IDEA 312: Products

Description

The first half of this course describes an overview of usability problems with products in the home and office and introduces an innovative method to evaluate product usability in a manner that is consistent with the goals of universal design. The second half of the course focuses on the nature of the relationship between assistive technology and consumer product design, as well as reasons why AT products struggle to break into the consumer market. Case studies of products that started out serving special niche markets but have made their way into the larger consumer market are discussed to illustrate how assistive technologies can be more marketable if conceived as universal designs.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to…

• Discuss the limitations of assistive technology for people with disabilities and ways to improve such products using universal design concepts.
• Explain how methods such as simulation and user-centered design approaches can improve product design in relation to the problem of knowledge translation.
• Describe how the emergence of “smart” technologies is changing the notion of universal product design.
• Identify and evaluate product usability in terms of the Goals of Universal Design.

Format

Students must create a udeducation.org account and purchase the course. Access to this course begins immediately.

To complete this course, students must complete approximately 1.75 hours of work anytime during a 1-year window of availability. Specifically, students must:

1. Read “Universal Design and Products” (Chapter 12, approximately 12,500 words) in the textbook: Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments (sold separately in print and e-book format at Wiley and Amazon).
2. Correctly answer at least 8 out of 11 multiple-choice test questions within a single 22-minute session.

A certificate of completion will be provided on the course website following successful completion. Access certificates for expired courses anytime on the My Profile page.

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