William Condon North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Dr. Gary Bishop Professor of Computer Science,

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Mrs. Marilyn Link Mentorship Coordinator,

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Text editor and calculator Designed for motor-impaired

individuals Users can use only one to three keys

Web-based <http://code.google.com/p/

calcutype>

Many disabled individuals can’t use normal keyboards.

Electric pens, speech recognition, switches, etc. have been developed.

But they only work on computers with specific software.

Pens and switches are slower than keyboards.

Word-completion programs help. Guess the rest of the word or the next

word(s). Increase speed 11% (Anson, 2004) Save 40% keystrokes (Aliprandi, 2007)

But existing programs require a specific input method.

“To make a portable, simple-to-use combined text editor and calculator which takes a variety of input methods.”

Works entirely inside the user’s browser. Doesn’t require the user to have any

special software. Posted online

Works anywhere

Virtual keyboard Mouse clicks Normal typing Advancing by keys

Press “]“ until the right row is highlighted Press “[“ to select it. Press “]” until the right letter is highlighted. Press “[“ to select it.”

I used several lists from Wiktionary. Search through lists after each letter

typed. Top three words put in the Memory row.

User can then select them from the virtual keyboard.

Simple but inefficient No computer has shown a noticeable

delay.

Checks after each letter is typed. Breaks it up into “words” at each space

or carriage return. Replaces functions with equivalent

JavaScript code. sin(), cos(), ln(), log(), sqrt(), ^

Evaluates with JavaScript’s “eval()” function. Real words are ignored.

The answer is put in the Memory row.

Filling in forms Users can load a form into another frame

and use CalcuType to type into it. Saving documents

CalcuType passes the text the user has typed to a PHP program on the UNC web server.

The program sends back a web page containing the text.

Users can then save the web page normally.

One disabled teenager Two adults who work with disabled

people Five non-disabled students at the NC

School of Science and Mathematics Three other non-disabled adults

User interface was “really easy to learn.” Various small improvements suggested.

Hard to upload a form to fill out. Can’t use some functions “More words,” “more functions” Liked general concept.

“This is a great program! Hopefully I’ll never need it but I enjoyed testing it.”

CalcuType can be improved Use more modern words in

completion list. Make word-completion list dynamic.

But proof in concept Word-completion can be integrated in

math Can work on any computer Can use almost any input device

<http://code.google.com/p/calcutype/> Aliprandi, C., Carmignani, N., & Mancarella, P. (August

2007). “An inflected-sensitive letter and word prediction system”. International Journal of Computing & Information Sciences, 5 : 2. Retrieved October 17, 2008, from <http://www.ijcis.info/International%20Journal%20of%20Computing%20and%20Information%20Sciences_files/Vol5N2/Vol5N2PP79-85.pdf>.

Anson, Denis; Moist, Penni; Przywara, Mary; Wells, Heather; Saylor, Heather; Maxime, Hantz (2004). "The Effects of Word Completion and Word Prediction on Typing Rates Using On-screen Keyboards". Retrieved October 17, 2008, from Misericordia University web site: <http://atri.misericordia.edu/Papers/WordPrediction.php>

“Wiktionary:Frequency lists/Project Gutenberg 1-10000.” (2005, December). Retrieved October 23, 2008, from Wiktionary web site: <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/Project_Gutenberg_1-10000>.

Dr. Gary Bishop Mrs. Marilyn Link North Carolina School of Science and

Mathematics