Welcome to the Imagine Cup Accessible Technology Award!
Here’s your chance to build flexible and compelling applications and Web sites that empower people with impairments.
OVERVIEW
The Accessible Technology Award is designed to recognize the user interface solution that best leverages the capabilities of Microsoft products and blends them with other technologies to connect people, data, or diverse systems in a new way.
Accessible Technology is technology that can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities, temporary difficulties, or the desire to customize their interactions with technology:
- The difficulties and impairments that impact a person's ability to use technology use are: vision, dexterity, learning, hearing, language and communication, and aging-related difficulties.
- The need for accessible technology can also stem from temporary physical conditions, such as while recovering from shoulder surgery, in which case the person needs alternatives to the mouse and keyboard.
- Some people need to customize how they access technology due to environmental conditions or their preferences. For example, a person using a workstation in a loud factory will not be able to use sounds, and will need alternative, visual cues instead.
Given these scenarios, many people will use accessible technology at one point or another. A 2004 study commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by Forrester Research found that 57% of U.S. adult computer users are likely or very likely to benefit from accessible technology.
As the world population ages, accessibility needs will increase. People with physical and cognitive impairments represent a very diverse group. They are found in all walks of life, employed in all fields, and studying many different subjects. These users, like all end users, want to use PCs, mobile devices, the Internet, and physical devices - and expect them to work.
PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to submit an interface design solution for consideration for the Accessibility Award ("Contest"), then you agree that your participation in this Contest is subject to the following terms and conditions:
If there are any inconsistencies between the Imagine Cup Rules and Regulations and these Imagine Cup Accessibility Award Contest Details, the Imagine Cup Rules and Regulations will govern.
WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?
This Contest starts at 12:01 AM Greenwich Mean Time ("GMT") on February 6, 2008 and ends at 11:59 PM GMT on May 2, 2008 ("Entry Period"). Entries must be received within the Entry Period to be eligible.
CAN YOU ENTER?
You are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the eligibility requirements set forth in the "Eligibility Criteria" section of the Imagine Cup Rules and Regulations at: /Competition/Rules-Regulations.aspx#Rule4
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ELIGIBLE ENTRY?
To be eligible for consideration for the Accessibility Award, you must submit a self-contained working prototype demonstrating the interactive behavior and concept for the user interface ("solution") and an Official Entry Form (collectively, "entry"), and your entry (or portions thereof, as applicable) must meet the following content and technical requirements:
- Your solution must address the Imagine Cup Theme, "Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment" in the view of addressing a "real-world" accessibility issue; show how the user experience improves when you design beyond the typical monitor + keyboard + mouse + speaker configuration.
- Your solution may be localized in any language; however, the supporting materials including the Official Entry Form must be presented in English.
- You are encouraged, BUT NOT REQUIRED to use Silverlight and Expression Blend to create your solution.
- Your solution must include at least two (2) accessibility features from any of the following Categories of Microsoft Accessibility Technology (e.g., Windows Vista UI Automation is an accessibility feature that is part of the Microsoft Accessibility Architecture Category).
Categories of Accessibility Technology
Category 1 - Microsoft Accessibility Architecture
Microsoft Accessibility Architecture enables assistive technology to programmatically access the operating system and applications. The accessibility architecture is comprised of the following APIs:
- UI Automation API, which is available for both Win32 applications and .NET 3.0 applications
- Windows Vista Magnification API
Category 2 - Windows Vista Accessibility Parameters
Windows Vista Accessibility Parameters are managed via the SystemParametersInfo function. The parameters are exposed to end-users via the Windows Vista Ease of Access Control Panel. Examples of accessibility parameters are high contrast, ShowSounds, and MessageDuration.
Category 3 - Windows Vista Features in the Ease of Access Control Panel
Category 4 - Microsoft Speech Technologies
- End-user features in the Windows Vista Speech Recognition Control Panel
- Text-to-Speech speech synthesis
- Speech Recognition
Category 5 - Internet Explorer Accessibility
- Zoom feature
- Accessibility Internet Options (such as replacing the web site's style sheet with a user's style sheet)
- Internet Explorer implementation of Microsoft Active Accessibility
NOTE: Use of Windows Vista UI Automation in particular is encouraged.
Your solution must target end-users in at least one of the following categories of physical and/or cognitive disabilities:
Your abstract must be submitted via the Entry Form, and must articulate how your solution enables people with disabilities to engage with technology in an effective and unique way. Interesting solutions may arise by thinking deeply about scenarios such as:
- Collaboration between people with a variety of accessibility needs
- Speech technologies
- Alternative input devices
- Using accessible technology wherever you are
- Adaptive UI, and
- Personalized learning aids (vocabulary, comprehension, communication, and memory cues).
HOW DO I REGISTER?
If you wish to participate in this Contest, you must register at www.imaginecup.com as instructed during the Entry Period, either individually, or as a member of a Team. For purposes of this Contest, a Team consists of up to two (2) eligible students (each a "Team").
Each Team is solely responsible for its own cooperation and teamwork. In no event will Microsoft officiate in any dispute regarding the conduct or cooperation of any Team or its members. In addition, you may not compete as a member of multiple Teams in this Contest.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY ENTRY?
You must complete the following steps in order to submit an Accessible Technology entry.
- Sign up for the Interface Design Invitational on your Profile page.
- Provide your personal information.
- Confirm your Imagine Cup account.
- Create a Live ID and associate it with your Imagine Cup account.
- Form or join a team.
You can tell if you have completed these required steps by looking at the competition checklist on your Competition page, and the corresponding message displayed in the "Entry Panel" in the top left corner of the
Interface Design Competition page.
- If it says "Sign Up for the Competition," click the button to be taken to your Profile page where you can sign up for the competition.
- If it says "Provide Personal Information," click the button to be taken to your Profile page. You must fill in all the fields in the Personal Information section and click Update in order to compete. If a particular field is not applicable to you (for example, your country does not use postal codes), put "NA" or "Not Applicable."
- If it says "Confirm Your Account," click the button to have a registration confirmation mail sent to you. Once you receive it, click on the included confirmation link to confirm your account.
- If it says "Create a Live ID Account," click the button to be taken to the Windows Live ID Web site, where you can create a new Live ID or log in with an existing one. After you have done that, you will be returned to the Imagine Cup site and asked to supply your Imagine Cup credentials to link the two accounts.
- If it says "Join or Create a Team," you should create a team following the steps outlined in the Support FAQ.
- If you see a button in your Entry Panel that says "Upload Award entry", you're all set! Click the button to submit your entry. During the entry submission process, you will be required to provide a title and for your entry.
ENTRY LIMIT
We will only accept one (1) entry per Team. We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.
We will automatically disqualify:
- Incomplete or illegible entries; and
- Entries that we receive in excess of the entry limit described above.
HOW WILL ENTRIES BE JUDGED?
On or around the close of the Entry Period, a panel of qualified judges will review all eligible entries received and select one (1) Team to win the Accessibility Award based upon the Judging Criteria described below. The Accessibility Award Winner will be announced on or around July 8, 2008.
- 10% Problem Definition: How precise and relevant is the real world problem chosen by the team?
- 10% Consistency: How well does the project adhere to the Imagine Cup theme as well as the accessibility theme?
- 10% Innovation: Does the application approach a new problem, or look at an old problem in a new way?
- 10% Impact: Does the application either impact a large number of people with accessibility needs very broadly, or impact a smaller number of people with accessibility needs very deeply?
- 10% Effectiveness: To what degree does the application solve the problem in question?
- 10% User Experience: To what degree is the solution intuitive, ergonomic, and user friendly?
- 10% Complexity Management: How well does the solution conceptually assemble and handle all the technologies and techniques used to solve the problem?
- 20% Use of Accessible Technology: How well does the solution integrate accessible technology and utilize the functionality of the accessible technology?
- 10% Prototype Completeness: Is the prototype design-complete, working, and "demonstration-ready"?
All decisions of the Contest Judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion based on the above Judging Criteria, select fewer than the number of winner stated. In the event of a tie between any eligible entries, the tie will be broken by an additional judge who will then judge the tied entries based on the criteria listed above.
PRIZES
One (1) Grand Prize. A prize package consisting of the following items:
- An opportunity for each member of the Team to travel to Paris, France, as a guest of Microsoft, to attend the Imagine Cup 2008 Worldwide Finals, and present the Accessibility Award-winning solution. Trip includes roundtrip airfare and lodging. (Approximate Retail Value (ARV), US$4,000 per person)
- An Accessible Technology Award consisting of US$8,000 to be distributed equally among each member of the Team.
- The opportunity to have the Accessibility Award-winning solution featured on the Imagine Cup Web site.
- An opportunity for each member of the team to travel to Los Angeles, California in March 2009 to attend the "CSUN Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference" hosted by California State University Northridge (CSUN) and present the Accessibility Award-winning solution (ARV, US$3,000 per person. For details on the 2008 conference, see http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/index.html.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is this a new requirement for Interface Design?
No! Remember: Participation is optional because the Accessibility Award Contest is separate from the Imagine Cup Interface Design Invitational. However, you can submit your ID entry for consideration for the Accessibility Award provided you meet all of the eligibility requirements and your entry meets all of the Accessibility Award Content and Technical Requirements described above
Can only Round 2 competitors participate?
No. Any Interface Design Invitational entrant can submit an entry for consideration for the Accessibility Award regardless of whether he/she advances to Round 2 in the Interface Design Invitational. However only the six Interface Design Invitational Finalist Teams will be eligible to compete at the Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals in Paris.
How many entries can you submit?
Only one (1) entry will be accepted for the Interface Design Invitational. However, you can use and/or update your Interface Design Invitational entry and submit it for consideration for the Accessibility Award.
What is Accessible Technology?
Accessible Technology is technology that can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities, temporary difficulties, or the desire to customize how they interact with technology:
- The disabilities that impact technology use are: vision, dexterity, cognition, hearing, and speech. For example, low vision, hard of hearing, color blindness, Repetitive Stress Syndrome, and learning difficulties.
- The need for accessible technology can also come from a temporary situation, such as recovering from shoulder surgery, in which case the person needs alternatives to the mouse and keyboard.
- Some people will want to customize how they access technology due to their environment or preferences. For example, a person working on a workstation in a loud factory will have no use for sounds, and will need alternative, visual cues instead.
For Case Studies and information on specialized Assistive Technology, see the Microsoft Accessibility site at http://www.microsoft.com/enable/.
What are the technology components of Microsoft's Accessible Technology?
The Microsoft Accessibility architecture enables assistive technology to programmatic access the operating system and applications. The accessibility architecture is comprised of the following APIs:
- UI Automation API, which is available for both Win32 applications and .NET 3.0 applications
- Windows Vista Magnification API
- Windows Vista accessibility parameters, which are managed via the SystemParametersInfo function. The parameters are exposed to end-users via the Windows Vista Ease of Access Control Panel. Examples of accessibility parameters are high contrast, ShowSounds, and MessageDuration.
- Windows Vista features in the Ease of Access
- Speech Technologies
- End-user features in the Windows Vista Speech Recognition Control Panel
- Text-to-Speech speech synthesis
- Speech Recognition
- Accessibility Infrastructure of Internet Explorer
- Zoom feature
- Accessibility Internet Options (such as replacing the web site’s style sheet with a user’s style sheet)
- Internet Explorer implementation of Microsoft Active Accessibility
What will the judges be looking for?
Please see the judging criteria section on this page.
What are the deadlines for the Accessible Technology Award?
May 2, 2008
How will I submit my entry?
Navigate to the Interface Design Portal Page and click the "Upload Award Entry" button in your Entry panel. Please also ensure you have included a completed copy of Accessibility Technology Entry Form, found on this page.
Where can I find resources and get my questions answered?
Please post your questions in the Interface Design Accessibility forum and Microsoft Accessibility experts will answer your questions. In addition, we recommend the following resources: