Perspectives is the newsletter of the Stanford course,
Perspectives in Assistive Technology.

Special Issue Soliciting Student Project Suggestions - Part 3

What are the project requirements? Previous newsletters described the benefits of and process for submitting a student project suggestion and addressed the broad requirements of those projects. This issue focuses on how best to compose a suggestion.

How should project suggestions be formatted? Compose (text format is ok) and email the project suggestion(s) for review. Note that both the problem and features of a solution should be highlighted, but not how a device should appear, be built, or solve the problem as those are tasks for the student team to address. To best convey a project suggestion, use last year's team candidate project list as a guide and format the problem description into these short, concise paragraphs:

1. Name: - suggest a simple, short, descriptive phrase or title to refer to the project.

2. Background: - give an overview of the organization and / or provide a general description of the population addressed by the project suggestion.

3. Problem: - briefly and concisely describe the problem, including how it affects the particular person with a disability or older adult. (The Everyday Usefulness of the Problem Statement by Alan Nicol is a well-written reference article.)

4. Aim: - describe what the proposed solution should do, but not how it should do it.

5. Design Criteria: - list the desirable operational features and characteristics of the proposed solution. Priortize the criteria into those that are essential, those that would be good to include, and those of lesser importance.

6. Other: - include additional information that will illuminate the problem and facilitate a solution, such as photographs, short videos, a list available resources, weblinks, and general design suggestions.

7. Contact Information: - provide the suggestor's name, company (if applicable), email address, and phone number (optional).

What is the deadline for submitting project suggestions? - Please email suggestions to me as soon as possible so I have adequate time to consider all submissions, edit approved entries, and post them - not later than Friday, December 1st.

Upcoming Local Event

Presentation at Avenidas Please plan to attend my upcoming presentation at Avenidas where I will be speaking about the critical role that older adults and people with disabilities play as they work with teams of Stanford students to design and fabricate prototype devices that address real problems and challenges, as well as soliciting project suggestions for teams to pursue in the course. When: Friday, August 4th from 11:00am to 12:30pm Where: Avenidas, 450 Bryant Street - just off of University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto How: No RSVP is required to attend this free presentation.

Support the course - Funding in any amount for the course and student projects is always welcomed. Monetary gifts support approved project expenses, administrative costs, honoraria for guest lecturers, and the end-of-term celebration. Refer to the Team Project Support webpage for more information.

Email questions, comments, or suggestions - Please email me if you have general questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the course. Thank you again for your interest.

Dave