Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
IBM/University Collaboration To Develop Open-Source Accessibility Tools
11/20/2007
University researchers in the United States and the U.K. have started collaborating with IBM to develop open-source software solutions aimed at bringing accessibility to older workers to "help them adapt to and remain productive in the changing workplace of the 21st century," according to information released late last week by IBM. The effort is part of IBM's Open Collaborative Research initiative, which creates partnerships with universities for the purpose of developing and releasing open-source tools to the public.
The new partnership brings together researchers from the University of Dundee's School of Computing in the U.K. and the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in a concerted effort to develop assistive technologies and gain insight into new ways to improve workplace performance in maturing workers by improving the workplace itself and by increasing the ability of older workers to use technology.
"Older workers represent an extremely valuable resource. However they need to have tools available to them to be able to compete in today's technology driven workplace," said Sara J. Czaja, a professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, in a statement released Friday. "We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with IBM as it provides us with a unique opportunity to have the results of our research efforts translated into actual products and tools. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for our students."
Miami's research efforts will focus on technology work settings, with an emphasis on developing e-learning tools targeting older workers. The work will build on research from the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) and the Center on Aging. Dundee will focus on producing visualizations and interaction scenarios.
The results of the project, as with all IBM OCR projects, will be "made available as open source software code, and all additional intellectual property developed based on those results will be openly published or made available royalty-free," according to IBM.
Read More:
- IBM OCR Program Information
- IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center
- University of Dundee
- University of Miami
About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- Gates Highlights R&D at CES08, Unveils Microsoft Touch Wall
Microsoft's Chairman Bill Gates spent a lot of time Wednesday talking about "empowering the workers" at the Microsoft's 12th annual CEO Summit 2008 in Redmond, WA, where he gave a keynote speech. However, Gates wasn't talking about political revolutions or even pay raises for office workers before the CEO crowd. Instead, he was referring to new software technologies that can better enable collaboration, social networking and decision-making on the job.
- Vista Vulnerability Study Puts Microsoft on Defensive
Microsoft and some independent security researchers had the blogosphere buzzing Wednesday over a series of denunciations after one company claimed that the Vista operating system was more vulnerable to malware and other exploits than previous operating systems.
- New Blackboard Sync Application Leverages Facebook
Blackboard Inc. today announced Blackboard Sync, an application that allows students to receive course updates and communicate with classmates while logged on to Facebook.
- Standards: The Sooner the Better
Technology solutions work best when they well together. That is why the nonprofit group IMS Global Learning Consortium is developing learning tools interoperability standards for the education technology community...
- U.K. Education Group Escalates Microsoft Complaints
A consultancy to the U.K. government has forwarded complaints about Microsoft's licensing and interoperability practices to the European Commission (EC), according to an announcement issued by the Becta consulting group Monday.
- University Students and Researchers Enjoy JavaOne
The JavaOne conference, held May 6-9 in San Francisco, brought together developers from industry, education, and other markets, filling the Moscone Convention Center with a wide array of sessions and exhibits for the open source Java developer community.
