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Kel Smith
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I have been approached to provide a fairground environment for sick and disabled children, and I am a bit unsure about how to provide the most positive experience for them. I want it to be a fun, learning and growing opportunity,…
Many of us use and enjoy virtual worlds such as Second Life for work and play, and there is a vital demographic of virtual world participants with a wide range of disabilities: visual impairments, motor skill disorders, degenerative illness, limited…
This week Anikto will be at the RNIB Techshare 2009 conference at the ExCeL London, located in the city’s Docklands district. The exhibition is free and open to the public, with program speakers on Thursday. I’ll be presenting on the topic of virtua…
Originally posted in Indirect Manipulation on 08/03/09.
Clay Shirky has described the nature of social networking as a sort of concentric framework. A person who has 500 Facebook friends or 700 LinkedIn connections doesn’t necessarily view herself…
Originally posted in AniktoBlog on July 26, 2009.
An article emerged recently in Speech Technology Magazine concerning a topic of usual interest in this space — the use of virtual worlds among people with disabilities. Among the examples cited are…
Profile Information
- Title/Affiliation:
- Principal - Anikto LLC
Associate Practice Leader, Digital - Euro RSCG Life Catapult
- Location:
- New York and Philadelphia
- Website:
- http://www.anikto.com/
- Website2:
- http://www.indirectmanipulation.com
- Preferred Virtual Worlds:
- Second Life
Kel Smith's Blog
Disability and Virtual Worlds: Universal Life
Many of us use and enjoy virtual worlds such as Second Life for work and play, and there is a vital demographic of virtual world participants with a wide range of disabilities: visual impairments, motor skill disorders, degenerative illness, limited mobility, and cognitive difficulties. Many of these people use virtual technology to great social and therapeutic benefit. For these users, avatar-driven 3D environments serve as more than a game. Virtual worlds operate as a form of augmented reality… Continue
Posted on December 5, 2009 at 5:30pm — 2 Comments
Anikto at RNIB Techshare 09 in London
This week Anikto will be at the RNIB Techshare 2009 conference at the ExCeL London, located in the city’s Docklands district. The exhibition is free and open to the public, with program speakers on Thursday. I’ll be presenting on the topic of virtual world usage among people with disabilities:
With their emphasis on 3D gr… Continue
Posted on September 16, 2009 at 10:58pm —
Starting in the Middle
Originally posted on Indirect Manipulation on 08/03/09.
Clay Shirky has described the nature of social networking as a sort of concentric framework. A person who has 500 Facebook friends or 700 LinkedIn connections doesn’t necessarily view herself interacting with the entire network as a whole. Rather, people tend to operate from a vantage point starting with the self, then they follow a sequence of… Continue
Clay Shirky has described the nature of social networking as a sort of concentric framework. A person who has 500 Facebook friends or 700 LinkedIn connections doesn’t necessarily view herself interacting with the entire network as a whole. Rather, people tend to operate from a vantage point starting with the self, then they follow a sequence of… Continue
Posted on August 3, 2009 at 5:30am —
Virtual Worlds and Speech Recognition
Originally posted in AniktoBlog on July 26, 2009.
An article emerged recently in Speech Technology Magazine concerning a topic of usual interest in this space — the use of virtual worlds among people with disabilities. Among the examples cited are cases where participation improves hand/eye coordination, socialization… Continue
An article emerged recently in Speech Technology Magazine concerning a topic of usual interest in this space — the use of virtual worlds among people with disabilities. Among the examples cited are cases where participation improves hand/eye coordination, socialization… Continue
Posted on July 26, 2009 at 4:40am —
Helen Keller Day and Virtual Guide Dogs
Originally posted in AniktoBlog on 06/30/09.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending Helen Keller Day in Second Life, a 24-hour event sponsored by Virtual Helping Hands. The theme of the presentations and discussion was to raise awareness for Second Life users with disabilities, who continue to utilize virtua… Continue
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending Helen Keller Day in Second Life, a 24-hour event sponsored by Virtual Helping Hands. The theme of the presentations and discussion was to raise awareness for Second Life users with disabilities, who continue to utilize virtua… Continue
Posted on June 30, 2009 at 6:00am — 1 Comment
Comment Wall (5 comments)
- At 10:09am on July 5, 2009,
Denise Wood said…
- Hi Kel
Good to hear you are interested. I am still collecting abstracts so not sure what topics will be covered until they all come in but the structure I am proposing might help you decide: I am planning one section focusing on why accessibility in 3D virtual worlds is important and some of the barriers that currently exist; one on the available solutions in world (this will include topics about how to change the built-in settings, products that can be purchased for SL like E.V.A. as well as open source accessing solutions developed in world such as the virtual guide dog; a third section focusing on interfacing solutions to virtual worlds (including thin clients); a fourth section focusing on building accessible spaces in virtual worlds (eg the work Accessible Builds is doing in SL and creating accessible learning spaces, conference spaces and social places; a fifth section focusing on the social aspects of accessibility in virtual worlds which will cover things like social and information supports available in virtual worlds such as Virtual Ability Island, HealthInfo Island, Gimp Girl, Wheelies and so on. I imagine there will be a final chapter exploring alternative worlds under development such as OpenSim, Wonderland, Web3D applications like the one used by AVW for its headquarters and the need for these environments to be built from the ground up with accessibility in mind.
How does that sound? Open to suggestions at this early stage of course.
I will post up a list of headings that contributors might address in their abstracts so we are all consistent in the format of our chapter proposals. I have recently received a format from an editor of another IGI publication and that seems to work quite well I think. Everyone who has joined this group is very likely able to contribute a chapter under one of the proposed sections. I'd like to get the developers of some of the emerging 3D virtual worlds to contribute to the last section because that might encourage them to think more about accessibility in the process :-)
Cheers
Denise
- At 11:21am on July 2, 2009,
Denise Wood said…
- Hey Kel
I reckon one of our first Advisory Board tasks should be to discuss with AVW exec the lack of an accessible AVW site. I invited several experts in accessibility to join the group - some have disabilities and found the sign-up almost impossible to get through - captcha and a whole lot of usability issues that are universal design issues not just accessibility!
Cheers
Denise
- At 8:46am on July 2, 2009,
Denise Wood said…
- Hi Kel
Absolutely. Thanks for the link to your paper. Universal design in all areas (web design, Flash and more recently 3D worlds has been my main research interest for several years. It is great to see others in this space now. I am at the stage of seeking expressions of interests for chapters - I need basically title and abstract for each proposed chapter so I can finalise the proposal for the publisher. I would love to receive an abstract from you and any others you think might have interest/expertise in this area. I have about 6 commitments to chapters so far. I have set up a AVW group for accessible design of 3D worlds and sent out invitations to several I am working with. You might to join and encourage others - I thought we could then share ideas via that forum.
Cheers
Denise
- At 5:39am on July 24, 2008,
Edita said… - Hello Kel and a very warm welcome to you!
- At 9:42am on July 23, 2008,
Dave Elchoness said… - Welcome Kel and thanks for joining us. Please let me know if I can be helpful to you.
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