Library Gadget: Links

Library Gadget One of the things I have been thinking about as this course winds down is: how can we continue learning about this subject area. It's important we build on what we have learned and continue to think of ways to apply it in libraries.

Keeping that in mind I created a links page for my gadget, with several websites and resources on assistive technology.

My thought is we could keep adding to it while having the resources for future reference.

I chose the links gadget.  Which created a page located in the far left of the blog home page.

Assistive Technology Resources

I included the following links. Each with a URL.
Assistive Technology from the American Library Association
Assistive Technology Resources for Libraries and NonProfits
Assistive Technology from the National Rehabilitation Center
Assistive Technology from Accessible Technology. Org
American Library Association: Bringing Assistive Technology To Patrons

Anyone can add relevant or useful links to this page. We can continue learning and sharing resources beyond this semester.

How Technology Allowed Me to Read

Last week I was looking for something to watch on Ted Talks and I came upon Ron McCallum, a legal scholar. academic and a vivacious reader. Did I mention he is blind? I hope you enjoy this Talk as much as I, as Mr. McCallum shares in a most winsome way his love of reading and the revolution in technology that has allowed him to read. This talk dovetailed so well with much of the advances we have shared on this post I thought it would be a fine addition. I added the link to the video to the bottom of the sidebar.

Assistive Technology Podcasts -gadget

I have added the Player FM site with it's collection of podcasts to enhance my blog. These podcasts  will be useful for my blog as they provide updated information on assistive technology.
 https://player.fm/podcasts/Assistive-Technology

Go Go Gadget, Translator!

I've added a gadget in the sidebar to allow users to translate the blog into different languages. I thought that a translating tool was well-aligned with our blog theme. I also rearranged the order of the gadgets in the sidebar to optimize accessibility - search and subscribe nearest the top, then subject tags (thanks, Renee!), then translate, and then all the stuff about archived posts and blog contributors.

Assistive technology and libraries

Overcoming Disability through Assistive Technology.

The development of a disability through accident or birth are not or should not be obstacles deemed impossible to overcome. Assistive technology is currently being advanced at an encouraging rate allowing individuals to live lives that can bring them joy despite their circumstances. These individuals have also been able to invent products that have helped people through all walks of life. 

Inventors with Disability.

Albert Einstein (learning disability) Achievements in the field of mathematics and physics.

Ralph Braun (muscular dystrophy)Pioneer a series of revolutionary mobility-assistance devices and the world’s first battery-powered scooter and wheelchair lift.

The Library’s core mission in relationship to access.

"All information resources that are provided directly or indirectly by the library, regardless of technology, format, or methods of delivery, should be readily, equally, and equitably accessible to all library users." 

ALA Policy Manual B.2.1.14 Economic Barriers to Information Access http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues

This is one of the core principles of the library that sets it apart from most institution, inclusion is not just a privilege but an absolute right. Libraries are active participants with states in providing specialized software and technology for people with disability. Currently in the state of New Jersey, libraries are teaming up with state agencies to offer patrons with visual impairment, access and ownership of equipment with new technology. This program is one that will be needed more around the country as the leading cause of visual impairment is age -related eye diseases, which will increase with an aging population. Some of the equipment being provided includes talking books and training in how to use the iPad to browse the internet using the new technology for the visually impaired.

Dina Abrams, the disability information & referral coordinator at the Texas Talking Book Program and Texas State library, recognizing that the term "assistive" can be applied to various technology made an attempt to break down "assistive technology" in three categories:

• Low Vision/Blindness
• Deaf/Hard of hearing
• Mobility Impairment

http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/assistive-technology-tips-from-expert-librarians
https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/01/03/bringing-assistive-technology-to-patrons/

Empowering Library Patrons with Learning Disabilities.

"This article describes the characteristics of patrons with learning disabilities (LD) and how these characteristics might affect library use. The lack of services for college patrons who have learning disabilities (LD) in this decade is much like the lack of adequate and appropriate services for high school patrons with LD in previous decades. The old notion that patrons would somehow outgrow LD is still pervasive. The National Learning Disabilities Association definition of LD describes specific LD as a “chronic condition.” Even though some individuals are fairly successful at adopting compensatory mechanisms, they will continue to deal with their specific learning disabilities throughout their lives. Educators are obligated to provide for the needs of patrons with LD across the life span. Given the characteristics of patrons with LD, these patrons must be provided with assistive technology (AT) in order to utilize library resources on an equal basis with their nondisabled peers. AT includes both technologies and special services."

Green, RavonneA. “Empowering Library Patrons with Learning Disabilities.” Journal of Access Services, vol. 6, no. 1–2, Jan. 2009, pp. 59–71. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/15367960802247817.

Assistive Technology For Students With Learning Disabilities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX6ss4pos64

Top 6 Assistive Technology For People With Disabilities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mskj1JxlzoU

Mobile technology and libraries

Development of Mobile Technology
The current state of mobile technology has vastly exceeded its initial state. From two-way radios to now having a device on which one can communicate verbally, visually, and transfer information to almost any point in the world has vastly improved communications for the disabled. It is this advancement that has given rise to opportunities that companies and various organization can take advantage of in terms of advertising, instant communication for giving and receiving information and sharing opinions.

Mobile technology is here to stay...and, as this technology matures and gets increasingly innovative libraries have to adopt its services to this new trend. This means that libraries have to find ways to offer its' services across more of the patrons devices. 

"Leveraging the potential of smartphones, tablets, and even wearable technologies allows academic librarians to further expand their reach to students and faculty beyond the library’s walls. Furthermore, by understanding how mobile technology changes the behavior of our users, we can gain new insights into their needs and make improvements to our traditional services and spaces to better contribute to faculty research and student learning."https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/mobile-technology-and-academic-libraries-innovative-services-research-and-learning

Mobile Technologies in Libraries A LITA Guide LITA Guides

From Adults to Minors - the use of mobile devices

5 year old tries to have a conversation with Siri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8zG_gGmfmo

Advancements in Library Technology

Libraries are trying to keep pace with technological advancements thus demanding more resources and better training for staff. University libraries are increasingly becoming entwined with technology, from online catalogs to the merging of computing labs with the library. The EDUCAUSE library offers an array of information on topics such as digital libraries, digital publishing, e-books, information discovery and retrieval, IT-library collaboration and library administration. https://library.educause.edu/topics/libraries-and-technology

Connectivity and Opportunity

Many believe that in the coming years, more people will access the internet via their mobile phones than any other device. Among the reasons for this are: the portability of mobile technologies; increased development in computational abilities and the fact that mobile phones don't need to be constantly hooked up to a power source (as in the case with PCs) and their batteries generally have a longer battery life than laptop batteries. https://en.reset.org/knowledge/mobile-technology-and-sustainable-development

Kids React to Rotary Phone

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkuirEweZvM

The mission of the library....
is to always seek to increased membership presents a golden opportunity here if it can merge its technology to that of mobile users

MyLibrary! Mobile App Demo

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmcwWB_Q4to

Libraries Reach Across the Global Divide

Mobile Devices Address Tech. Equity in Africa

In Ghana, elementary-school-age children who have rarely seen more than a handful of books are now using e-readers to access whole libraries. In South Africa, students are text-chatting with math tutors by cellphone for help with their homework. And in Liberia, educators will soon use electronic tablets to collect vital and accurate information about schools, students, and resources throughout the country.

On the continent of Africa, the use of mobile technology and online content in various forms is gaining steam as a way to bypass some countries' most significant education hurdles, including rural settings, limited electricity, and a lack of educational resources. Experts say mobile technology--whether cellphones, laptops, MP3 players, tablet computers, or e-readers--is likely to aid many African countries in making a leap in education that was impracticable not long ago.

"The introduction of mobile technology throughout Africa has helped countries to skip several steps in the development process, which could have been much more prolonged," said Sandy Oleksy-Ojikutu, an education adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, which is funding many education projects using mobile technology in Africa.

"As people got used to using cellphones," she said, "they got used to using mobile technology."

Mobile-phone use in Africa is now outpacing that of Latin America, making Africa the second-largest mobile-phone market in the world behind Asia, according to a November 2011 report released by the London-based Groupe Speciale Mobile Association, a consortium of global mobile-phone operators. Over the past 10 years, the number of mobile connections in Africa grew an average of 30 percent a year, and the report predicted it would reach 735 million people by the end of this year on a continent with about a billion people. Some experts say mobile phone growth has been spurred by the fact that cellphones are the cheapest digital tool available on a continent that lacks the infrastructure for higher bandwidth technologies.

Davis, Michelle R. "Mobile Devices Address Tech. Equity in Africa." Education Week, 1 Feb. 2012, p. s6. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.palomar.edu/apps/doc/A279898030/OVIC?u=cclc_palomar&sid=OVIC&xid=5b62d628. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.