History of Assistive Technology Research Assignment

Assistive Technology
Spring 2002
Prof. Jen Mankoff
GSI: Hesham Kamel

Some universally used technologies began as devices specifically designed as assistive technologies.  For example, the telephone developed from devices designed to assist people with hearing disabilities.  Other technologies began as general-use technologies and have subsequently been developed as assistive technologies.  For example, initially, voice synthesizer technology was mainly used to communicate information via telephone.  It was later adapted to assist visually impaired people accessing computer-based information.  

Choose one assistive technology and research the history of its development and use.  Pay attention to whether its intended audience has changed over time, and what allowed that to happen.  Also pay attention to the impact of these changes in audience on its original users. For example, as speech recognition became more accurate, it also began to depend on prerecorded data sets and thus was less useful for people with unusual accents or speech impairments. Write a research paper on the history of this assistive technology.  

Some possibilities to consider include: Speech recognition; Word prediction; Home automation; Voice synthesis; Spell checking; the Keyboard; and so on. If you are unsure about what to pick or whether a technology qualifies, speak to Hesham or Jen about it.

Your paper should be 4 pages, including figures and references, and double-spaced in a 12 point font. In your introduction, be sure to identify the assistive technology you’re researching and any similar devices.  Summarize the features of the assistive technology in about one paragraph. Use 8 to 10 references.  This is a research assignment worth 10% of your final grade.  No late assignments will be accepted.  
Follow standard formatting rules .  

This assignment is due on Wednesday, February 13th.  You must turn in a hard copy at the beginning of class and email Hesham a copy of the assignment in .pdf or Word format.  If you are an undergraduate and have never before done a research paper, please see Hesham for further instructions.