[Pibe-division] For TVIs with students learning ratio and proportion

Tue Nov 24 15:47:43 UTC 2009

Hi Folks,
The following is an opportunity to review a prototype web-based
tutoring program (for teaching ratio and proportion) through a National
Eye Institute funded study in the NFB's Nonvisual Accessibility Web
Application Certification Program. This is the world’s first example of
accessible Artificial Intelligence-based software for mathematics
education. We would like to ask your help by reviewing this accessible
prototype and giving us feedback. This involves using the prototype
briefly and then completing an online survey.The entire review process
takes only 15-20 minutes.   See below for details.
-        Judi

Dear TVI, 
I’m sorry to bother you guys again, but I need to ask for assistance
with the accessible math tutoring project. Although there appeared to be
significant interest in us creating this software for blind students,
unfortunately so far there has been only a handful of people who
actually used the prototype and gave us the feedback we need to report
to the funding agency. I know everyone is very busy, but all it takes is
15-20 minutes to use the program and fill out the online survey about
it. TVI reviews are a key metric NIH will use for evaluating the
project, and unless we get better participation than this there is a
real risk of NIH canceling the funding. If this happens, we will be
forced to abandon the project. It will be dangerous (as well as a great
shame) to give the sponsoring agency the impression that the TVI
community does not consider this effort worthwhile, but I’m afraid
that’s exactly the impression they would get if we had to submit the
report today. Please help us by reviewing the prototype and filling out
the survey. This will  increase the chance of keeping the project alive?
I’ve reproduced the access information and instructions below. 
Thank you very much, 
Jeff 
Jeff Dittel
~~~~~~~~~~~
Software Engineer
dittel at quantumsimulations.com  
(414)248-2292
Dear Colleague: 
We are contacting you as part of a research study funded by the
National Institutes of Health (National Eye Institute). Through prior
federally-supported research, Quantum Simulations has developed, tested
and brought to the classroom tutoring systems that are based on
artificial intelligence (AI). Research has shown again and again that
one-on-one tutoring is a highly effective method for improving student
learning and achievement. The Quantum intelligent tutoring technology
achieved breakthroughs over ordinary tutorial software in several key
respects: students can use theirown problems, get help on theirown
mistakes, and ask the tutor questions. In scientifically-based studies,
these AI tutors have improved student performance and comprehension
significantly. For more information on the educational technology used
in this project, please visit www.quantumsimulations.com (
http://www.quantumsimulations.com/ ).
The goal of the present research project is to bring the full power and
benefit of this cutting-edge educational technology to students who are
blind and visually impaired. We have just achieved an important and
exciting milestone: certification of a prototype web-based tutoring
program (for ratio and proportion) in the National Federation of the
Blind’s Nonvisual Accessibility Web Application Certification Program.
This is the world’s first example of accessible AI-based software for
mathematics education. We would like to ask your help by reviewing this
accessible prototype and giving us feedback. This involves using the
prototype briefly and then completing an online survey.The entire review
process takes only 15-20 minutes. This will provide much-needed
information from the TVI community to inform project decisions, and your
participation will help to ensure the result is of the highest quality
before the student evaluation phase of the project. The current phase of
the project specifically concerns screen reader use of the software. The
next phase will add Braille support (including
 Nemeth). The NFB has
certified the software for use with JAWS and Window-Eyes.
You can access the prototype at: 
http://review.quantum-eservices.com/accessible_demo.phpInstructionsare
included with the program; here are some “quick start” suggestions. The
tutor allows you to enter your own problems for help. The 
first time you use the program, we suggest you try a very simple
problem and then explore from there. For example, on the opening page
click the first “OK” button and then enter the problem “1 / 2 = x / 6”
by typing 1, 2, x and 6 in the edit boxes and clicking “OK” Then,
instead of entering the correct answer (3) right away, try entering some
mistakes to see how the tutor responds, and ask questions from the menus
to see how students can get help.
For your convenience, at the end of this message are the screen reader
guidelines that are included with the program. Be sure to try all the
accessibility features of the program, such as (in JAWS) typing ‘h’ for
quick access to all the most important sections of the page and ‘t’ to
navigate to the tutoring session transcript. After using the software,
please give us your feedback and suggestions by completing the survey
at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=seubAqTdAKhWDtsG4_2fxZqg_3d_3d
Please complete your review as soon as possible so that your feedback
can be considered in shaping the direction of the research and included
in the project report to the National Eye Institute.
Thank you very much for your assistance in this project. 
Sincerely, 
Benny G. Johnson, Ph.D. 
Principal Investigator 
Screen Reader Guidelines 
The following is a list of guidelines describing the philosophy used
when creating the pages for this application. Standard HTML elements are
used to make it as easy as possible to navigate the pages using the
common screen reader browser navigation commands. Please refer to your
specific screen reader manual to learn these navigation techniques. 
1.                                             The most important areas
of each page will follow a header element (‘h’ in JAWS). For example,
after asking the tutor a question, the response will follow a header
element. 
2.                                             When there is an
opportunity for the user to enter information, there will be an edit
control, and there typically will only be one edit control per page.
Note: For some screen readers the user must use the "Enter" key to
access the edit control. 
3.                                             The List element is used
to organize the information on the page. For example, the questions you
can ask the Tutor are organized in a list element. 
4.                                             The table element is
used to organize the information on the page. For example, when the user
is interacting with the tutor, the Transcript of actions is contained in
a table (‘t’ in JAWS) that follows the main content of the page. 
Note: Links to definitions of terms may open in a new browser window. 
Jeff Dittel, President
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Britlan Ltd.
516 E. Birch Ave
Whitefish Bay, WI  53217
(414)248-2292

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