Multimedia Storybook about Technology and Disabilities

This project will design, develop, and field test an interactive multimedia program to enhanceawareness of uses of technology by children with disabilities. The information will be presented in astory.book format using CD-ROM technology. The target audience will be students with disabilities, theirteachers, therapists, parents, and non-disabled peers. The program will feature a child with disabilities;a children's book will be written that will involve this child and his/her uses of technology. Acomputer-based interactive multimedia program will be developed around this story line using video,animation, sound, and graphics. CD-ROM technology will be employed as the storage and presentationmedium. Each page of the book will be presented as a computer screen and will feature various usesof assistive technology in each domain that affects a child's life -- cognitive, self-help, social,communication, vocational, mobility, and leisure. The story will be read via digitized voice. Whenspecific areas of the screens are selected by the user, one of a variety of events will.occur: sounds ormusic will be played, objects will be animated, photographs will "pop up," or a video clip will play.Provisions will be made for alternative methods of selection -- captioning of video and audio description.Users can explore the uses of assistive technology across domains in a motivating storybook format.A training module will be developed to provide further information to teachers, therapists, and parents.