Connecting consumers of all ages and abilities to the research, development and outreach activities of the Wireless RERC.
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If Spring is not here yet, it is just right around the corner. I, for one, will welcome the warmer weather with open arms. But all through the rain and snow over the last couple of months, Wireless RERC staff have been hard at work in the first quarter of 2019. Here's what we've been up to:
- The outreach team has produced two new accessible videos available on our YouTube channel.
- RSVP for our Leadership Luncheon: Contexts of Connectivity on April 25.
- Research Brief published: Social and Cultural Acceptance of Next-Generation Wireless Devices
- New Survey on Wireless Technologies and Employment
- Mobile Phone Accessbility Review
- The Assistive Wearable: Inclusive by Design a new journal article in ATOB
- Upcoming events:
- 34th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference - March 11-15, 2019 in Anaheim, CA.
- Wireless RERC's Leadership Lucheon: Contexts of Connectivity - April 25, 2019 in Atlanta, GA
- M-Enabling Summit - June 17-19, 2019 in Washington, DC
This newsletter is intended to keep you abreast of some of the latest activities in our research, development, and training projects; share upcoming dates to events and conferences we'll be attending; and serve as an invitation to all of our readers to participate in surveys, workshops, focus groups or user testing projects we have underway.
Visiting our website, subscribing to our LinkedIn and Twitter feeds, and becoming friends with us on Facebook are other great ways to stay informed of our progress!
We welcome you as a reader and hope you enjoy the newsletter! If you are not currently a Re:Wireless reader and were forwarded this newsletter, you can join our mailing list below or text WIRELESSRERC to 22828.
If you enjoy reading about governmental affairs related to wireless technlogy and accessibility, please email me so that I can subscribe you to our Technology and Disability Policy Highlights (TDPH) newsletter.
Thank you for reading and enjoy the articles below!
Sincerely,
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The Wireless RERC outreach team has produced two new accessible videos that are available on our
YouTube channel and featured on our
website.
The first video is an update to our popular Android-focused Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) video that shows how to customize the WEA settings on an Android device running OS version 8. The intent of this video is to show how to enable or disable the various setting available in the WEA menu to suit your needs. Some of the settings could be considered accessibility features so we want to ensure Android users know about these so that they do not miss an alert. The video is captioned and has American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for viewers that need those accomodations.
The second video is meant to provide information on the Wireless RERC and instruction on how to navigate our website for visitors who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary language. It gives a basic overview of our mission and some of the projects we're involved in. This video is also captioned and has ASL interpretation.
We encurage everyone to subscribe to our YouTube channel as we have more great accessible videos coming out in 2019!
View the videos:
Customizing Wireless Emergency Alert Settings on Android Devices.
[
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIE81uIlF80&t=7s]
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Join us for the Wireless RERC's Leadership Luncheon: Contexts of Connectivity on April 25, 2019
If you are in the Atlanta area, please join us April 25, 2019 for lunch to learn how smart connected devices can enhance access to public and private environments and support the independent living of people with disabilities across contexts. From the home and workplace to community and recreation, let's consider the possibilities and learn about the work being done to realize them.
After lunch, you will have an opportunity to see new consumer technologies and how they can be leveraged by people with disabilities to be more independent whether at work, at home, at school, or at play. The lab showcases technology that allows people with disabilities to manipulate their environment.
Please RSVP for the Leadership Lunchen: Contexts of Connectivity by contacting Salimah LaForce at
[email protected], or by calling her at 404-894-8297
Additional details and address to venue can be found here:
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Social and Cultural Acceptance of Next-Generation Wireless Devices
A new research brief by CACP researchers Nathan W. Moon, Paul M.A. Baker, and Kenneth Goughnour, summarizes findings from focus groups which explored accessibility, social appropriateness, and cultural acceptability issues of wireless technology related use among individuals with disabilities. The research was conductedfor the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wireless Inclusive Technologies (Wireless RERC). A total of 41 individuals with disabilities who use smartphones, wearables, and "smart home" devices participated in the study.
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Take the Wireless Technologies and Employment Survey
The Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University cordially invites all professionals, parents/guardians, and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to share your perspective on how wireless technology can be used in the workplace. Your responses and feedback will help mold the future role that wireless technologies and wearables can play in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We have designed a brief survey to prompt your ideas about how technology is utilizedin the workplace and barriers to using them. Your outlook and experiences will shape the research we are doing here at the Center for Leadership in Disability.
Please click on the link to take the survey:
This survey will take about 10 to 30 minutes to complete. Feel free to share this with people you know. This survey will be open until June 30th.
This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board
at Georgia State University
IRB number:
H18099
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Wireless RERC Publishes Mobile Phone Accessibility Review
The FCC has a statutory obligation to evaluate the impact of their regulations that implement the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). Every two-years the FCC submits a report to Congress on the state of industry compliance with the CVAA. In anticipation of the FCC's call for stakeholder input to inform their 2018 CVAA Biennial Report, the Wireless RERC conducted a 2017 Mobile Phone Accessibility Review. Preliminary results of the review were submitted to the FCC in response to their request for "input on the state of accessibility of "mobile" or wireless services, including basic phones and feature phones (collectively referred to herein as non-smartphones), as well as smartphones." This report contains the full summary and comparative analyses.
Additional Information:
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The Assistive Wearable: Inclusive by Design
Wireless RERC researchers
Clint Zeagler, Maribeth Gandy, and Paul M.A. Baker
authored
The Assistive Wearable: Inclusive by Design
article which was recently published in the journal on Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits. The issue's theme is "Implementing AT in Practice: New Technologies and Techniques" and is available for
free download
.
Abstract:
Wearable technology has the potential to usher in a new wave of assistive technology. Many wearable devices are already being used by people with disabilitiesas assistive technology. Here we discuss how designers might use design considerations and body maps to make sure that the wearable devices they are creating are accessible to everyone. The hope is that, with a thoughtful process, new wearable technology can also act seamlessly as assistive technology.
Additional Information:
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Save the date!
Upcoming conferences for research staff include:
34th Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference
March 11-15, 2019 in Anaheim, CA.
Wireless RERC's Leadership Luncheon: Contexts of Connectivity
April 25, 2019 in Atlanta, GA
M-Enabling Summit 2019
June 17-19, 2019 in Washington, DC
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The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wireless Inclusive Technologies (Wireless RERC)
is sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under grant number
#90RE5025-01-00
. The opinions contained in this website are those of the Wireless RERC and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or NIDILRR.
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