Wireless RERC - Universal Design (UD)

Survey: Defining Current Practices in Teaching Universal Design

mz22 — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:30:52 +0000

Georgia Tech is interested in learning more about the presentation of Universal Design in university-level design courses. We are currently surveying instructors who teach design-related courses. If you are an instructor in a design-related discipline such as human-computer interaction, biomedical engineering, industrial design, human factors, or rehabilitation engineering please complete the survey.

Although it is not necessary for you to have taught a course that included Universal Design, it is important for you to have an awareness of the definition and/or philosophy associated with Universal Design. Universal design is “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” If you are not familiar with this definition or a similar one, please ignore this survey request. Please pass this survey request along to colleagues who may be teaching about Universal Design.

The survey is brief and will aid in defining current practices in teaching about Universal Design. Your responses will also assist us in developing course strategies and resources for instructors who have a range of experience and knowledge related to Universal Design.

To complete the survey, please go to:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1742743/Design-Instructors-and-UD

Thank you in advance for providing feedback. If you have further questions or would like to provide more detailed feedback, please contact me at carrie.bruce@gatech.edu.

2014 ‘Getting Wireless’ Student Challenge Results

bj20 — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:31:33 +0000

Universal Design (UD)

Getting Wireless Challenge

During the 2014 spring semester, 83 industrial design students at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech participated in the Wireless RERC’s fifth annual “Getting Wireless” design challenge. In 2010, the Wireless RERC began offering industrial design students an opportunity to participate in a brief project to explore application of Principles of Universal Design to mobile wireless technologies. Faculty of the industrial design programs of Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) have embraced the challenge and incorporated this project in their spring curricula ever since. This year, 29 sophomores at Virginia Tech participated under the direction of Assistant Professor Akshay Sharma. At Georgia Tech, 19 juniors under instructor Wendell Wilson, and 35 sophomores under Assistant Professor Young Mi Choi and instructor John Lau participated in the project.

In each class, teams of 3-4 students were assigned one of four customer personas based on findings of the Wireless RERC’s user research projects. Each persona presented a real-life scenario which might be addressed through wearable wireless technology, including a mother of a child with autism, an individual with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), an elderly man with low vision and limited mobility and an individual with progressive hearing loss. In the interest of universal design, each team was expected to consider the impact of their design strategies on the other personas and on wireless customers without disabilities. The 2014 class impressed the Wireless RERC staff and industry professionals with thorough and insightful research regarding their personas, as well as awareness of emerging wearable technologies to meet their needs. Each team enthusiastically explored a broad range of creative concepts. Their polished final presentations conveyed confidence in applying universal design principles to real-life challenges. All of us who use wireless technologies, with and without disabilities, will benefit when these students pursue career opportunities in the wireless industry.

Virginia Tech Team Solutions

Virginia Tech "Andy" Team Solution - Inline

Virginia Tech "Andy" Team Solution - Zone

Virginia Tech "Carolyn" Team Solution - ConnecTive

Virginia Tech "Carolyn" Team Solution - Vitro

Virginia Tech "Morrie" Team Solution - Nuvu

Virginia Tech "Warren" Team Solution - Audience

Virginia Tech "Warren" Team Solution - UDI

Georgia Tech Team Solutions

Georgia Tech "Andy" Team Solution - Motus and WriteTrack

Georgia Tech "Andy" Team Solution - ReMIND

Georgia Tech "Andy" Team Solution - Smart Watch for Autism

Georgia Tech "Andy" Team Solution - TAG and PROMPT

Georgia Tech "Carolyn" Team Solution - Trackware

Georgia Tech "Carolyn" Team Solution - Visualeyes

Georgia Tech "Carolyn" Team Solution - Wave

Georgia Tech "Morrie" Team Solution - GameFit

Georgia Tech "Morrie" Team Solution - PicVenture

Georgia Tech "Warren" Team Solution - Attune

Virtual Town Hall on Accessibility and Universal Design

mz22 — Mon, 19 May 2014 12:39:50 +0000

Social Media

Universal Design (UD)

ODEP and NCD’s Virtual Town Hall

May 2014 – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and the National Council on Disability (NCD) is holding a virtual town hall online to open dialogue regarding the importance of accessibility/usability as it relates to technology and universal design in newer “workplace technology products.” The virtual town hall, "Advancing Accessibility and Inclusion in Social Media — The Tech Industry Perspective," will take place from May 15^th through May 30^th. The topic for this discussion centers on ways that universal design can be utilized in social media development. Participants are asked to share their ideas and personal experiences regarding the topic. The below link contains information on how to register to participate.

2014 “Getting Wireless” Student Design Challenge

mz22 — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 17:12:25 +0000

Universal Design (UD)

inclusive design

user-centered design

Wearables

“Getting Wireless” Student Design Challenge

February 2014 — Wireless RERC researcher, Jim Mueller, introduced the 5^th annual “Getting Wireless” universal design challenge to 29 second-year Industrial Design students at Virginia Tech (VT). Along with the VT students, 40 second-year and 19 third-year Industrial Design students at GA Tech will begin the challenge in March. The theme of the 2014 “Getting Wireless” challenge is wearable technologies. Hands-on demonstrations of Google Glass will be provided to the students at the beginning of the project to offer them a starting point and encourage them to consider the diversity of emerging wearable devices. Final project designs will be presented at the HEAL event in May.

Wireless RERC Researchers Present at CDC Grand Rounds

mz22 — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 15:20:18 +0000

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Technology and Health

Aging

Universal Design (UD)

CDC Grand Rounds

September 2013 – Wireless RERC Researchers Brian Jones and Carrie Bruce presented at the CDC Grand Rounds, discussing the Grand Rounds’ September theme of “Technology and Health: Aging Safely and More Independently.” Brian’s discussion, entitled “Researching Technologies for Healthy Aging,” focused on technologies available for assisting older adults in living independently, while Carrie spoke on the applications of universal design in comparison with assistive devices in her discussion entitled “Supportive Design Strategies to Facilitate Function, Independence, and Safety.”

New Education Bill Integrates IDEA Requirements

mz22 — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:08:10 +0000

education

Universal Design (UD)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013: Bill Text

Bill One-Pager

June 6, 2013 — U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, introduced the Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013 [S.1094] (SASA), a comprehensive bill to make many changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 of which No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was the last rewrite. SASA focuses on ensuring that all students are “college and career ready,” by allowing States to adapt individual content and assessment standards in addition to “accountability systems and interventions to improve schools;” promoting early childhood education and parent and family engagement, and supporting a “well-rounded” education, which includes an emphasis on mental health. The bill also proposes to integrate requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), student assessment standards, and provisions for universal design for technology and innovations used in schools.