Assistive Technology

February 201 3— U.S. Representative George Miller (CA), the ranking Democrat in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, introduced a new education bill: The Transforming Education through Technology Act [H.R. 521]. The bill proposes that Congress fund educational grants to be distributed to states and districts totaling $500 million. The funds would support technology to improve the college-and-career readiness, achievement and engagement of all students, including those with disabilities.

February 12, 2013 — Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM) has launched two new surveys that focus on the use of screen readers: a Survey of Users with Low Vision and a Survey of Users with Motor Disabilities. The data collected from the surveys will be made available to the public and used to provide guidance and recommendations on the design and development of accessible web content. All individuals with low vision or motor disabilities are invited to take the surveys, which will remain open through March 15, 2013.

AccessNote is an iOS app that enables users who are blind or visually impaired to take notes, create documents, and access applications.  In addition to being a low-cost alternative to traditional notetakers costing $2000 or more, AccessNote allows users to combine efficient notetaking with many other features and functions of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Download AccessNote from the App Store.

The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) annual Student Design Competition (SDC) provides teams of students with the opportunity to present creative and innovative assistive technology designs that can help people with disabilities function more independently. Students from a variety of disciplines are able to participate, including: mechanical, electrical, biomedical engineering, computer information science, architecture, and physical and occupational therapy. The designs are evaluated based on originality, quality and usefulness.