e-Learning Lessons for Electric Car Development
We are beginning to see something new in automotive mass manufacturing: electric cars. Sure, there have been electric cars before. But this time it’s on a different scale. Many automotive manufactures have at least one electric car coming to market. Many more are in testing. Tesla is selling high-end electric cars to the rich and famous, GM is delivering the unique Chevy Volt starting in November of 2010, and Nissan’s Leaf all electric car is due in December, 2010.
Chevy Volt’s Range Extender
Unlike other electric cars, the Chevy Volt is an all electric vehicle with a gasoline powered “range extending generator”. Drive around town powered by cheap electricity stored in high tech batteries that recharge overnight from a standard wall outlet, or drive cross country with electricity generated by the quiet, fuel-efficient gasoline engine. Because 75-78% of cars are driven less than 40 miles a day, many Chevy Volt drivers will never need gasoline for daily errands around town or going to work. Electricity is about 66% less expensive per mile than $2.50/gal. gasoline. For longer trips, the range extender insures a steady supply of electricity no matter the distance. Very innovative.
The Sounds of Silence
Besides the sports car handling and powerful torque reported by test drivers, the Chevy Volt is quiet. Very quiet. A trait it shares with other electric vehicles. While drivers remark favorably about this, others have noted that ultra quite cars are potentially dangerous to pedestrians and particularly the blind. As a way of alerting pedestrians, the car manufacturers have now agreed on standards for electric cars to actually create some sound at low speeds. The Nissan Leaf sounds a bit like a quieter version of the Jetson’s flying car. But adding exterior sound to a quiet car has created heated controversy.
Accommodating the Blind and Others
I was surprised by the tone of some online discussions about this accommodation for the visually impaired, children, elderly, and others. Many comments derided the idea of using sound to prevent injury to pedestrians. Some seemed to feel it was exclusively the pedestrian’s problem and responsibility, blind or not. Some felt the electric car was being unfairly singled out compared to traditional cars or even bicycles. Of course it’s easy to overlook or minimize obstacles that you or someone you know have not faced. This battle has been fought before when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed.
Accessible e-Learning Shows the Way
Prior to the ADA, people with a disability where often confronted with barriers to entry, etc. Of course, the need for equal access is not limited to the physical world. As many know, Section 508 of the ADA applies to e-Learning accessibility. In many ways, e-Learning has traveled along a similar path to eliminating barriers for those with a hearing, sight, or physical disability.
Despite much progress, today there are still many e-Learning courses that give little or no thought to those with disabilities, or do so more as an afterthought. Thankfully, there is an increasing movement toward using state-of-the-art e-Learning course development platforms that generate courses accessible to everyone, handicapped or not. A SCORM compliant “one course everyone can use” approach that saves time, eliminates update issues, and enables compliance with Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The richer learning environment provided by these “accessible by everyone” courses benefits all learners, not just those with hearing, sight, or physical disabilities. Now that the capability exists to easily create a single course that everyone can use, old legacy courses can be converted as well. As a result, letting learners with a disability “fend for themselves” is no longer justifiable even from a technology standpoint.
Woof!
Like many other things originally designed to address the needs of people with a disability, an electric car that “advertises” its presence at low speeds will likewise benefit not just the blind, but other pedestrians too. No word yet on what car chasing dogs will make of a visit from the Jetson’s!
