This project will be designing and building tools for users to create and edit their preferences. From a technological point of view, it may be sufficient to create a single editing tool for users, a bare form with all possible features and settings laid out with checkboxes, etc. But who would use such a tool? How would they find it? There is always the risk that the outputs of this project will reach only the most sophisticated and self-activated users, those who are well-connected to technological developments, and especially those who are already receiving and using effective accessible technology solutions.
If we could look backward from successful implementation, we may be able to see 3 pathways by which a larger mass of users will enter the preferences environment; each path will have implications for our design.
Extensions of 'Clinical' Practice
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- Evaluation tools and protocols
- Outreach to practitioners
Extensions of Mainstream Technologies
Some mainstream technologies (as we are collecting in the Deliverable 1 spreadsheet) provide ways of adjusting the interface via permanent settings, and even point to assistive technology options external to the mainstream products themselves. Preference editors could bridge the gap between what the current product can do and what external assistive technologies could do.
- Operating systems
- Applications
- Games (e.g., reaction tests, puzzles, memory tests)
Points of Tangency in Daily Living
Most people with disabilities do not have any connection to professionals such as special educators, therapists, or AT practitioners who might be concerned with their performance and convenience.
- Motor vehicle bureaus
- Family and social network interactions (informal and formal, such as large-scale family reunions)
- Home technology installations
- Voter registration
- Point-of-sale terminals
- Wireless and other electronics/ICT retail stores
- ATMs and online banking