Accessibility at NSW CLIC

(reviewed June 2008 by Andrew Downie)

Overview

The ClassMate Reader is a portable, battery-powered product intended to meet the needs of people who have visual reading difficulties. Importantly, it is not designed as an aid for people who have significant vision loss, but for those whose difficulties are due to neurological problems. It combines synthetic speech and a small touchscreen to present material. It can be controlled either by physical buttons or by the touchscreen.

File formats that can be accessed through the ClassMate include text, HTML and DAISY. Access to MP3 and wav files will be available shortly, including speed adjustment for MP3 files. Information can be stored on either an SD (Secure Digital) card or USB drive. The USB port can also be used to transfer material from a computer to the ClassMate.

Physical Description

Function of the keys mentioned here will be discussed below. Controls to the left of the screen are Escape, Study Tools, Home, Dictionary and Record. To the right of the screen are four directional arrow keys surrounding the Enter key. Below this group are the Goto and Play/Stop keys. There are two small speakers, one above each group of buttons. On the left side of the unit are the volume/speed controls, the volume/speed toggle button and the earphone socket. The on/off button is on the right side, together with the SD card slot and a recess containing the stylus for use on the touch screen. The USB port and AC power socket are on the top of the unit. A fold-out stand on the back of the ClassMate allows it to be placed upright on a desk, as shown in the photograph.

Setting up the ClassMate

The ClassMate is turned on by pressing the on/off button for a second or so, until a short beep is heard. After several seconds the ClassMate greeting appears on the screen and is announced by the Nuance Vocalizer synthetic speech. Pressing the Home key opens the Main Menu. This allows a book to be opened or deleted, adjustment of visual and audio settings and the setting of a turn-off timer.

From the visual settings menu, five font styles are available and text size can be set to between 12 and 20 point. Selecting larger text on a screen of this size results in very few words being visible at once. Ten foreground-background colour combinations are available. Curiously, these include black on black and white on white, presumably for when a teacher wants a student to concentrate on the audio. Line spacing and cursor placement are also adjustable.

The audio settings menu allows speech speed to be adjusted over a 14 step range. Speaker and earphone volume can be set independently, which is a very useful feature. Volume and speed can also be set by using the buttons on the left side of the unit. Key clicks can be toggled on or off. Depending on structure of the book being read, the audio source can be switched between the in-built speech and the audio provided with the book. Alternatively, audio can be turned off altogether.

Using the ClassMate

When selecting Open a Book from the Main Menu, the user can choose between the SD card, USB drive or the ClassMate. Depending on the type of content, options such as digital talking books and text files will be offered (audio formats such as MP3 and wav will be available shortly). Upon opening the selected file, the ClassMate will advise whether recorded audio or only TTS (text to speech) audio is available. Within the ClassMate is a well written and effectively structured HTML version of the user guide.

Having loaded a book, reading is commenced by pressing the Play key. Text scrolls on the screen while being spoken simultaneously. A second press of the Play key stops the text scrolling.

Two navigational modes are available, DAISY and Text. These modes are selected with buttons at the top of the touch screen or through Audio Settings. In DAISY mode, audio is via recorded speech. Navigational increments include page, phrase, time jump of one minute and heading level. In text mode, TTS audio is used. Navigational increments then include character, word, sentence and paragraph. The up and down arrows can be used to set the increment, while right and left arrows move forward and backwards respectively according to the setting. Alternatively, navigation can be done from the touch screen. The Goto Page key allows immediate access to a specific page. The page number can be entered on the touch screen or through a more complicated process with the arrow keys.

Annotating a Book

This can be done in various ways, accessed via the Study Tools key. A passage can be highlighted, a variety of highlighting styles being available. A text note can be made. This is achieved by activating an on-screen keyboard. A third option is to record a vocal note. Simple bookmarks can also be placed throughout a book.

Any or all types of marks can be searched and selecting one will jump to its position in the book. The process by which marks are selected proved elusory on the test machine. This issue is being addressed in an upcoming software release and, once resolved, this function should prove very helpful. A student can make notes in a meaningful style while studying and these can be retrieved quickly and easily when the time comes for revision.

Dictionary Facilities

The dictionary provided with the ClassMate is based on the Oxford American Minidictionary (a UK dictionary will be available shortly). It can be accessed either through the Study Tools key or the Dictionary key. It can be used either to look up the meaning of a word in the book being read or a word of the user’s choosing. To check the meaning of a word in the text, the user highlights it and presses the Dictionary key. To look up a word that is not in the text, it is necessary to activate the on-screen keyboard by tapping the keyboard icon.

The meaning of any word within a definition can be checked by highlighting it and pressing the Dictionary key. There are also facilities for syllabolising a word, having it spelled and spoken by the speech synthesizer. It is also possible to locate all occurrences of the word in the text and to view them in context.

User Feedback

A colleague who has a severe visual reading disability was invited to try the ClassMate. The guest reviewer preferred the smallest (12 point) font, which he could read comfortably from a normal sitting position with the ClassMate resting on its stand on the desk. Even with the somewhat flat sound of the in-built synthetic speech, he could comprehend material at a much faster rate audibly than visually. He found access to the various ClassMate features with the touch screen very intuitive.

Dictionary and highlighting facilities were impressive. One limitation of the product as it stands is that annotations and notes cannot be transferred directly to a computer.

The guest reviewer uses an MP3 player to access material when away from the desk. This involves using text-to-speech software to produce the MP3 files. He compared this access with that via the ClassMate. Firstly, the ClassMate offers immediate visual and auditory access to a wide variety of file formats. Secondly, its file navigation is much superior. It also allows text searching and the dictionary and annotation facilities discussed earlier. It also has the advantage of allowing adjustment of reading speed. In summary, he would prefer the ClassMate to the MP3 player as a mobile reading tool.

The ClassMate is clearly intended to be far more than a mobile reading tool. It definitely has potential to improve access to study and recreational reading in a wide variety of settings. This includes class and lecture situations.

Specifications

Manufacturer	Humanware, http://www.humanware.com
Australian supplier	Spectronics Phone:                 (07)…         Website: http://www.spectronicsinoz.com
Dimensions	9 x 15.5 x 2.5cm
Weight	303gm
Price	$655