Reading re-experienced
ALLT E-Book project
TAGLab, University of Toronto
2011-2012
ALLT E-book
I was involved in coding and research for the Accessible Large-Print Listening and Talking E-book project at the Technologies for Aging Gracefully lab.
The ALLT e-book is an iPad app that builds on the capabilities of standard e-book readers by adding the ability to synchronize an audio recording of a user reading with the text. Originally conceived to enable visually impaired users to re-experience a reading session with a loved one through replaying the recording, ALLT has been expanded to serve the needs of individuals with a wide variety of sensory and fine motor impairments. Evaluation of the platform with a pilot participant with Multiple Sclerosis led to an improved interface and contributed to our understanding of accessibility in reading.
Features
- Accessible: ALLT supports multiple input modalities (touch, voice, custom keyboard)
- Large-print: Custom font size and access to digital libraries
- Listening: A reading session can be audio recorded
- Talking: Reading sessions are re-experienced through playback, while a text-to-speech engine is used for passages that have not yet been recorded.