Assuring Public Access for All

In this activity students view and analyze images of ramps and steps to see if they conform to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students measure horizontal and vertical distances and compute the percent slope for each image. Image measurements are performed using WebImage, a Web-based, customized version of ImageJ.

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Relevant standard(s)

NSES Standard: Science as Inquiry, Grades 5-8, Content Standard A
• USE APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO GATHER, ANALYZE, AND INTERPRET DATA: The use of tools and techniques, including mathematics, will be guided by the question asked and the investigations students design. The use of computers for the collection, summary, and display of evidence is part of this standard. Students should be able to access, gather, store, retrieve, and organize data, using hardware and software designed for these purposes.

NSES Standard: Science and Technology in Society, Grades 5-8, Content Standard E
Technology influences society through its products and processes. Technology influences the quality of life and the ways people act and interact. Technological changes are often accompanied by social, political, and economic changes that can be beneficial or detrimental to individuals and to society. Social needs, attitudes, and values influence the direction of technological development.

NSES Standard: Science in Personal and Social Perspective, Grades 5-8, Content Standard F
• Societal challenges often inspire questions for scientific research, and social priorities often influence research priorities through the availability of funding for research.

NCTM Standard: Measurement, Grades 6-8
Instructional programs should enable students to understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement:
• understand, select, and use units of appropriate size and type to measure angles, perimeter, area, surface area, and volume.

NCTM Standard: Numbers and Operations, Grades 6-8
Instructional programs should enable students to understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems:
• understand and use ratios and proportions to represent quantitative relationships.

NETS Standard: Grades 6-8
• Use content-specific tools, software, and simulations (e.g., environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research.
• Select and use appropriate tools and technology resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and solve problems.