The Power of Personal Digital
Assistants (PDA)
by Jeni Mundl
PDAs and Accessibility
PDA
stands for “Personal Digital Assistant.” These are
the little electronic devices you see people jotting stuff down on
in public. Today’s PDAs allow you to organize your schedule,
take notes, do math calculations, play games, write memos, and even
surf the Internet and send e-mail. They are nifty devices to have
to organize your life!
Personal Digital Assistants provide benefits to individuals with
disabilities. For example, people with learning or cognitive disabilities
could benefit from the organizational and task management functions.
Similarly, some people with limited mobility can benefit from the
small size, light weight, and portability of a PDA.
The standard method
is to operate the PDA with a stylus. A stylus is a small pointer
tool used to press small letters on an on-screen keyboard. This
is difficult for many people to perform. Secondly, the screen of
a PDA is extremely small compared to a computer monitor. Don’t
despair... there are many alternative options of control and viewing.
Physical
Adaptations
People
who are unable to use the stylus can attach their PDA to small
portable keyboards. There are many varieties of keyboards available,
including those that support one-handed typing, such as the half-keyboard.
Another option is a wireless collapsible keyboard which expands
to the size of a laptop keyboard. The keys are extremely easy to
press requiring less accuracy in typing. The keyboard can be mounted
on a wheelchair for ease of operation. Some PDAs have a thumbpad
which is a small keyboard requiring range of motion of several inches.
It is important to match the keyboards to your particular model
of PDA.
Speech input and output may
be a solution for people who have physical limitations, as well as
other individuals who are unable to use either the stylus or an attached
keyboard. Currently IBM and Scansoft both offer speech input/output
products for PDAs, IBM Embedded Via-Voice and Dragon PDSay. Both
products are command-based and do not support dictations or application-specific
functionality beyond a basic core set of popular applications at
this time. However, many such applications may likely improve, driven
not by accessibility concerns but by demands of an increasingly mobile
and global workforce. Microsoft Voice Command is the third option,
but most limiting.
Visual Adaptations
For people
with low vision, many color PDAs are now available that feature
bright displays. However, little, if any, operating system support
is available for changing the color of these displays for high contrast
color schemes or for large font sizes, although the newer generation
of PDA browsers may change this. Some applications do allow users
to enlarge fonts exclusively within that application. As for magnification
software, some users have worked successfully with TealMagnify,
though the magnified image it produces is highly pixelated.
EasyLink is a new product
from Optelec combining an HP Ipaq Pocket PC and a Bluetooth Braille
keyboard. Both EasyLink’s components
can fit comfortably in a purse or large pocket, yet its small size
in no way detracts from the ease of use its name suggests.
Maestro is a product by VisuAide
which provides text-to-speech in its PDA. Information is entered
by using its tactile keys rather than a stylus. Another specialized
PDA from Freedom Scientific called the PAC Mate is quickly becoming
a standard by individuals with blindness.
Communication Adaptations
The
potential use of PDA devices for portable communication is becoming
a reality. Many vendors have developed software for PDAs to allow
persons with communication limitations to use these devices in
creation of speech. The Chat PC and IMPACT Palmtop Portable are two
such products.
Learning Tools
There are many
educational usages for PDAs. One option is e-books that can be
downloaded onto a PDA to be read or have a speech output system read
the book. These books range from the classics to the latest releases.
Microsoft Office is available for PDAs. It includes the pocket series
of Microsoft Word, Excel, and MSN. This allows a student to start
a homework project on their PDA to later transfer the file onto a
standard computer.
Math calculations are easily computed through basic and scientific
applications available on a PDA. Many web sites provide free download-able
applets.
Language translators may help
a student learning a foreign language. French and Spanish are just
two applets which are available.
Cognitive Adaptations
For
cognitive disabilities, PDAs offer extensive scheduling, reminders
and note-taking features. The calendar allows the individual
or caretaker to quickly look up appointments and to have the
device indicate a warning prior to the time. There are different
views to enable the user to decide what works best for them.
Many individuals with cognitive disabilities are more apt to
use a digital reminder over the paper and pencil method.
The use of a PDA allows all information to be in one place. Attainment,
along with other vendors, have specific software for PDA needs. The
individual does not need to have several different items for tracking
and organizing. The training is most important in implementing a
PDA for someone with a cognitive disability.
A
Testimonial
Personally,
I “Love” my Zire 31. It keeps
me on track of my daily hectic schedule with an extensive list
of contacts and notes. It reminds me where I should be by sounding
a subtle alarm—I
need all the help I can get. I am able to sync it to my computer
for easy viewing, backup, and typing. It still amazes me with
all it can do. Future developments will extend its capabilities
and potential usages. Every day, there is something new on the
market for a PDA.
