[IAEP] Sugar used for kids with disabilities.

[Bill Kerr]

On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 9:33 AM, Rafael Enrique Ortiz Guerrero <
dirakx at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello
>
> Lately in OLPC-Sur mail list there has been discussions about working with
> kids with hearing discapacities
> especially i like one  experience in Itagui Colombia:
>
> http://inclusion.semitagui.gov.co/index.php?title=Portada
>
> other professors in Uruguay are also interested in these matters
>
> But my doubt here it's about if are out there studies, thesis, or academic
> dissertations about how GUIs can  have an impact in child's or persons with
> disabilities not just censorial but also learning disorders.
>
> Are there specific studies related to Sugar?
>
> IIRC this was previously discussed so any links or pointers are welcomed
> My intention is to give this feedback to professors on Colombia and
> Uruguay.



David Wallace, who is a quadriplegic, points out the need to enable touch
without skin and that disability access is a hardware design issue not just
a software issue:

   - need for an input pad that doesn't require using a finger, a dual touch
   pad that responds to both finger and stylus
   - need for a track-point pointing device on the XO
   - need for a key-modifier program to hold the shift, alt, fn keys while
   hitting another key ('sticky-key' software that emulates two or more finger
   presses on a keyboard)
   - need for a push for accessibility guidelines or standards in hardware
   design
   - Voice recognition software thats good for dictation may not be great
   for software control, and vice versa
   - plugging in a trackball to a laptop defeats the purpose of the compact,
   portable nature of a laptop
   - attempts have been made to develop "touch pencils" but they have not
   been successful

Read these blogs by David Wallace for more detail:
Lifekludger with the
OLPC<http://lifekludger.net/2007/06/10/lifekludger-with-the-olpc/>
The Touch Barrier<http://lifekludger.net/2008/06/14/the-touch-barrier-accessibility-and-usability-issues-around-touch-technologies/>
Revisiting touch on the OLPC XO laptop and hardware access
design<http://lifekludger.net/2008/11/16/revisiting-touch-on-the-olpc-xo-laptop-and-hardware-access-design/>
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