The Student approach to Study Skill Strategies using Portable and Desktop Technologies. E.A. Draffan & Abi James

University of Southampton / BDA NTC

A Very Modern Lecture, reused courtesy of pjohnkeane Flickr photostream under a CC licence"Kent State Study Looks at Cell Phone Use and Fitness in College Students" by Kent State University

Mobile technology knowledge• Nearly all 12-15 yr. olds with an active online profile continue to use

Facebook (97%)

• Use of tablets has tripled among the 5-15 age range since 2012 (42%, up from 14%)

(http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1214979/)

• 12-15yr. olds send

an average of 200

messages a week

• UK teens using smartphones

could rise to as high as

96 per cent by 2017 (Pew Research)

Number of times features were commented upon

• Survey in 2009, 230 disabled students from UK, USA & Japan – 59% were 16-25 years old

• Email, alarm, prediction and vibration most used after calls, followed by calendar/reminders, internet and camera.

Email

Camera

Memo Recorder

Notes

Internet sea

rch

Dictionary

Timer

Calendar/R

eminderAlar

m

Audio Player

Spea

ker phone

GPS

Digital M

oney

Text

to spee

ch

Magnificati

on /Text

enlar

gemen

t

Contrast

levels

Prediction

Handwriting re

cognition

Spee

ch re

cogn

ition

Vibration

flip style

simplici

ty

text c

apab

ility/S

MS

Accessi

bility fe

atures

Easy

to use

multi functi

on/apps

touchsce

en

Design in

c colour

ease

of use

of buttons/k

eyboard

Cost0

10

20

30

40

50

2006 -8Facebook Wikipedia, Netbooks, iPhones Internet access via mobiles

2009 - 2010TwittereBooks & KindleAndroid smartphonesThe iPad!

2011-12: Tablets of all shapesSocial Media meets collaborative learningGoogle Chrome book

2013:MOOCs3D printingWearable technologyFlipped classroom

2014 +:Technology –powered Education combining:- online, - traditional- collaborative

learning- Learning

analytics- Personal

content

How are students coping in quickly changing world of education and technology?

Mobile Phone survey (2011)Accessing their websites on a mobile device (number of visits in one month):

• iPhone: 1199• Android: 502• iPad: 488• iPod: 154• Other: 178

80% of those who responded had a smart phone. Of that 80% the breakdown was as follows:

• Android: 42.3%• Blackberry 34.6%• iPhone: 11.5%• Windows: 3.8%• Other: 7.7%

(http://www.in-traction.com/mobile-browsing-a-student-survey/)

How are students coping in a rapidly changing world of education and technology?

Possible ways to answer this question:

• Quantitative….Survey of students in receipt of DSA 2007-2012

– 12.8% of students with SpLD had access to AT prior to university

• Qualitative…. LexDis project to collate technology strategies from disabled students (http://www.lexdis.org.uk)

Explore options

Functional Response

Personal Changes

Evaluations and

Feedback

Personal Perceptions

Functional Demands

Environment and Context

Home Education or Work Community

External Support

Personal Resources

Technology Choices

Adapted from theHuman Function

Model (Melichar &Blackhurst,

1993).

DSA Survey 2011-12

• “I didn't have a laptop or PC and struggled with to use university comouters as it takes me a long time to work through assignments etc! Having my laptop means i can work in my own time anywhere i need and i can use the software that was given to help. It also meant i could use this stuff on school placements.” (Student with SpLD)

Hardware Software0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Frequency of use of assistive technology by students with SpLDs

Not at allOccasionally (less than once a month)Sometimes (less than once a week)Often (more than once a week)Used Daily

What are students using their hardware for?

58% of students with SpLD made comments about their hardware

0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%

What benefits do using the software provide students with SpLD?

Help m

e work

in a

way th

at su

its m

e

Enable

s acc

ess t

o ass

istive

tech

softw

are

Helps m

e to b

e orga

nised

Helps m

e to c

once

ntrate

Help m

e acc

ess m

ateria

ls

Helps m

e kee

p up

Can't u

sed s

hared

facil

ities

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

What additional technology did the students feel could help?

19% of students with SpLD made comments about additional technology

Stan

dard

AT

Portab

ility &

batte

ry life

Tab

let/ to

uch-s

creen

devic

e

Reque

sted G

enera

l IT

Speec

h rec

ognit

ion

curric

ulum so

ftware

Ergono

mic

Smart

Phone

porta

ble sp

ell ch

ecke

r

Self-fin

ance

d

eBoo

k rea

der

0.0%5.0%

10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%

Comments about requirements for portable devices:

“An iPad. I have since self funded for one and it really helps. I use it to take notes sketching internet and for keynote presentations. I also use the reminder facility and calendar for short term memory.”

“a smart phone/ iPad of some kind which is light and

easy to carry round with me

which would help me organise

myself.”

“a tablet …it would be very useful to have been able to use this during lectures and

practicals to take notes and to access notes/research that I have prepared in

advance.”

“Reading is big issue for me – I find it hard to concentrate on the content so I have to scan in documents so I use a program to read them back to

help me focus and absorb more information. Quite often I download E-Journals and they are all set up in

PDF format. But, when I come to use the software, it is quite hard so

then I transfer it to a Word document.  It is much more user-

friendly.

eReading“I wasn't recommended an ereader …I

haven't got one yet and am not sure how many of the things I need to read are

available on them, but it is something I am considering as they are smaller

lighter and more convenient than my big text books and I think they might be

easier to look at.”

“An eReader would have helped me

organise my reading and

research much better.”

Note-taking Strategies“The [tablet] was invaluable in the field as it allowed me to take notes

and complete spreadsheets of field results …I managed ok typing

one handed.

(Speech recognition user)

“I don’t like pens and papers! Too much waste and extra cost.  I’ve been using my iPad with a stylus and several note taking/drawing apps so far. I synchronise all my

notes with iCloud and I’m perfectly happy 

(student struggling with pain and fatigue)

 I find if I use the Live Scribe with the ear buds just hanging loosely

round my neck, then the microphone from the pen does not

pick up the scratching when writing, but still records the lecture

or meeting” 

“I have found AudioNotetaker very useful for gathering quotes from audio recordings when interviewing people

as well as recording and making note from lectures. 

Organisation strategies

“I use Evernote for making checklists.  If I have a large piece of coursework or many subjects areas to revise.  I break each task down, make a list and tick off

each task as I complete it.  There is always a sense of satisfaction when

looking at a list full of ticks!”

“I was given an iPhone that I use for calendars, calls, texting with speak select, camera shots of articles using image to text and

video capturing of lectures.  I use it to organise

everything and sync with iCloud so I can view and

work online from my desktop as well.

Proof reading strategies

“Text to speech is really useful when you are writing and proofreading – it makes me stop when I leave out words and when I create

words that don’t exist.,  I was given Texthelp Read and Write Gold and I use the scanning for my manuscripts. Add the picture to Word

and make comments in the margins.”

“I find I have to take a break before I read my work again and even so I often think I have written something that is not there or

miss words out so I like to have the text highlighting on when listening to it reading

back.”

Students as Agile Technology (AT) Users

Needs (e.g. Curriculum tasks, activities, setting,

social communication,

access and independence)

Strategies and Technology Choices

(e.g. Assistive / Productivity / mobile

/free and online)

Considerations (e.g. time, skills,

personalisation, training, attitude and

preferences, available technology, costs)

AT User

Research Strategies Evidence Based choices

Note of caution….• Some portable devices may look similar but provide very

different user experiences and personal preferences run deep!

• Recent studies have shown that while students find e-book and portable devices beneficial, they are still under-taking much of their studying on laptop or desktop computers.

• Each update, device change, app trial and technology based strategy can take time to learn – make the offer of anything new meaningful and in the context of study skill requirements.

Thank You E.A. Draffan and Abi James, ECS Accessibility Team

http://access.ecs.soton.ac.uk

With thanks to all the

students who took

part in the DSA survey

and continue to support

the LexDis Project

http://www.lexdis.org.uk/