Glossary of Terms Human/Assistive Tecnology Interface

Glossary of Terms	Definitions	Examples
Abbreviation Expansion	An AAC or computer access technique in which a shortened form of a word or phrase stands for the entire word or phrase; abbreviations are automatically expanded by the device.	An abbreviation expansion system which reconstructs full words or sentences from abbreviated typed text can be a very important benefit to people who suffer from motor difficulties or dyslexia. Reliable abbreviation expansion reduces the number of keystrokes that users need to input in order to communicate in full and rich language.
Acceptance Time	A method used for selection of an item in a scanning system that is based on the user’s pausing for a preset period, after which the entry is made.	Pause
Accessibility Options	Software adaptations included in Windows that address common problems that persons with disabilities have in using a standard keyboard.	Control panel in Windows provides keyboard, mouse and screen options for people who have difficulty typing or seeing the screen.
Activation Characteristics	The method of activation, deactivation, effort, displacement, flexibility, and durability of a control interface.	A distinguishing feature of a person or thing.
Automatic Scanning	Items are presented continuously by the device at an adjustable rate, with selection of the choice made by activating the switch and stopping the scan; entry is by an additional switch press or acceptance time.	Software easy with its powerful automation features, streamlined workflow and 1-click interface.
Circular Scanning	An approach in which the selection set is organized in a circular pattern.	This type of scanning cannot be viewed via this web tool but it is easy to imagine. It is scanning on a circular display, where the cursor sweeps around the display much like the "second hand" of a clock.
Code Access	A form of indirect selection in which the individual uses a distinct sequence of movements to input a code for each item in the selection set.
Command Domain	The set of assistive device functions available to the user.
Concept Keyboards	A keyboard in which the letters and numbers are replaced with pictures, symbols, or words that represent the concepts being used or taught.	A flat board that contains a grid of buttons.
Continuous Input	When the inputs to a device are ongoing, with an infinite number of possible values.	Glide your fingers across the screen.
Control Enhancers	Aids and strategies that enhance or extend the physical control a person has available to use a control interface.
Control Interface	The hardware by which the user operates an assistive technology system or controls a device.	A person operating a particular piece of equipment could instruct the device or system as to what they desired, and the item being controlled could respond accordingly
Digital Recording	Human speech is stored in electronic memory circuits for later retrieval.	A storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure (sound) for audio and Chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or moving image
Direct Selection	An approach in which the individual is able to use the control interface to randomly choose any of the items in the selection set.	The individual "specifically indicates the desired item in the selection set, without any intermediary steps.
Directed Scanning	An approach in which the user activates the control interface to select the direction of the scan, vertically or horizontally, and then sends a signal to stop at the desired choice; entry is by an additional switch press or acceptance time.	Directed scanning matches separate switches with moving the highlight across individual keys. These switches are used in a step or inverse fashion. The switches are often housed in a gated joystick, allowing users to direct the scanning cursor as they would drive an electric wheelchair. Items are selected by activating the select switch, or by dwelling for some period. Directed scanning requires the greatest degree of control.
Discrete Inputs	Controls interfaces with a set of fixed values from which the user can choose.
Distributed Control	An approach used when multiple devices are controlled and each has its own control interface.
Easy Access	Software adaptations included in Apple Macintosh operating systems that address common problems that persons with disabilities have in using a standard keyboard.
Emulation	Replacement of one type of computer input with another more accessible form.
General Input Device-Emulating Interface	Hardware or software adaptions to a computer that allow emulation of the mouse, the keyboard, or both.
Graphical User Interface	Characterized by three distinguished features: 1. a mouse pointer, which is moved around the screen; 2. A graphical menu bar; which appears on the screen; and 3. One or more windows, which provide a menu of choices.
Group-Item Scanning	An approach that is used to increase the rate of selection during scanning by grouping the selection set and allowing  the user to first select a group and then the desired items in the group.	Click on "Group" scanning. You can see that the cursor highlights the top and bottom halves of the selection set, until you activate the switch. Then it highlights each row in that half of the display until you activate the switch. Then it highlights each individual item until selection.
Indirect Selection	An approach in which there are intermediary steps involved in making a selection; includes scanning and coded access; typically the control interface used is a single switch or an array of switches.	Improving one character while selecting on another.
Input Domain	The number of independent inputs, or signals generated by the control interface; may be either discrete or continuous.	Input domain of a program is all the possible inputs to that program.
Integrated Control	An approach used when multiple devices are controlled with one control interface.	Integrated Control Technologies is a distributor of automation and motion control products, such as, AC and DC Drives and motors, servo amplifiers and motors, IEC starters and electronic soft-starts, light curtains and laser sensors, PLCs and HMIs, temperature controls and tension controls, power supplies and push-buttons and much, much more.
Inverse Scanning	An approach in which the scan is initiated by the individual’s activating and holding a switch closed, with selection of the desired item indicated by releasing the switch; entry is by an individual switch press or acceptance time.
Linear Scan	An approach in which the selection set is organized in a linear format.	The demo begins in "linear scanning" where the cursor moves from one item to the next through the entire set.
Multitasking	The capacity of an operating system to pause while running one software program to run another program.	Is the apparent performance by an individual of handling more than one task at the same time?
On-Screen Keyboard	Emulation method that employs a video image of the keyboard on the video screen, together with a cursor.	displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys Displays a visual keyboard with all standard keys.displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys. displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys.
Parallel Port	A computer output used to send bytes of data as a whole; requires larger number of wires and is faster than a serial port; commonly used in printers and some speech synthesizers.	Is a type of interface found on computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals?
Prosodic Features	Are features that appear when we put sounds together in connected speech.	Those rhythmic and intonational elements of speech (melodies, relative intensity of pronunciation of words and their parts, correlation of speech segments ...
Rate Enhancement	AAC and computer access approaches that result in the number characters generated being greater than the number of selections the individual makes.	Enrollment and participation.
Rotary Scanning	An approach in which the selection set is organized in a circular pattern.	Used for high-speed document scanning, is a type of drum scanner that uses a CCD array instead of a photomultiplier.
Row-Column Scanning	A form of group-item scanning in which the items are arranged in a matrix and the row is first selected by a switch press, then the item is selected from the row by a second switch press; entry is by an additional switch press or acceptance time.	Click on "Row-Column" scanning. You can see how the cursor highlights one row at a time, until you activate the switch. Then it activates each item (each column) as progresses. When you activate the switch a second time, you will select the letter that is highlighted at that moment.
Scanning	The most common indirect selection method, in which the selection set is presented by a display and is sequentially canned by a cursor or light on the device, with the user  selecting the desired choice by pressing a switch when it is indicated by the display; entry is by an additional switch press or acceptance time.	A method of representing the changes of a physical quantity variable over time by unambiguously converting it into another quantity that varies in space.
Selection Methods	An approach allowing the user to make choices from the selection set; includes scanning, directed scanning, and coded assess.	Making choices.
Selection Set	The items available from which user choices are made; in an AAC device this is the component that presents the symbol system and possible vocabulary selections to the user.	Contains a combination of different codes at plant level, for example, coded descriptions of characteristic attributes (such as color, shape, surface).
Sensory Characteristics	Auditory, somatosensory, and visual feedback produced during the activation of a control interface.	Understanding and operating content do not rely solely on sensory characteristics of components such as shape, size, visual location, orientation, or sound.
Serial Port	A bi-directional computer output requires only two or three conductors.	Is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time (in contrast to a parallel port).
Spatial Characteristics	The overall physical size and shape of the control interface.
Speech Synthesis	The generation of human-sounding speech using electronic circuits and computer software.	Is the artificial production of human speech?
Step Scanning	An approach in which the user activates the switch one for each item to move through the choices in the selection set.	A method of indirect selection in which the user activates a switch each time he wants the system to move to the next selection.
Text-To –Speech Programs	Programs that analyze a word or sentence and translate it into codes required by a speech synthesizers.	Software allows you to have text read aloud to you.
Transparent Access	Two fundamental concepts that apply to all levels of computer adaption.	The system after change adheres to previous external interface as much as possible while changing its internal behavior.
Universal Access	Software adaptions included in Apple Macintosh operating systems that address common problems that persons with disabilities have in using a standard keyboard and seeing characters on the screen.	Is a component of the Mac OS X operating system that provides computing abilities to people with visual impairment, hearing impairment, or physical disability?
USB Port	Has effectively replaced a variety of earlier interfaces, such as serial and parallel ports, as well as separate power chargers for portable devices	Is a connection point on computers and many other types of consumer electronics?
Word Completion	A technique that displays stored words based on the sequence of entered keys.	Is a feature provided by many web browsers, e-mail programs, search engine interfaces, source code editors, database query tools, word processors, and command line interpreters
Word Prediction	A technique that displays stored words based on previous words entered.	Word prediction is an "intelligent" word processing feature that can alleviate writing breakdowns for a range of students simply by reducing the number of keystrokes necessary for typing words.