Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course - entering its sixteenth year - that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly in-person discussions; lectures by notable professionals, clinicians, and assistive technology users; tours of a local medical center and an accessible inclusive playground; student project presentations and demonstrations; and an Assistive Technology Faire.

Course Plans

Important Dates

• Monday, September 20th - First day of Fall Quarter classes
• Wednesday, December 1st - Winter Quarter student enrollment opens
• Tuesday, January 4th - First class session of Perspectives in Assistive Technology

Community Attendance - Community members are welcome to attend, but will have to attest to being vaccinated or receiving a negative COVID test result. Masking during class sessions may be required for everybody.

Guest Lecturers - Many guest lecturers from last academic year have expressed their availabilty to speak to the course. Monroe Kennedy III has accepted my invitation to speak about his Assistive Robotics research at Stanford.

Website Template - The color template for this coming year's course website has been created. Webpages are being updated and will be posted when the lecture schedule has been finalized in the next few months.

Request for student project suggestions - Project suggestions are continuing to be solicited.

You are strongly encouraged to submit project suggestions for students to pursue. These suggestions must address a real challenge experienced by an individual with a disability or older adult who lives in the local community that is not adequately served by existing commercial products. (Perform an internet search to verify this.) Identify and describe the challenge rather than imagining a solution. Please do this as soon as possible so I'll have adequate time to consider all submissions, edit approved entries, and post them. The deadline is Wednesday, December 1st. If I accept your project suggestion, you will be invited to "pitch" it to the class on Thursday, January 6th. If a student team selects it, you will have the opportunity to offer your advice, direction, and expertise in person, by phone, and/or by email. For more information refer to the Call for Projects Suggestions and Project Requirements webpages.

This course relies on community involvement,
so please suggest a project based upon an identified problem or challenge.

Here are the confirmed and approved team projects so far: Projects with Abby Rain Shield Project Large Art Drawing Board Accessible Storage Solution Alert Project Leash Project Projects with Nick Z Adjustable Wheel Locks Personal Item Organization and Storage Improved Wheelchair Caster Project Projects with the Cantor Arts Center Exhibition Engagement Tool A Day at the Cantor Arts Center Project with Nick J Video Therapy Documentation

Guest Lecturer Scheduling Activities - Here are the steps I employ to schedule guest lecturers for the course.

1. Email past guest lecturers to determine who is available to speak this coming academic year.

2. Send inquiries to other individuals who have previously not participated in the course, requesting their availability to speak in the course. These individuals may be Stanford faculty or others working in an area related to assistive technology.

3. Select individuals to speak in my course from the list of those who confirmed their availability.

4. Request selected speakers to provide a list of all class session dates they are available to present.

5. Match speakers' availability with specific lecture dates to compile a schedule.

6. Inform each speaker of their lecture date and request they to send a title of their presentation, bio-sketch, presentation abstract, and a head-shot photo.

7. Update course webpages to reflect the entire schedule.

8. Publish the lecture schedule in the newsletter.

Superfest Disability Film Festival is the longest running disability film festival in the world. Since it first debuted in a small Los Angeles showcase in 1970 it has become an eagerly anticipated international event - hosted by Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University. For more than 30 years, Superfest has celebrated cutting-edge cinema that portrays disability through a diverse, complex, unabashed and engaging lens. Superfest is one of the few festivals worldwide that prioritizes access for disabled filmgoers of all kinds. Check out the line-up for the 2021 festival that runs online from October 15th to 17th.