Hello, I'm back again for another extra update. I've been doing a little more reading for the CTEP book club, and will talk a bit about the book. This month I've read Adaptive Technology for the Internet: Making electronic Resources Accessible to All by Barbara T. Mates.
The first thing I'll mention is that some of the information in this eddition is rather outdated because the book was published in 2000. I was still interested in reading the book because I thought it might have a good general overview of accessibility and assistive technology.
The book started out talking about public computer and Internet access for people with disabilities. It also addressed some common mis-conceptions people had about the disabled using computers and the Internet. The main one is that people with disabilities mostly don't use technology, and the ones that do are such a small group it doesn't pay to invest in so much technology. This isn't true at all. In fact public technology centers are great places for people to go to use the computer and Internet, especially if they can't afford a computer, let alone all the assistive technology they need to use said computer. It's also important to have resources available for introductory training, or at least enough to get people started. Computers in general and assistive technology can be a bit intimidating for some users, so it's helpeful to have someone available that can help get them started. Having thousands of dollars worth of technology is useless if no one uses or is able to use it.
the book then went on to talk about website accessibility, as well as various types of assistive technology people use. The content was pretty well done, and I liked how the information was divided into each disability type, and then by type of assistive technology, like screen magnifiers and then screen readers.
The only real problem I had with the book is some of the information was pretty outdated. Even for being published in 2000, the book often referred to Windows 95 and technology around that time. Many of the hardware and software mentioned is still available in newer versions. Some of the limitations of the technology are a bit outdated though, like how screen readers aren't able to read tables very well. This has gotten a lot better.
There is still some good information in here for someone new to assistive/adaptive technology though, and some of the accessibility tips and principles still apply. Maybe there's a newer edition of the book by now too.
The first thing I'll mention is that some of the information in this eddition is rather outdated because the book was published in 2000. I was still interested in reading the book because I thought it might have a good general overview of accessibility and assistive technology.
The book started out talking about public computer and Internet access for people with disabilities. It also addressed some common mis-conceptions people had about the disabled using computers and the Internet. The main one is that people with disabilities mostly don't use technology, and the ones that do are such a small group it doesn't pay to invest in so much technology. This isn't true at all. In fact public technology centers are great places for people to go to use the computer and Internet, especially if they can't afford a computer, let alone all the assistive technology they need to use said computer. It's also important to have resources available for introductory training, or at least enough to get people started. Computers in general and assistive technology can be a bit intimidating for some users, so it's helpeful to have someone available that can help get them started. Having thousands of dollars worth of technology is useless if no one uses or is able to use it.
the book then went on to talk about website accessibility, as well as various types of assistive technology people use. The content was pretty well done, and I liked how the information was divided into each disability type, and then by type of assistive technology, like screen magnifiers and then screen readers.
The only real problem I had with the book is some of the information was pretty outdated. Even for being published in 2000, the book often referred to Windows 95 and technology around that time. Many of the hardware and software mentioned is still available in newer versions. Some of the limitations of the technology are a bit outdated though, like how screen readers aren't able to read tables very well. This has gotten a lot better.
There is still some good information in here for someone new to assistive/adaptive technology though, and some of the accessibility tips and principles still apply. Maybe there's a newer edition of the book by now too.
posted by Jesse Anderson at 7:57 AM
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