Mobile Media Devices Jayme Johnson High Tech Center

Mobile Media Devices Jayme Johnson High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges

Presentation online at: http: //www. htctu. net/publications/conferences/main. htm

Dear Colleagues. . . • OCR letter to administrators of higher ed institutions (http: //www 2. ed. gov/about/offices/list/oc r/letters/colleague-20100629. html)

Adoption of Mobile Devices • 95% of college-age students own cell phone • Almost 75% have i. Pod or MP 3 player • Ebook readers slow growth - (<5%) • Tablets account for approx 3% • Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project (pewinternet. org)

Device Limitations & Capabilities

Device Classifications • Dedicated reading machines • “Smart” phones • Tablets • Netbooks & Laptops

Variability • Beware of multiplicity - many differences between devices, even within a classification • Data acquisition issues: on-demand vs. tethered • Differences between devices, OS versions, & service providers • 3 rd Party Applications

Mobile Devices as Accessories • Mobile devices become VERY personal • Integration with many facets of student life: • • • media web browsing calendar communications camera

Devices & Technical Capabilities Audio Video Print Android MP 3, MP 4 WAV, Ogg MP 4 (h. 264), Web. M Text, PDF, e. Pub, HTML, MS Office i. OS MP 3, MP 4, WAV, AAC MP 4 (h. 264), M 4 V, MOV Text, PDF, e. Pub, HTML, MS Office Amazon Kindle MP 3 - Mobi, AZW Plextalk Pocket MP 3, WMA, WAV, Ogg - Text, HTML, DOC, DAISY Victor Reader Stream MP 3, WMA, WAV, Ogg - Text, HTML, BRF, DAISY

Accessibility and AT Capabilities Video Android Subtitles (requires SRT file) Braille Output Visual Speech TTS Enhancemen Recognitio Content Interface ts n - Zoom Yes Depends Yes Yes App i. OS Captions, Subtitles (requires display) Zoom, Contrast, Large Text Amazon Kindle - - Large Text Depends - - Plextalk Pocket - - - Yes Yes - Victor Reader

Accessibility Concerns • Inherent accessibility challenges • Hardware limitations • Buttons, peripherals, data transfer • Software limitations • OS issues • App issues

Print-based File Types DAISY NIMAS Learnin e. Pub MS Office Bookshare Audible g Ally Android Not Yet - App - - App i. OS App - App App App Amazon Kindle - - - Yes Plextalk Pocket Yes - Yes Yes Yes App (Soft. Pak ) Yes Yes Victor Reader Stream Yes

Apps for Students in Higher Education

Android & i. OS: There’s an app for that. . . • Competing platforms • Similar capabilities • Communities of users (fanboys & zealots) • Bleeding edge of innovation

Educational Uses • Note taking • text entry vs. audio recording • Reading • mainstream media vs. specialized formats • Studying

App Evaluation Criteria -3+ stars and greater than 60% positive reviews for current version -No major bugs or crash issues in reviews or testing of current version -Compatibility with common desktop applications -Ongoing update cycle

Notetaking - i. OS Sound Paper -synchronizes text with audio recording Evernote -Cloud-based notetaking allows access to notes from different platforms Auditorium Notes -records audio while entering text information, but not synchronized

Notetaking - Android Extensive Notes - Notepad -Supports audio recordings, media attachments, and TTS Evernote -Cloud-based notetaking allows access to notes from different platforms Catch Notes -Capture text, audio, images, and synch with web.

Reading - i. OS • i. Books -e. Pub and PDF reader -Supports Voice. Over interactions • Stanza -e. Pub and PDF reader

Reading - Android • Aldiko Book Reader -e. Pub and PDF reader • FBreader. J -e. Pub and PDF reader -online library support • Moon+ Reader -Supports txt, html, epub, umb, zip, opds -Full visual control of color, line spacing, font size, orientation, and more

DAISY Players - i. OS • In. DAISY -Full-text/Full-audio DAISY player -Supports DAISY 2. 02 & 3 formats • VOD (Voice of DAISY) -Full-text/Full-audio DAISY 2. 02 player

Idea Mapping - i. OS i. Thoughts HD -Mind Manager/Inspiration-style interface -Import & Export support for many desktop applications (e. g. , Mind. Manager, Freemind, Mind. Genius)

Idea Mapping - Android Thinking Space -Mind Manager/Inspiration-style interface -Import & Export support for many desktop applications (e. g. , Mind. Manager, Freemind, x. Mind)

Flash Cards Anki. Mobile -Expensive, but desktop application is free -Supports variety of media formats Study Cards -Text-based flash card interface

Flash Cards - Android Anki. Droid -Free -Compatible with Anki 1. 2. 5 -Many free decks available Any Memo Free -Supports many media formats (audio & image) -TTS support

Institutional Concerns & Considerations

A word of caution. . . • Understand the difference between acknowledging the existence of mobile devices vs. actively designing and supporting any mobile technology. • Discrimination via technology? There’s an app for that- but only on the Palm Pixi. . .

Focus • What are you trying to accomplish? • What are you able to support? • What are the expectations of your: • students • faculty & staff • administrators

Equipment Loans -Develop a check-in process. . . and then follow it -Specify a procedure that resets the device back to original factory settings removing personal information -Choose whether to support students if they override device settings

Alternate Media Workflows - Text/HTML - e. Pub - Text-based PDF - DAISY (with appropriate app) - MP 3

Alternate Media Tools -e. Pub Calibre E-book Converter, OCR applications -DAISY Save As DAISY add-in, DAISY Pipeline, online tools -MP 3 Text. Aloud, Ghostreader, AT applications

Conclusions

In order to map out the intersection of maximum benefit and minimal cognitive demands, the needs of the individual must be considered in relation to the capabilities of the technology.

Integration between mobile apps and desktop & laptop applications offers great promise, but beware of the dangers of riding the bleeding edge of technology.

Questions?

Special thanks to Sean Keegan of Stanford University for helping create this presentation!

Jayme Johnson Web Accessibility Instructor. High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges jjohnson@htctu. net http: //www. htctu. net