Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course - completing its nineteenth year - that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly in-person discussions; lectures by notable professionals, clinicians, and assistive technology users; a tour of an accessible inclusive playground; student project presentations and demonstrations; and an Assistive Technology Faire. Students pursue team-based projects that address real challenges faced by people with disabilities and older adults living in the local community. Check out the course website.

End of the Quarter - The Winter 2025 course has come to an end. Here are a few non-anonymous student comments from their Individual Reflections responding to the questions, "If you were to go through this process again, what would you do differently? What advice would you give to future students?" I will use these responses to motivate enrolled students next year.

• For future students, my biggest advice would be to embrace the iterative nature of design and trust that uncertainty is part of the process. It’s easy to feel like other teams have everything figured out, but in reality, every project comes with unique challenges. Comparing your process to others can be discouraging, but it’s important to recognize that different teams operate under different constraints.
• If I were to go through this process again, I would prioritize exploring a broader range of prototypes at an earlier stage of the prototyping process.
• If I were to redo this project, I would push for earlier prototyping.
• My advice to future students is to prioritize user feedback early and often.
• When I reflect on our team meetings, I think that we definitely could have been much more efficient and productive if we had planned out more before meeting.
• I would tell future students to get ahead on the prototyping process. We spent far too long ideating and trying to figure out our solution when we should have been rapid firing ideas, getting quick feedback, and iterating on those faster. The faster the project starts, the less hectic it is in the end and the better product is produced.
• For future students, I’d recommend scheduling an initial meeting with their project partner as early as possible, even before brainstorming solutions, to better understand their needs and integrate that knowledge from the start.
• The first and most important piece of advice I would give to future students is to make sure you know and understand the full scope of the project.
• Choose a team that ensures you have the required skills as well as work ethic. Although working with friends seems simple and appealing, make sure you understand group dynamics and responsibilities. Lastly, make sure you make progress weekly or have plans in place.
• The most important advice I would give to anyone taking this class in the future would be to meet with your project partner as much as possible.
• Looking back, I think we could have benefitted to move a bit quicker in the beginning in order to get some feedback from the teaching team before the final solution.
• If I were to go through this process again, I would certainly allocate more time to the testing phase, ensuring that prototypes are iterated upon with more immediate user feedback.
• To future students, my advice is to listen attentively, stay patient, and approach the process with empathy - user input is key, and the value of their perspective cannot be overstated.
• If I were to do this project again, I would ask the teaching team to help us brainstorm ideas.
• One advice I would give to new students is to explore the makerspaces on campus beyond the PRL.
• For future students, one piece of advice I would give is to select a project that you truly are passionate about solving and start early!
• If I were to go through the design process for this project again, I would like to do more iteration on the modularity of [our prototype].
• If I were to approach this project again, I would dedicate more time to concept selection following our initial interview with our project coach.
• If I were to repeat this experience, my recommendations for future students would be to start early, maintain a steady workflow, check in with the TAs and Dave regularly, and invest time in building strong relationships with teammates.

The entire Individual Reflections document can be found here.