Assistive Technology
Spring, 2002. MW 2:30-4. 320 Soda Hall
Preferred contact method is in bold.
Instructor: Jennifer
Mankoff
jmankoff@cs.berkeley.edu
EECS Department, 681 Soda, (W)+1 (510) 643-4205 (F)3-5775
Office hours: M 4-5pm, Th, 3:30-4:30pm, 681 Soda
TA: Hesham Kamel hesham@eecs.berkeley.edu
EECS Department, 525 Soda, (W)+1 (510) 643-7354
Office hours: Tue. 3-5pm, Wed. 1-2pm 525 Soda
Other class resources include the Newsgroup
(ucb.class.cs294-4)
and the class Swiki
, an editable web page where you can post project suggestions, and information
about yourself
Course Description
This class will focus on research in the area of assistive technology.
We will begin with a discussion of the impact of disability policy on technology.
The majority of the course will focus one by one on the technologies that
have been developed and are being investigated to support people with disabilities.
For example, we will talk about memory aids, a study of optimal font size
and color for people with dyslexia, word-prediction aids, a blind-accessible
drawing program, and sign-language recognition. We will also discuss some
of the factors that cause technologies to transition from assistive to
mainstream and vice-versa and how this impacts cost and other factors.
And we will discuss the pros and cons and infrastructure involved in supporting
mainstream computer applications rather than creating new ones from scratch.
Finally, we will discuss some of the barriers and requirements in testing
software for accessibility.
Students will be expected to do volunteer work in the local disabled
community during one to two weekends of the start of the semester. This course
has a project component, where students will design, implement, and test
software for people with disabilities. Students will also write a report
on the history of a specific technology used by people with disabilities.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites for this class are:
- CS160 or consent of the instructor (for undergraduate students)
- A background in one of: programming, design, psychology, disability
(for graduate students)
It is recommended that you contact the instructor if you are interested
in taking this class.