Winter Quarter 2013

ENGR110/210
 Perspectives in Assistive Technology 

David L. Jaffe, MS and Professor Drew Nelson
Tuesdays & Thursdays   4:15pm - 5:30pm
Thornton Center - Classroom 110

home icon

Information and Instructions for Guest Lecturers


Guest Lecturers,

Thank you once again for your willingness to participate in the Stanford Course: Perspectives in Assistive Technology.

Presentation topic: Your talk can be anything that relates to disability, rehabilitation, assistive technology, or design techniques. You should have both expertise and passion for the topic. You should plan for about 45 minutes presentation including questions. Please consider bringing items to show, pass around, and demonstrate as this adds interest to your talk.

Information needed: If you haven't done so already, please provide me with the following information for the class website and announcements:

  • Title of your talk
  • One paragraph description of your talk
  • One paragraph biosketch
  • Contact information that you would like to give out
  • A digital photograph (head shot)

Class location: The class will be held in in Thornton Center - Classroom 110. Refer to the Classroom Location and Accessibility Information webpage for driving directions and parking instructions. Let me know if you would like me to mail you a printed map highlighting the classroom location and nearby parking areas.

Parking information:

  • Parking at Stanford does not require a permit (or feeding meters) after 4pm.
  • Your best chance of finding a parking space is around the Oval or in the parking lot adjacent to Tressider Union.
  • Refer to the online campus map for the location of other parking lots.
  • Please refer to a map to find you way from your car to the classroom.

Class time:

  • Please plan to arrive at the classroom by 4pm for setup. Give yourself extra time to negotiate traffic, navigate around campus, find a parking space, and make your way to the classroom.
  • Class begins promptly at 4:15pm.
  • The lecture ends at approximately 5:30pm.
  • The class will start with a short interactive session (15 to 20 minutes) that I will lead. After a short break, I will then introduce you.
  • You will have about 45 minutes for your presentation, including questions and discussion.

PowerPoint presentation:

  • Please use standard fonts and simple backgrounds.

  • If you plan to show devices during your presentation, please include a photo of each in your PowerPoint slide deck.

  • If you have videos, post them to YouTube and provide the url link in a slide.

  • Email me your PowerPoint presentation the day before you are scheduled to talk so I can load it on my laptop. (Having your presentation pre-loaded on my laptop assures that the slides will display properly and makes them available before class to any students with visual impairments.)

  • An LCD projector and speakers are available.
  • I have a wireless device to advance the slides and a laser pointer for your use. (See below)
  • Access to the Internet is available through my laptop.
  • You will be given a wireless microphone to wear on your lapel to record audio from your lecture. Do not handle the microphone as it generates noise.

PowerPoint wireless presenter:

  • Here are the controls for the Logitech R800 wireless presenter.
diagram of controls for the R800 presenter

Wireless microphone:

  • You will be given a wireless microphone to wear on your lapel to record audio from your lecture. Be sure to select clothing that will accommodate the microphone and transmitter clips.
  • Clip the microphone onto your clothing (onto your collar or the upper portion of your shirt or blouse), 3 to 8” from your mouth.
  • Clip the transmitter to your belt or pocket.
  • The TALK/STANDBY/OFF switch (this is a three-position switch) on the transmitter should be in the TALK position during your presentation.
  • To momentarily turn off the microphone, press and hold MUTE button on the transmitter body. Release it when you are ready to speak again.
  • Use the STANDBY position on the transmitter to avoid a popping noise that might occur when you turn TALK/STANDBY/OFF switch to the OFF position and then back to the TALK position.
  • Do not handle the microphone during your presentation as it generates noise in the recorded audio file.
  • If you want to pick up audio from someone you are interviewing or someone who has asked a question, do not unclip the microphone, just stand close to him/her.
Wireless microphone transmitter
Wireless transmitter switch

Radio Shack wireless transmitter and microphone

Three-way switch on wireless transmitter

Audience:

  • The audience will Stanford engineering students (mostly mechanical engineering) and individuals from the greater Stanford community (typically 40 people).
  • There may be several students who arrive late or have to leave early due to other class committments.

Student interest:

  • Learning about rehabilitation and assistive technology,
  • Obtaining information that can help them pursue a successful assistive technology student team project for this class, and
  • Understanding how their Stanford education in engineering can be used to benefit people with disabilities.

  • Please do not overwhelm the students with technical details. One message to communicate is they can successfully pursue an assistive technology project.

Handout material: Please provide me with a soft copy of any handout material before your presentation if you would like me to make copies of them.

Presentation content suggestions: Please consider including the following items (if appropriate) in your presentation:

  • Introduce yourself, briefly provide some career-oriented context: your educational and employment backgrounds
  • Who do you work for presently?
  • What are you doing now?
  • What kinds of projects are you working on?
  • Who do you work with - professionals in what fields?
  • What tools and design processes do you use to succeed in your job?
  • How are you funded?
  • What are some unmet challenges in your specific field of work?
  • What is your perspective on your work and your professional field as it relates to assistive technology and rehabilitation?
  • How does your work impact people with disabilities or the fields of assistive technology and rehabilitation?
  • Provide at least one good example of your work (hopefully it will include some mechanical engineering components).
  • Include comments on how you address ethical issues such as safety and privacy and how you interact with people with disabilities.
  • Engage the audience with questions such as:
    • What do you think of when ...
    • How would you solve this problem ...
  • Bring items to display, demonstrate, and pass around.
  • Please keep your presentation short and concise to allow for questions and discussion.

Lecture material posted on the course website:

  • Contact information - information for students to contact you
  • Lecture audio - audio recorded from the entire class session
  • Slides - a pdf version of your slide set (You can request removal of specific slides that you don't want published on the website.)
  • Handouts - pdf versions of any class handouts
  • Photos - images taken in class of guest lecturer and any devices brought to class

Guest Lecturer Evaluation

Everyone attending the class session - both students and individuals from the community - will be asked to fill out an evaluation form. Its purpose is to help the teaching team assess the class session. A summary of all reponses will be sent to you. The evaluation items are:

Speaker issues:
  • speaking volume, understandability, ease of following concepts and arguments, clarity of explanations
  • quality of PowerPoint slides, use of supporting media (videos) and presentation aids (Show&Tell items)
  • stage presence, knowledge of topic, preparedness
  • presentation structure, organization, pace and management of allotted time
  • opportunity for questioning and class engagement
  • provided good answers, examples, and demonstrations

Content issues:
  • topic interest
  • relevance to the broad scope of assistive technology
  • presentation of new information
  • level of detail and technical content
  • overall value of content

Please answer the following questions and provide additional comments, especially if you found the class session to be either outstanding or in need of improvement:

What are your thoughts and observation about the entire class session?
What concepts did you especially like or wish were covered in more detail?

Class website:

Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you again,

Dave Jaffe
650/892-4464 cell

Updated 01/28/2013

Back to Homepage

back to homepage