Video Lesson: Demonstration of Assistive Technology for Alternative Writing

For students with disabilities, using a computer can present significant challenges. Assistive technology offers a solution by providing a range of adapted keyboards that enable digital inclusion for these students. Assistive technology for alternative writing will be discussed in the video lesson: Demonstration of Assistive Technology for Alternative Writing.

Watch the video lesson: Demonstration of Assistive Technology for Alternative Writing.

Duration: 14 minutes and 14 seconds

Watch the video at least twice.

Transcript

The digital age has brought immense opportunities for education and professional development to every student. However, for students with disabilities, working on a computer can present significant challenges. Fortunately, assistive technology has a solution for this problem, offering a range of adapted keyboards that open the door to digital inclusion for students.

If a student cannot access their working materials and complete assigned tasks, it is advisable to first examine whether the student can use conventional technology. In this case, it must be considered assistive technology, since the student cannot function adequately without it.

Standard or conventional keyboards, with their small and closely spaced keys, may be unsuitable for individuals with motor difficulties, low vision, cognitive challenges, or other specific needs. This is when it is time to refer the student for a specialist assessment to determine the appropriate aid from the range of adapted instruments. In this case, we are talking about adapted keyboards that enable the student to overcome their barriers and have      access to the computer. During the assessment, we are guided by the principle that the student can achieve maximum results with minimal effort and fatigue, in line with their health condition. Today, there is a wide range of writing aids that can be selected based on the needs of the student, as a future user of assistive technology.

Since this video lesson discusses advanced technological solutions, we will focus on mid-tech and high-tech aids. If a student cannot rely on their graphomotor skills, i.e., handwriting with or without an aid, then we are talking about alternative writing. During the implementation training for the chosen assistive technology, the student is taught keyboarding, which is a set of skills that go beyond simple typing. This encompasses a wider range of skills than just text entry, such as using function keys (F1-F12), using control keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Tab, Windows/Command), using special characters and symbols, using shortcuts, and more.

We can distinguish between virtual and physical keyboards.Physical keyboards can be divided into eight categories.

The first we will mention are the programmable keyboards, where the setup can be customized in every possible way. They are used for students with significant motor difficulties, with or without cognitive deficits. This means that the size of the keys, their function, and their number can be chosen according to the student's needs. Such keyboards can also be assigned the performance of a computer mouse emulator. Every programmable keyboard is membrane-based. For students with greater motor difficulties, protective keyguards can also be used, which prevent the unintentional selection of keys by the wrong part of the hand (elbow, fist) or palm/fingers.

Reduced keyboards are used for individuals who primarily have motor difficulties, with or without intellectual disabilities, and for visually impaired individuals, with or without intellectual disabilities. These are mechanical keyboards that are the size of a standard conventional keyboard, but come with enlarged keys and enlarged graphemes. The graphemes can also be embossed for visually impaired students. They often come with high-contrast colors for the keys and background for better visibility. The name of these keyboards comes from the fact that they are missing about 40% of the function keys, and only the basic control keys are present. They are used for one-handed and two-handed writing. Typing is performed with fingers or with the help of attached styluses. If the student has greater motor difficulties, it is advisable to use a keyboard that has the option of locking unintentional and repeated selection of a single key, and the sticky keys option. All reduced keyboards should have the option of a protective keyguard. Users can rest their hand on the guard while aiming for the desired key, which is especially useful for people with tremors or uncontrolled movements.

Expanded keyboards are used for individuals with significantly greater motor difficulties burdened by severe spasticity, or who do not have well-developed fine motor skills. They can be typed on with fingers, but most often with the help of special styluses. They have a built-in protective keyguard to eliminate unintentional and incorrect selections on the keyboard. Such a keyboard is usually controlled by the fist, elbow, or knee. The name 'expanded' comes from the fact that they are significantly larger than the dimensions of standard keyboards and can often reach up to 50 or 70 cm, depending on the model. The graphemes and keys are significantly enlarged, as is the spacing between the keys. Function and control keys depend on the model, but they are generally more represented.

Mini keyboards are used for students suffering from neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases. Mini keyboards are approximately the size of a single chocolate bar, but can vary from model to model. They are used for one-handed writing in students who have significantly reduced muscle strength and tire quickly. With these keyboards, it is important that the student has preserved finger movements of one hand and a somewhat preserved range of motion of the hand itself. Adequate mini keyboards must be membrane-based because students with these conditions tire quickly, and it is advisable to find a keyboard that is "proximity" or contactless, or a keyboard with an activation force of one gram per key. A computer mouse emulator is regularly integrated into such keyboards, and it is crucial to pay attention to these things today. I remind you that for these students, due to reduced neck and head mobility, the placement position needs to be precisely determined.

Vertical keyboards are intended for people who write with their head or mouth using specially designed styluses. As a rule, they are used by individuals without intellectual disabilities because they have a full spectrum of function and control keys, but many also have the option of programmable keys so that such students can more easily and quickly enter special characters or mathematical calculations. With these keyboards, we must also take care of positioning to protect the neck musculature due to specific and very unnatural body movements, thereby endangering the health and well-being of the student.

One-handed keyboards are used for individuals with completely preserved shoulder-arm-hand-finger motor skills of one hand and intact intellectual capacities. They usually come inclined to provide ergonomic support to the user. A full spectrum of function and control keys is present on such keyboards, without a computer mouse emulator. The key layout is optimized for text entry with a mirrored layout for the left or right hand. Also, some models have the option of programmable keys.Keyboards with tactile markings can be standard, conventional, or adapted reduced keyboards. This depends on the motor status of the user. Standard ones are used for two-handed, ten-finger typing by visually impaired or blind students without intellectual disabilities, while reduced ones are intended for visually impaired or blind students with associated motor difficulties for the purpose of two-handed or one-handed typing.

Braille embossers are used by students who are blind or severely visually impaired without the possibility of using residual vision, and who use Braille as their primary medium for reading and writing. These are electromechanical devices used to press Braille letters onto special, thicker paper. Instead of ink, these printers use pins that press the paper and form the raised dots that constitute Braille letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and other symbols. Braille embossers are usually connected to a computer via USB, Bluetooth, and can also use network connectivity. The user on the computer uses special software that translates standard text into Braille. This translated text is then sent to the Braille embosser, which presses it onto the paper.

In addition to the physical keyboards we have just covered, we must certainly mention virtual keyboards or on-screen keyboards. These are software solutions that are displayed on the screen and allow text entry via a mouse, touch, trackball, joystick, or other pointing devices. They often offer advanced features such as text prediction and scanning. Virtual keyboards are divided into four types. Firstly, these are the standard Windows/iOS/Android virtual keyboards that we all already know from everyday life when using mobile devices, tablets, and personal computers. Alternative virtual keyboards, on the other hand, are specialized keyboards specifically designed for students with disabilities (e.g., Grid3, Swype, Keedogo Plus) and are used for alphabetic writing with or without ready-made predicates in the form of words or ready-made sentence phrases. However, it is good to know that there are also symbolic virtual keyboards that allow our students to write with pictograms with alphabetic support (e.g., Symwriter).Writing by dictation or text entry and computer control via voice commands relies on sophisticated automatic speech recognition software. It allows students to dictate text and control the computer with voice commands. These tools are an important alternative input method for students with various difficulties, including those with motor limitations, dyslexia, or visual impairment. However, the success and effectiveness of writing by dictation largely depend on the quality of the user's speech. Clean and understandable pronunciation, without significant articulation difficulties or unintelligible accents, is crucial for accurate transcription of spoken words into text. A steady pace of speech, neither too fast nor too slow, and proper breathing, without frequent interruptions or lack of air mid-sentence, further optimize the performance of the voice recognition software. Failure to adhere to these aspects can lead to incorrect transcriptions, frustration, and reduced productivity. Despite the apparent simplicity, writing by dictation requires developed cognitive skills. The student must not only clearly formulate their thoughts before speaking, but also learn and memorize a significant number of prompts or voice commands for text formatting (e.g., "new line," "capitalize," "delete last word"), for punctuation (e.g., "comma," "period," "question mark"), and managing applications and the operating system (e.g., "open Word," "save document," "go to beginning of line"). Besides speech quality and memorizing prompts, there are other challenges. Background noise can significantly reduce the accuracy of voice recognition. Therefore, it is important to use good quality microphones with noise cancellation, and work in as quiet an environment as possible. Different accents and dialects can present a challenge for some software, although the technology is constantly improving in this regard. Students can benefit from training and adapting the software to their way of speaking. Complex vocabulary and technical terms require careful pronunciation and possibly adding specific words to the software's dictionary. Example: Newton TCH.

Smart writing is performed by smart pens that enable recording and then converting sound into text. An integrated microphone records the professor's speech and converts it into a written record in real time. Such pens can also function as handwriting pens, but for this, we need special notebooks with a microdot pattern. The ability to record lectures and listen to them later with a visual reminder of what was written can improve information comprehension. If they miss a part of the explanation, students can simply touch a word in their notes to listen to the part of the recording related to that writing, with the possibility of listening to the recorded material via headphones. Also, this group includes special stylus pens that can provide better control and precision when selecting on-screen elements, writing, or drawing in applications (Smartpen to notebook, Livescribe Echo audio to text, and Stylus pen on touchscreen).Different types of keyboards, writing by dictation, and smart writing enable students with disabilities to complete assigned tasks, and without these forms of assistive technology, studying would be impossible for those requiring them.