Synote Mobile provides users with the ability to access, search, manage and exploit video and audio OER whilst on the move.
Synote Mobile meets the need to make web-based video and audio Open Educational Resources easier to access, search, manage, and exploit. The recordings can be viewed and repurposed with annotations and tags. Many UK students carry mobile devices capable of replaying video, but lack the interactive apps that encourage learning, Synote Mobile provides a collaborative experience with additional personalisation.
Mobile apps have huge potential to help and liberate people, including disabled people and the elderly, who face challenges with other methods of communication. But as with other new technologies, there is also the potential to further exclude people who are already at a disadvantage by providing small, hard-to-use, inflexible interfaces to devices and apps that create more problems than they solve. (One Voice – Moving Together)
One of the main problems this project will need to overcome when considering ease of use and accessibility is the multitude of portable devices and operating systems. The use of a common code such as HTML 5 may overcome some of the difficulties rather than choosing to program a device dependent native app.
Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, September 26, 2011 provides some research into usability with an update on the subject pointing out the need to be aware of ‘fat finger syndrome’ and limit the number of features available.
Link to IDEAL Group's Android Accessibility Project
There is no such thing as full accessibility for everyone, but that should not stop app developers from attempting to maximise accessibility. (One Voice: Moving Together)