Virtual Worlds Presentation at CSUN Conference
This week I’ll be speaking at the The 25th Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference in San Diego, hosted by California State University Northridge (CSUN).
The conference runs all week and promises no shortage of compelling material on the current state of accessible technology. Expect a lot of activity via Twitter (hashtag #csun10) and especially around the CSUN10 Tweetup. Here are a few sessions by some friends of mine that I heartily endorse:
- Jennison Asuncion of the Adaptech Research Network will be hosting a panel on social media use and accessibility
- Katherine Mancuso from the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access will be co-hosting a session with Meadhbh Hamrick of Linden Research on virtual world interoperability
- The wonderful Paul Baker of Georgia Tech will be hosting three sessions: the role of Web 2.0 in inclusive policy making, research findings on workplace accommodation and explorations regarding the inclusive workplace
As I did at IxDA10, I’ll be speaking about the use of multi-user virtual environments among people with disabilities. If you’ve seen or heard this before it’s essentially the same content; however, I’m throwing in a couple of new wrinkles from some very recent (last week!) developments. Full description as follows:
The Use of Virtual Worlds Among People with Disabilities
Session ID: OTH-1020
Time and Date: 10:40 am PST on Wednesday March 24, 2010
Location: Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego, CA
Suite: Del Mar AB
Brief Description: Explore the use of virtual world technology among people with disabilities, with emphasis on individuals with cognitive, vision and hearing impairments.
Full Description: With their emphasis on 3D graphics and complex interface controls, it would appear that gaming interfaces and virtual worlds have little to offer people with disabilities. On the contrary, virtual worlds serve as a form of augmented reality where users transcend physiological or cognitive challenges to great social and therapeutic benefit. A number of intriguing developments exist within the accessibility sector: haptic input devices for the blind, virtual regions developed according to Universal Design principles, communities dedicated to people with cognitive disorders, the use of the avatar as counsellor, applications in higher education, and customizable personae that either transcend or represent a disabled person’s self-identity.
Biography: Kel Smith’s publications have been cited by the Pentagon Library, Kent State’s Knowledge Management Program and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He is a frequent speaker who presented at the CSUN 2009 Los Angeles Conference for Persons with Disabilities, the TechShare RNIB Conference in London, St. Joseph’s University Center for Consumer Research, Temple University’s College of Science, and the IxDA 10 Conference in Savannah. A current member of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) and the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA), Kel serves as Vice Chair of the Philadelphia chapter of ACM/SIG-CHI for computer-human interaction. He earned his BFA in photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art and studied cognitive science as part of the MS program at Philadelphia University.
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