REACH Interface Author Add-On Options

REACH Sound-It-Out Phonetic Keyboard™ (Patent Pending)

The REACH Sound-It-Out Keyboard™ is a new approach to typing based on smart keys (Patent Pending). The keyboard has an array of "keys" which represent phonemes rather than letters. On the children's keyboard (shown below), pictures are presented to help users find the sound they are after (e.g., a picture of a bus for the "B" sound). When the user points at a key, an audio recording is played (e.g., "bih – bus").

To "type" a word (e.g., "light"), the user "types" the first sound in the word ("L") by pressing that key. Two things then happen: smart keys removes phonemes that don't follow an initial "L" sound and the word prediction windows are filled with the most frequently used words that begin with "L" - as shown in the picture below:

After the second sound is selected (the long "I" sound), the keyboard shows sounds that follow an initial "L" + "I"  phonemic pattern (see picture below).  In the candidate words presented above the keyboard, the most frequent words beginning with the "L" + "I" sound are presented and can be heard by pointing at them. Also,  any words that are completed (such as "lie" at this point) are moved to the top of the list and highlighted with a yellow background.

Selecting the third and final "T" sound in the word being sought changes the phonetic keyboard as shown in the picture below.  Only sounds which follow an initial "L" + "Long I" + "T" sound remain on the keyboard.  Also, words which begin with that pattern are shown in the word prediction windows above the keyboard.  Two words are shown as completed:  "light" and "lied."  Although not true homophones, both words are shown as completed because is possible to confuse the final "T" sound with a final "D" sound.  All such "homophones" have corresponding short phrases which can be read aloud by pointing at the word to help you decide which is the word you are seeking.  These "Homophone Hints" can be shown all the time (as in the picture below), only when pointed at with your mouse, or not at all - depending on your preference

Users also are provided a "replay window".  Here, the user can see and hear (by clicking on them) the sounds selected up to that point.  When the user selects the "Say It!" button, the speech synthesizer plays (blends) the selected sounds in sequence.

In a completed experiment, children with and without learning (spelling) disabilities were significantly more accurate in spelling when using the phonetic keyboard than when using a standard alphabetic keyboard.  Results for adult subjects were very similar.

REACH Smart Key™ Add-On (Must own REACH V3 or V4)
Recently announced by AHF, REACH "Smart Key™ Technology" (Smart Keys™) is the latest advance in assistive technology.  An "add on" option for REACH Interface Author™ (REACH™), this innovative approach to on-screen keyboards will increase typing speed and accuracy for many REACH™ users.

Here is how it works - just load any of the REACH™ typing keyboards such as one of the alphabetic keyboards shown below

Start typing the word "yours" by selecting the letter "y".  When the letter "y" is typed, not only does REACH™ start predicting the word you are typing (word prediction starts predicting words that begin with "y"), but Smart Keys™ starts predicting the next letter. 

Smart Keys™ does this by using a unique method for determining which letters follow the letter "y" in the REACH™ dictionary(ies) you have loaded.  In one option, Smart Keys™ then removes all letters that don't follow "y" (see below):

This simplifies the keyboard display and makes it easier to find the next letter you are looking for!  It also makes it easier to "hit" the correct key because there is now a lot of empty space, so if you accidentally miss the target key, you won't type the wrong letter!

When you type the next letter ("o") in "yours", Smart Keys™ again updates the keyboard to show you the letters that follow the sequence "yo"

If you are typing a word that is not in the current REACH™ dictionary(ies), then you can select the "Escape" (Restore) key (lower left corner) to bring back all the keys on the keyboard.  When you finish typing the novel word, you probably will want to use the quick "Add Word" option to add it to your User Dictionary.

If you want the benefits of Smart Keys™ but also want all the keys to stay on the keyboard, you can select the "Gray and Make Active" option (where unlikely keys are "grayed out" but can still be typed), the "Gray and Make Inactive" option (where unlikely keys are grayed out and cannot be typed) or the "Change Colors" option, (where the colors of unlikely keys are changed). 

You also can decide whether to show or not show the number keys, punctuation keys, or control keys! 

Scanning Keyboard Advantage -
The greatest advantage for Smart Key Technology™ comes for persons using scanning keyboards.  The problem with scanning keyboards always has been the amount of time wasted while waiting to get to the correct key.  As shown in the graph below, in an experimental evaluation of Smart Keys™, there was a 31% increase in typing rate when scanning for subjects using Smart Keys™ compared to using the same REACH™ keyboard without Smart Keys™.

When you turn on any of REACH™'s three scanning options, depending on the options you select, REACH™ only scans the likely keys or scans the likely keys first, before scanning the unlikely keys.  This can result in substantial time savings!

Free demonstration software is available if you would like to try REACH with Smart Keys™:

Smart Lists™ Add-On (Must own REACH + Smart Keys V3 or V4)

"Smart Lists™" Technology (Patent Pending) can help you type faster and more accurately. Click on the "Y" key, and it "opens up," showing a list of possible word beginnings. No need to search the keyboard, search word prediction, or search the application to see where you are in the word - just pick the option that best shows the way your target word begins!
 

Advantages of Smart Lists™ When Using Scanning Input

1. Decreased Work (number of clicks required) -

Rationale: Row/column scanning is used to select first letter (2 clicks); but after that, scanning is linear (down the list) so user operates switch once per selection instead of twice (as in row/column scanning).  The graph below shows the estimated number of clicks per letter for words of different length for traditional row/column scanning (Control) and for Smart Lists™.
 

2. Increased Typing Speed -

Rationale: Candidate "extensions" which are presented in the list are ordered by their probability. Overall (as many words are typed), this results in increased typing speed. The graph below shows the estimated time spent scanning per letter for words of different length for traditional row/column scanning (Control) and for Smart Lists™.

3. Reduced Visual Scanning and Head Movement -

Rationale: The Smart List is presented at the site of the last key selected on the keyboard - i.e., where they were just looking. After that, everything the user "needs" to type the word is presented in the Smart Lists: no need to continually visually search the keyboard, the application you are typing to, or the word prediction window.

4. Reduced Number of Mental Tasks -

Rationale: When using a standard on-screen keyboard, users must perform a number of different mental tasks (e.g., remember the letter(s) already typed; identify the next letter; search for and recognize the new target letter; occasionally check the application to see where they are in the word or if the last letter they intended to type made it to the application; and occasionally check the word prediction window to see if the target word is presented). In addition, changing from one task to another task can itself be thought of as a task - and takes time. With Smart Lists, once a list is shown, the user's task remains the same: recognize the option that is most similar to the beginning of the word being typed.

Smart List™ Advantages When Using Point & Click Input

1. Decreased Work (number of clicks required) -

Rationale:  When using a standard on-screen keyboard with no typing enhancements, one click is required for each letter. Depending on which setting the user has selected, Smart Lists can offer more options than there are subsequent individual letters. For example, "you..." might be offered in addition to its parent "yo..." after the initial "y" is typed. Also, as the user goes further into the word (and especially for long words) Smart Lists is more likely to show multiple-letter candidates and even entire words. Finally, when a word is selected from a Smart List, a trailing space is always added. These three factors have the overall effect of reducing the number of clicks required.

2. Possibly Increased Typing Speed -

Rationale:  Smart Lists might or might not increase typing speed when pointing and clicking. The answer is complex and depends in part upon: length of the word; how good the user is at processing lists; how good the user is at recognizing the beginnings of words; how good the user is at spatially reorienting to different locations on the display; how accurate and fast the user is when using a pointer; and other variables.

3. Reduced Visual Scanning and Head Movement -

Rationale: The Smart List is presented at the site of the last key selected on the keyboard - i.e., where they were just looking. After that, everything the user "needs" to type the word is presented in the Smart Lists: no need to continually visually search the keyboard, the application you are typing to, or the word prediction window.

4. Reduced Number of Mental Tasks -

Rationale: When using a standard on-screen keyboard, users must perform a number of different mental tasks (e.g., remember the letter(s) already typed; identify the next letter; search for and recognize the new target letter; occasionally check the application to see where they are in the word or if the last letter they intended to type made it to the application; and occasionally check the word prediction window to see if the target word is presented). In addition, changing from one task to another task can itself be thought of as a task - and takes time. With Smart Lists, once a list is shown, the user's task remains the same: recognize the option that is most similar to the beginning of the word being typed.

5. Decreased Motor Response -

Rationale: Once a list is presented, all the information necessary for the user to complete typing the word is restricted to a space the size of the list being presented. Also, the list is physically located at the site that the user last positioned the pointer. In general, the physical movement required to point on the next selection in subsequent Smart Lists is less than that required if the user stayed on the keyboard.

6. Simplified Motor Response -

Rationale: Once a list is presented, pointer movement is primarily vertical (up and down) - especially if the user has selected the "Show all items in one list" option.

Smart List Adjustments -
You can adjust Smart Lists separately for scanning and point-and-click conditions. Point-And-Click: Try the different options and see what works best for you. If it is hard for you to click, select one of the "Less keyboard" options and increase the number in the "Always display a list..." option. If you like staying on the keyboard longer, check out the "Dynamic Labels" option to see if you like that.