.
From hailing and interacting with an autonomous ride, to controlling your environment, to adjusting the settings on smart prosthetics, to interfacing with a world of information and services, the smartphone will carry on giving and enabling.
Having said all the above, I actually use my phone considerably less since getting my smartwatch; which is like a quick window into my phone’s most commonly used features – it taps me on the wrist when I need to turn down the next street; it means I can pay for items without even taking my phone out of my pocket, and it lets me know how bad my night’s sleep has been – but behind the watch and driving all its services is always the phone.
Fitness, health and wearable tech
One area where particular health benefits can be accrued is wearables and the ‘quantified self’. This basically means that gadgets that monitor your steps, exercise and heartrate etc are both encouraging a healthier lifestyle whilst at the same time gathering vast amounts of data which can assist both on a personal diagnosis level and also on the level of ‘big data’.
Apple is leading the way in these areas; the aforementioned Apple Watch, for example, is totally accessible and can monitor a wide range of activities. In the latest update is has included in its workouts a range of commonly used wheelchair arm-movements to ensure that even the various ways that users operate their chairs in different exercise activities are accurately recorded. As a blind person I can use the stair-stepper workout to go up and down the stairs at home (who needs a gym?) and all my calories burned and heartrate activity are measured.
This level of data can provide valuable information for monitoring individual health, but Apple also have a much broader programme (called ‘Research Kit’) that is taking anonymised, aggregated, data and making it available to medical research projects on a scale never available before.
Submitted by Mark Walker on Wed, 24/08/2016 - 12:34
Along with many other disability organisations and campaigners in the UK, the staff, trustees and volunteers at AbilityNet were very sad to hear the news of the death of Lord Rix. His tireless campaigning helped inspire positive changes in the lives of many disabled people and his work with Mencap and other organisations was a cornerstone for much of what has been achieved by the disability movement.
Our thoughts are with his family and we know that his legacy will continue through the work of every organisation that supports and works with disabled people.
Submitted by Alex.Barker on Tue, 23/08/2016 - 12:46
Alex Barker is AbilityNet's Advice and Information Officer
Facebook has been announcing with glee that the world wide web is 25 years old today. Can you see the irony? Just imagine a world without internet.
Let’s take a look back to August 1991. Of course because we have the internet I can quickly do a search on Google to see what happened 25 years ago. Bryan Adams was at number 1 with his monster hit “Everything I do (I do it for you)" from the Robin Hood movie starring Kevin Costner and Alan Rickman. Bread cost 54 pence and a pint of beer cost £1.37.
Without the web I’d have to make a quick trip to the public library and search through copies of old newspapers on microfiche to find this information. Or those big reference books that always seemed to be out of date, even if they were new.
Or worse you’d have to go down to the basement and search through old dusty filing cabinets.
Within the dusty books the name Tim Berners-Lee might have been found. He worked at CERN in Switzerland and in 1980 he had created a searchable database that used the concept of “hypertext. Hypertext is the concept of being able to build text-based links from one document to another.
His dream of the web was that it would be a “common information space in which we communicate by sharing information. Its universality is essential: the fact that a hypertext link can point to anything, be it personal, local or global, be it draft or highly polished” Source: (https://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html).
He then goes on to say that he didn’t invent the internet. That was designed by a couple of other people named Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn who came up with the idea of “IP” or Internet Protocol. They worked out how to unify data and to make data sharing easier.
The web has transformed our lives but as a disabled person the internet has been such a revelation to me.
I’ve got a fairly rare condition but I’ve managed to meet other people with the same condition. The internet made it possible. My fiancée has the same condition as me and she lives in the southern United States. Without the internet we probably wouldn’t have met.
I’ve been to see her a couple of times recently and it is great to have the ability to book flights from the comfort of your own home or to apply for your American visa waiver early in the morning. It makes things like travel so much easier because you can book your own travel as opposed to going to a travel agent and spending most of your morning trying to work out different permutations.
If your mobility isn’t great you can use the internet to do your banking or to buy your shopping. You can have it delivered to you. No need to struggle out in December to do your Christmas shopping. Just do it online….so much easier. Less crowds and probably a bit warmer too.
No-one claims that the web is perfect. But it does save you time and effort. It also allows you to get in touch with people who have shared interests and collaborate on projects. AbilityNet do find it shocking that around 5 million people have never used the web. We're advocates on people having acces to the web because it provides you with useful information
I'm going to go for a walk now in the sunshine. But before I go I'll use a certain music streaming service to download a certain Bryan Adams song...
AbilityNet's accessibility team, which works with top companies and organisations to ensure websites and apps meet accessibility requirements, has given some of the main pages on the www.rio2016.com Olympics website a 'fail'. They found a host of issues which limit the accessibility and inclusivity of the website for users with sight loss and other disabilities. It's common for large public and corporate websites to fail in these areas, as we have regularly discussed.
Here are just a few issues we would like to see rectified. Ideally in time for the Paralympics 2016.
Gold, Silver or Bronze? We can't tell
Table columns are not labelled within the site, so for example in the top five countries' table, the column titles denoting the colour of the medals aren't labelled. It means people using a screenreader don't know what medal Usain Bolt and other champions are winning.
Medal and scoring info unclear Data on the site is presented in non data tables – including information on medal count and schedule, meaning the information was read out in a jumbled order by our screenreader.
Unclear carousel content Like many homepages, the www.rio2016.com has a revolving carousel of news and content on its homepage, but once again, poor labelling in the Content Management System (CMS) means people with sight loss will struggle to know what's going on the page because it's read out in a jumbled order.
Poorly labelled / unlabelled images The olympics' web team has not labelled, or hasn't properly labelled, the detail in photos and images, so those with sight loss are unclear who is in photos or what the photos depict.
Poorly labelled buttons Our accessibility team used Jaws screenreader to check the Olympic site's homepage. They found the screenreader read out 'cancel' and 'ok' buttons, but it was not obvious what these buttons referred to. Other buttons were not read out at all.
Missing invisible menu bar Some sites have an 'accessibility page' – usually linked from the homepage - where a visitor will be told how the site can be accessed for people with disabilities. The Olympics' site mentions an invisible menu bar for people with disabilities, but does not explain what this menu is for so our tester was left in the dark.
Robin Christopherson honoured with Tech4Good Special Award 2016
Submitted by catherine.grinyer@abilitynet.org.uk on Thu, 18/08/2016 - 11:41
AbilityNet’s Head of Digital Inclusion Robin Christopherson has been awarded the Tech4Good Special Award for his outstanding personal contribution to inclusive technology. Robin is an inspirational speaker and a global expert on inclusive and accessible digital design - changing the lives of disabled people everywhere by harnessing the amazing power of technology.
The award was presented by Liz Williams, BT's Director of Tech Literacy and Education Programmes, who said:
“Robin holds a mirror up to disability and technology and enables us to really understand the difference that technology can make in people’s lives. Robin enthrals and inspires and educates everyone he encounters and is genuinely a global expert in his field and I am delighted that he has been chosen to receive the Tech4Good Special Award."
Robin Christopherson said:
“My initial reaction was surprise, shock and honour. After the initial shock wore off I’m left with a profound sense of honour that I’ve been recognised in this very special way for simply doing what I love doing. I hope I’ve had an impact upon other people’s lives in the same way that technology has had on mine.”
Robin gave a speech at the Awards Ceremony, reviewing the latest advances in tech and how they are helping disabled people.
Nigel Lewis, CEO of AbilityNet said:
“By being honoured with Tech4Good Special Award Robin Christopherson has received the professional recognition he deserves for his overwhelming contribution to inclusive technology. Robin inspires everyone he meets, from business executives to policy-makers, about the incredible power that technology has for changing disabled people’s lives for the better. We are thrilled and delighted for Robin.”
The Tech4Good Awards celebrate people who use technology to make the world a better place. Previous winners of the Tech4Good Special Award include some of the world’s leading influencers in technology including Professor Stephen Hawking, Dame Steve Shirley and Jimmy Wales.
Common questions about back pain and computing answered
Submitted by Alex.Barker on Wed, 17/08/2016 - 10:26
Back pain is a term that encompasses lots of different conditions, which might include chronic conditions such as arthritis or temporary conditions such as a pulled muscle in your back. According to Bupa, one in three people will have back pain at some time of our life. When it comes to computing and back pain we are often asked for hints and tips and, of course we’d always recommend that you get checked out by a medical professional.
How can using a computer benefit someone with back pain?
If you have chronic back pain and find it difficult to go out because you have impaired mobility you can use a computer to make it easier for you to obtain goods and services over the internet. A good example is online shopping. Lots of people find it really difficult and tiring to get shopping from the supermarket. However a lot of the leading supermarket chains now offer online delivery and they will bring the shopping right to the door.
Also if you find that you have back pain you might find that using alternative technology can help you to make better use of your computer. An important point to remember is that posture and seating can also have an impact on your back.
I have really severe back pain and need to take a lot of time lying down. How can I use a computer?
There are really two answers to this question. The first answer is that you can use your compute as much or as little as you need. If you can only use your computer in little micro-bursts then that is fine. We’ve had people calling the helpline who can only use their computer for 10 minutes at a time. If that strategy works for you then that is great.
Lots of people do use voice recognition when they are reclining in bed. As long as you can see the computer screen, you can effectively control your computer. Some clients find that they benefit from a screen that is mounted on a bracket so it is easier for them to see. With the advent of new, smaller technology you can even prop yourself up on your elbows or arms to use voice recognition. However whatever you decide to do you need to make sure your computer use is not causing you unnecessary pain.
I want to keep my keyboarding skills up but I find hitting the keys sometimes causes me pain. What can I do?
There are many different types of keyboards available with differing functionality. Some of require a really light touch and have a rubberised keyboard. There are also different sized keyboards and a lot of people with back problems like to use keyboards that are known as “compact keyboards” which are considerably smaller than a traditional keyboard. Another useful thing to consider might be Auto complete and auto text
Case study
Ben has got severe back pain and he has had to take early retirement from his manual job. He still wants to use a computer.to keep in touch with friends and family. We chatted through different options including voice recognition which is built in his computer. He worked through our My Computer My Way section and managed to start voice recognition and use it effectively. We also suggested that he used a more ergonomic chair and took more breaks in his work.
How can we help?
AbilityNet provides a range of services to help disabled people and older people.
Call our free Helpline. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will discuss any kind of computer problem and do their best to come up with a solution. We’re open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 0800 269 545.
Arrange a home visit. We have a network of AbilityNet ITCanHelp volunteers who can help if you have technical issues with your computer systems. They can come to your home, or help you over the phone.
We have a range of factsheets which talk in detail about technology that might help you, which can be downloaded for free. You may find our factsheets talking about voice recognition and keyboard alternatives useful.
My Computer My Way. A free interactive guide to all the accessibility features built into current desktops, laptops, tables and smartphones.
Submitted by Alex.Barker on Tue, 16/08/2016 - 16:15
If you are one of the over 900,000 people with hearing loss in the UK there are some really useful functions built into technology. Here are some top tips.
Although I can’t hear very well my sight is fine. Is there any way of having captions on the screen?
Yes, there is. You can turn on the captioning service which means that you will be able to understand more quickly what the device is doing. Both Android and Apple devices have this feature.
One useful feature is that you can change the font size and colour of the caption to make it more comfortable to follow.
I wear hearing aids. Can I connect these to my portable device?
If you have an Apple device you can connect your Bluetooth hearing aids to your device. This means that your hearing aid works in conjunction with your iPhone enabling you to have easier interaction with your device.
Can a smartphone help detect noises in my house?
Later versions of the Samsung Galaxy have a useful facility where the phone will vibrate if it hears the cry of a baby or the ring of a doorbell. If you have a wearable device from Samsung it will also send a message to that too. It is no substitute for a baby sitter though. There are apps available from the Apple store, which do the same sort of job.
Case study: Using a Blutetooth hearing aid with your phoone
Ronnie called to see if we could help his partner Brenda out. She is hard of hearing and needed some help with connecting up her Bluetooth hearing aids up to her iPhone.
Dave, one of our IT Can Help volunteers went out to see them in their own home and managed to help Brenda. She is now more confident in using her iPhone because she can hear it more effectively.
How can AbilityNet help?
AbilityNet provides a range of services to help disabled people and older people.
Call our free Helpline on 0800 269 545 and our friendly, knowledgeable staff will offer one-to-one help.
If you are in work your employer has a responsibility to make Reasonable Adjustments which include helping you with invisible illnesses. Find out more about how we help disabled in the workplace.
Arrange a home visit from one of our amazing AbilityNet ITCanHelp volunteers. They can come to your home, or help you over the phone.
We have a range of factsheets which talk in detail about technology that might help you, which can be downloaded for free. You may find our factsheets talking about voice recognition and keyboard alternatives useful.
Award winners using technology to make the world a better place
Submitted by catherine.grinyer@abilitynet.org.uk on Thu, 11/08/2016 - 18:12
The amazing people who use digital technology to improve the lives of others were recognised recently at the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2016 at BT Centre, London. Now in their sixth year, the awards are organised by AbilityNet and supported by BT and celebrate charities, businesses and volunteers from across the UK.
The panel of judges brings together experts from business, charity and the tech industry. They picked the winners for seven of the award categories and the pubic chose the People's Award winner.
Meet the winners
Nine-year-old Arnav Sharma was one of the big stars of the night. He won the Tech4Good People’s Award for his AsthmaPi kit, which helps people with asthma to understand, diagnose and medicate for the condition. He was also a finalist in the BT Young Pioneer Award and topped the night by winning the audience vote for the Winner of Winners Award.
Arnav studied the causes, diagnosis and effect of asthma and came up with a unique solution: the AsthmaPi kit. Using hardware including Raspberry Pi and programmed using Python and C++, Arnav’s kit can help parents of children suffering from asthma and those not sure about the diagnosis of asthma.
Arnav said: “I love coding and this was my first attempt at creating something. So, I am very happy to have won the Tech4 Good awards especially as all other finalists were so amazing. I also hope that winning the awards will help me make the Asthma Pi available for asthma sufferers to use!”
The AbilityNet Accessibility Award was won by Wayfindr, eWATERPay scooped the BT Young Pioneer Award and the BT MyDonate Fundraising Award went to Neighbourly.
AbilityNet’s Head of Digital Inclusion Robin Christopherson was honoured with the Tech4Good Special Award for his extensive experience in inspiring and educating people across the world.
Submitted by Robin Christopherson on Thu, 11/08/2016 - 17:56
Pokémon hunters come in all shapes and sizes – including on wheels. Let’s look at how easy it is for them to catch the elusive critters using their preferred method, which is sometimes a single switch (See more on Switch Access software here). For those who have difficulty using a mouse and keyboard, a 'switch' can be used to work a computer instead. Switches come in various styles and can be activated by certain actions including pushing, pulling, pressing, blinking, squeezing, kicking, puffing down a tube or making a noise, for example.
Catching nearby Pokémon single-handed – or no-handed!
Can wheelchair users or people with limited or no use of their arms catch Pokémon? Tecla, who provide excellent switch access systems, similar to that used by Prof Stephen Hawking, have given Pokémon Go a road-test, as you can see on this video.
As you can see from the video, the Tecla controller installed on the users' wheelchairs allow control over iOS or Android devices paired via Bluetooth. A control unit switches the target for the Tecla controller between their wheelchair and the smartphone with which they are hunting Pokémon. It also works with single or dual switches, including those that respond to light touch and ‘sip-and-puff’ switches for users with less or no mobility in their hands.
The team behind Tecla first did some testing on the use of their system with Pokémon Go in late July, but since then they've been able to run an actual field test with the help of local Toronto Tecla users Neil and James. The result? Some freshly caught Pokémon (as you can see in the video) but not without some accessibility shortcomings.
Is Pokémon Go playing fair with inclusivity?
It’s all very well to have a fantastic method of playing an app, but when that app has some flaws in the inclusive experience for disabled users, then it might still prove too much of a challenge for many.
The other aspect of inclusive design is that an accessible website or app then becomes translatable into other forms. Whether you are blind (like me) and need to have content spoken out, or you need to have text magnified or colours altered, the website will accommodate those choices. If you need to use a keyboard instead of a mouse then go ahead. And when a website or app allows for these choices it suddenly becomes less dependent upon the devices that people use.
Along with many other disability organisations and campaigners in the UK, the staff, trustees and volunteers at AbilityNet were very sad to hear the news of the death of Lord Rix. His tireless campaigning helped inspire positive changes in the lives of many disabled people and his work with Mencap and other organisations was a cornerstone for much of what has been achieved by the disability movement.
Alex Barker is AbilityNet's Advice and Information Officer
The web has transformed our lives but as a disabled person the internet has been such a revelation to me.
AbilityNet’s Head of Digital Inclusion Robin Christopherson has been awarded the Tech4Good Special Award for his outstanding personal contribution to inclusive technology. Robin is an inspirational speaker and a global expert on inclusive and accessible digital design - changing the lives of disabled people everywhere by harnessing the amazing power of technology.
How can using a computer benefit someone with back pain?
If you are one of the over 900,000 people with hearing loss in the UK there are some really useful functions built into technology. Here are some top tips.
He won the Tech4Good People’s Award for his AsthmaPi kit, which helps people with asthma to understand, diagnose and medicate for the condition. He was also a finalist in the BT Young Pioneer Award and topped the night by winning the audience vote for the Winner of Winners Award.