Apps

August 2014 - The Wireless RERC partnered with AT&T early in 2014 to produce Discover Wireless Accessibility!, a series of outreach workshop for consumers with disabilities. They have traveled to Atlanta, Ga., Austin and Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Ill., and Washington, D.C. educating consumers about the accessibility features available on their mobile devices.

The Shepherd Center and the Wireless RERC have been awarded the Google Glass Accessibility Grant to develop an application to assist individuals who experience brain injury-related memory loss. The $15,000 award amount will go towards app development and testing on the Google Glass device.  The wearable computer technology will aid in helping users recognize people who do not regularly frequent their social circle, a common issue for those who have memory loss.

Featured in this month’s Special Needs App Review, the Smart Steps mobile app helps to support users with cognitive challenges through guided decision making and individualized feedback. Assisting individuals with autism, Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities, the app helps users regain their independence in the community, classroom, and workplace by assisting in everyday decision-making. Some features include: 24/7 support options, decision trees, and the ability to personalize an account. The Smart Steps app is free of charge and can be found in the iTunes App Store.

July 2014 – The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative published a new document to help developers assess the accessibility of websites in addition to web and mobile applications. Titled Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM), the document provides a methodology developers can use to test websites and apps for conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.  In general, WCAG 2.0 focuses on individual web pages.

June 2014 – Federal Communications Commissioner, Tom Wheeler, presented the 3^rd Annual Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (Chairman’s AAA) at the 2014 M-Enabling Summit in Arlington, Virginia. These are honorary awards given to innovators that develop communication technologies for people with disabilities. The Chairman’s AAA falls under the FCC’s Accessibility and Innovation Initiative and is awarded to both the private and public sector.