A Computing Education for the
Vision Impaired
Iain Murray
Curtin University of Technology
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Rehabilitation Engineering Research
Laboratory
Introduction
 Objectives
 Learning environments
 What is the Cisco Network Academy
Program?
 Rehabilitation Engineering is the systematic
application of engineering sciences to design,
develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and
distribute technological solutions to problems
confronted by individuals with disabilities in
functional areas, such as mobility,
communications, hearing, vision, and cognition,
and in activities associated with employment,
independent living, education, and integration
into the community.
(US Rehabilitation Act of 1973)
Objective
 Develop systems and methodologies to
assist people with sensory disabilities to
gain access to education and technology
Resources
 Rehabilitation Engineering Research Laboratory
 Researchers
 3 academic staff
 1 technical staff
 6 Postgraduate students
 2 Masters and 4 PhD
 Over 30 Honours students (4th & 5th year engineering)
 Industry & consumer advisors
Changing Learning Environment
 Educational content delivery is changing
 On-line eLearning
 Instructor led
 Distance learning
 Supplemental material
 People with disabilities (particularly vision)
 Being left behind
 Reliance on visiocentric material
 Multimedia
 E.g. Click and drag
Changing Learning Environment
 This requires a change in thinking
Ensure effective content delivery to ALL
students irrespective of learning style or
physical ability
 Cisco Access for the Vision Impaired (CAVI)
Cisco Network Academy Program
 The Networking Academy program is an
e-learning model that delivers Web-based
educational content, online testing,
student performance tracking, and
instructor training and support, as well as
hands-on labs. (Cisco,2002)
Cisco Network Academy Program
(CNAP)
 10,312 Academies
 162 Countries
 494,063 Students
 278,005 Graduates
 14 vision impaired students
All in Perth
Cisco Network Academy Program
(CNAP)
 Several programs
CCNA, CCNP, FNS, FWN, ITE, UNIX etc
CAVI covers IT Essentials and CCNA only
 The CNAP is a comprehensive program
designed to teach students computer,
Internet & networking technology skills.
Why CNAP?
 Router/switch configuration is text based
 Network topologies are logical not physical
 Network administration does not require
mobility
Orientation and mobility training is time
consuming and expensive
 New employment opportunities
The Students
 Age range from 18 to 55
 Range of technical ability/experience
 14 Legally blind in total
 5 have no useful vision
 Light perception or less
 3 require screen reader access
 Cannot read a monitor
 5 can access a computer with screen enhancement
 May just require contrast or specific colour schemes
 1 deaf/blind
 Has limited tunnel vision and profoundly deaf
 Communicates through Auslan and whiteboard
Cisco Network Academy Program
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Cisco Network Academy Program
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Current Access Methods
 For low vision users.
 Screen enlargement.
 Zoomtext, Magic.
 Screen review programs.
 Jaws, Slimware, Artic.
 Two output methods - speech and Braille displays.
 Screen review software must rely on text output.
 Tactile Graphics
 PIAF
 Printed Braille and Audio recordings
Access Methods
 Other Disabilities
Quadriplegics.
Morse, Eye tracking, scan boards.
Emphasis on keyboard/mouse replacement issues.
Deaf.
Subtitles, visual alerts, transcription of
conferences/video.
Many others.
CAVI Project Description
 Develop a method of course delivery to
vision impaired students
Standard Curriculum
Existing lab bundles
CCNA & IT Essentials initially
Long term aim to include other academy programs
Create a “bridge” between the curriculum and
assistive technology
Includes instructor training
Curriculum Access
 Use text documents
 Explain diagrams
 Stress important but uniquely difficult points
 The OSI model
 Layer 2 technologies
 Tactile objects
 Network dominoes
 Pipe cleaners
 Function Generator
CAVI
 Describe the difficulties that vision impaired
students face
 Investigate how students with severe vision
impairment can utilize cognitive and perceptual
properties of non-visual sensory modalities to
learn (as compared to sighted students)
 Develop new visualisation techniques
 Develop a novel multimodal user interface
 Explicitly designed to deliver technology and
engineering skills to vision impaired students
 Investigate how these new technologies may be
incorporated into future systems
Haptic Displays
Mouse-type Devices
Earcons
 Earcons were first proposed by Meera Blattner in
1989.
 They are abstract, musical tones that can be
used in structured combinations to create
auditory messages.
 "non-verbal audio messages that are used in the
computer/user interface to provide information
to the user about some computer object,
operation or interaction"
 They are based on musical sounds.
AsTeR
 Audio System For Technical Readings
 A computing system for rendering technical
documents in audio
 Developed by T.V. Raman
Number Systems & Subnetting
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The OSI Model
Network Dominoes
Other Props
Braille Display
Diagrams
Host A sends SYN (seq =x)
Host B receives SYN (seq=x) and sends SYN(seq=y,
ack=x+1)
Host A Receives SYN (seq=y, ack = x+1) and sends ACK
(ack = y+1)
Host B Receives ACK (ack = y+1)
Other CAVI Applications
 Speech Friendly Packet Sniffer
 Braille Transcription Software
 Router Simulator
 XML to Descriptive Text
Progress
 First Class
Mid way through CCNA 2
Improved self confidence
Modifications to the course are being finalised
 Second Class
Progressing much more rapidly
Modified curriculum is working
Conclusion
 Cavi Project is a test bench
 Includes most of the devices/techniques currently
being researched
 Final outcome
 Deliver an “Academy in a Box”
 For Academies that wish to teach vision impaired students
 Two of the first students are now qualified as
instructors in the Academy Program
Questions?
 http://www.ece.curtin.edu.au/~iain/accessibility
 http://cisco.netacad.net
 http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/policies_progr
ams/equity/index.htm
 www.tiresias.org (John Gill)
Some of the Students
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Current Research Projects
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Cisco Access for the Vision Impaired (CAVI)
Curtin University Brailler (CUB)
Wireless Stereo Headset
Parakeet -Apple OS X Accessibility
iView - Classroom Aid for Low Vision Students
Dasher
Auslan to Text
Currency Identifier for the Blind
Braille Scanner
Ultrasonic White Cane/Seeing with Sound
7 Segment reader and colour sensor
The Target Demographic
 In Western Australia
 8,800 legally blind
 Nearly 2,400 under 65
 The Association for the Blind
 75 new clients each month
 411 clients per year in technology training
 (ABWA annual report 2001)
 Extrapolate to the world market
 Third world countries have higher rates of vision
impairment
Disability Discrimination Act
 DDA is administered by the Human rights and
Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC).
 Accepts that some differential treatment is
unavoidable.
 Commonwealth Departments and Agencies must
develop action plans.
 Emerging DDA standards on “Electronic
Communication”.
Curtin University Brailler (CUB)
 Perkins Brailler
Mechanical only
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 Mountbatten Brailler
Electronic, very old technology
Braille Scanner
 Aimed at Sighted non-Braille Readers
 Converts Braille to Expanded Text in real
time
A Secure Dual Channel Wireless
Headset for Multi-user
Environments
 Funded by Dept. of Training
Science & Technology Grant
 Joint Project
Association for the Blind WA
RAC (WA)
Proof of Concept Prototype
 Dual channel, two-way,
high quality, low power
infrared headset
prototype which has
been field tested by
the ABWA and
certified.
DSP based system
Upgradeable, flexible
Ultra Low Power
Secure comm’s
Current BOM < $150
…IR TxRx’s < $3
Cellular Architecture
Current Form
Ideal Form
The Future
 Infrared / 802.1x Hybrid
 Keep low power, security, and bandwidth benefits of
infrared, but combine with 802.11g to overcome
infrared mobility issue.
 Commercialisation
 Packaging
 Alternative markets
 Navy
Parakeet
 The project involves designing, building and
testing a screen reader application for Mac OS X
operating system.
 A screen reader is an application that allows a vision-
impaired person to use a graphical user interface by
providing audible feedback in the form of speech.
 The screen reader interrogates the actions of the
user via the Accessibility APIs and produces
speech output using the text-to-speech (TTS)
APIs.
 Both of these APIs are provided by Apple as part of
Mac OS X.
Dasher
 Information-efficient text-entry interface
 driven by natural continuous pointing gestures.
 operating a computer one-handed
 with zero hands (i.e., by head-mouse or by eyetracker).
 The eyetracking version of Dasher
allows an
experienced user to write text as fast as normal
handwriting - 25 words per minute; using a mouse,
experienced users can write at 39 words per minute.
Auslan to Text
Auslan to Text
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Currency Identifier
 Australian Polymer notes are of a similar size
 Hard to distinguish denomination if totally blind
 Utilises the unique pattern in the clear window
Ultrasonic White Cane
 Augments the standard long cane
 Warns of
 Head height obstructions
 Drop off (e.g. Stairs)
 Simple user interface
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