We have certainly come a long way since the publication of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) V2.0 in 2008. Between advances such as the Accessible Rich Internet Applications specification (WAI-ARIA), work done to make frameworks like Drupal and Angular JS more accessible, and legislation such as the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) in the USA and the internet regulations under the AODA in Canada, we have seen progress in digital accessibility. Or have we? The reality is that while we have definitely seen pockets of progress on various fronts, many websites, mobile applications, and technologies that we have yet to see (but are being thought-up by startups around the world) have and are not considering accessibility. It is within this context that based on his experience and observations, having worked in the digital accessibility space for over ten years, Jennison Asuncion will discuss what he sees as some of the areas where we who live and breathe digital accessibility need to step in, and in some cases, step up, if we are going to see the kind of sustained improvements in digital accessibility that are scalable and that will keep pace with the rapid pace of technology change.
{"title":"On digital accessibility: where do we need to go from here?","authors":"J. Asuncion","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899477","url":null,"abstract":"We have certainly come a long way since the publication of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) V2.0 in 2008. Between advances such as the Accessible Rich Internet Applications specification (WAI-ARIA), work done to make frameworks like Drupal and Angular JS more accessible, and legislation such as the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) in the USA and the internet regulations under the AODA in Canada, we have seen progress in digital accessibility. Or have we? The reality is that while we have definitely seen pockets of progress on various fronts, many websites, mobile applications, and technologies that we have yet to see (but are being thought-up by startups around the world) have and are not considering accessibility. It is within this context that based on his experience and observations, having worked in the digital accessibility space for over ten years, Jennison Asuncion will discuss what he sees as some of the areas where we who live and breathe digital accessibility need to step in, and in some cases, step up, if we are going to see the kind of sustained improvements in digital accessibility that are scalable and that will keep pace with the rapid pace of technology change.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125404217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, we present the rationale and approach for establishing guidelines for the development of accessible wearables. Wearable technology is increasingly integrated in our everyday lives. Therefore, ensuring accessibility is pivotal to prevent a digital divide between persons who have and persons who lack access to these devices, caused by their abilities. We present a project in which guidelines are created that enable developers to design accessible wearable apps and technologies. These guidelines will be created with developers who have experience with designing accessible technology and/or wearables. In addition, users who (potentially) experience problems with accessibility of wearables (persons who have a disability) are involved in the development of the guideline, to ensure their validity from an end-user perspective.
{"title":"Wearables for all: development of guidelines to stimulate accessible wearable technology design","authors":"Jobke Wentzel, E. Velleman, T. Geest","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899496","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899496","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we present the rationale and approach for establishing guidelines for the development of accessible wearables. Wearable technology is increasingly integrated in our everyday lives. Therefore, ensuring accessibility is pivotal to prevent a digital divide between persons who have and persons who lack access to these devices, caused by their abilities. We present a project in which guidelines are created that enable developers to design accessible wearable apps and technologies. These guidelines will be created with developers who have experience with designing accessible technology and/or wearables. In addition, users who (potentially) experience problems with accessibility of wearables (persons who have a disability) are involved in the development of the guideline, to ensure their validity from an end-user perspective.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129640489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Pérez, Xabier Valencia, Myriam Arrue, J. Abascal
Basic actions in the context of Web browsing, such as pointing at and clicking on links, can be seriously hindered by dexterity impairments affecting the use of hands and arms. In this paper, we present two different virtual aids for assisting motor-impaired users when pointing at and clicking on links. One of them, the "circular cursor", aims at reducing the level of accuracy required for clicking on links, whereas the other one, the "cross cursor", aims at reducing target distance for pointing at them. We conducted a web-based usability testing for both cursors with 9 motor-impaired and 6 able-bodied users applying their usual pointing device (4 keyboard, 4 joystick, 1 trackball and 6 mouse). The results show that motor-impaired participants mainly preferred one of either of the two variants proposed to the traditional cursor without any virtual aid for Web browsing.
{"title":"A usability evaluation of two virtual aids to enhance cursor accessibility for people with motor impairments","authors":"J. Pérez, Xabier Valencia, Myriam Arrue, J. Abascal","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899489","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899489","url":null,"abstract":"Basic actions in the context of Web browsing, such as pointing at and clicking on links, can be seriously hindered by dexterity impairments affecting the use of hands and arms. In this paper, we present two different virtual aids for assisting motor-impaired users when pointing at and clicking on links. One of them, the \"circular cursor\", aims at reducing the level of accuracy required for clicking on links, whereas the other one, the \"cross cursor\", aims at reducing target distance for pointing at them. We conducted a web-based usability testing for both cursors with 9 motor-impaired and 6 able-bodied users applying their usual pointing device (4 keyboard, 4 joystick, 1 trackball and 6 mouse). The results show that motor-impaired participants mainly preferred one of either of the two variants proposed to the traditional cursor without any virtual aid for Web browsing.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124770712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In online learning settings text remains the primary, sometimes only medium in which discussion takes place. However, recent advances in web standards and technologies now enable images and user-recorded audio to be seamlessly integrated into online tools, and research in multimedia composition suggests that allowing multiple media in discussions may lead to higher student engagement and more varied expression. This paper examines the use of, and reactions to, a discussion area that includes the ability to audio record or draw as well as type, implemented within a classroom tool that uses the principles of Universal Design for Learning to engage and support struggling readers. We find wide variability in how the tools are perceived and used, but promising results from a range of students in inclusive, remedial, and substantially separate classrooms.
{"title":"Supporting engagement and comprehension online through multiple means of expression","authors":"Boris N. Goldowsky, Peggy Coyne","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899488","url":null,"abstract":"In online learning settings text remains the primary, sometimes only medium in which discussion takes place. However, recent advances in web standards and technologies now enable images and user-recorded audio to be seamlessly integrated into online tools, and research in multimedia composition suggests that allowing multiple media in discussions may lead to higher student engagement and more varied expression. This paper examines the use of, and reactions to, a discussion area that includes the ability to audio record or draw as well as type, implemented within a classroom tool that uses the principles of Universal Design for Learning to engage and support struggling readers. We find wide variability in how the tools are perceived and used, but promising results from a range of students in inclusive, remedial, and substantially separate classrooms.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130570948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Teaching chess to students with learning disabilities has been shown to benefit their school performance in unrelated domains. At the same time, chess involves skills that are highly correlated with dyslexia, such as visuospatial and calculation abilities. In this paper, we created a online chess game designed for people with dyslexia and seek to understand whether people with dyslexia learn and play chess online in ways that differ from other students and whether such differences may be leveraged to improve classroom performance. To test how people with dyslexia learn to play chess we carried out a within-subject experiment with 62 participants, 31 of them with diagnosed dyslexia. Participants used an instrumented web-based chess learning platform that we developed to (i) complete lessons on how to play chess and about chess theory, (ii) work through exercises designed to test and reaffirm their skills, and (iii) play chess against a computer opponent. We could not find significant differences on four dependent measures out of the twelve measures we collected. Therefore, dyslexia might have an impact on how people learn and play chess using a computer, suggesting that chess may be useful as a fun way to help people with dyslexia improve their abilities.
{"title":"An online chess game designed for people with dyslexia","authors":"Luz Rello, Sergi Subirats, Jeffrey P. Bigham","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899479","url":null,"abstract":"Teaching chess to students with learning disabilities has been shown to benefit their school performance in unrelated domains. At the same time, chess involves skills that are highly correlated with dyslexia, such as visuospatial and calculation abilities. In this paper, we created a online chess game designed for people with dyslexia and seek to understand whether people with dyslexia learn and play chess online in ways that differ from other students and whether such differences may be leveraged to improve classroom performance. To test how people with dyslexia learn to play chess we carried out a within-subject experiment with 62 participants, 31 of them with diagnosed dyslexia. Participants used an instrumented web-based chess learning platform that we developed to (i) complete lessons on how to play chess and about chess theory, (ii) work through exercises designed to test and reaffirm their skills, and (iii) play chess against a computer opponent. We could not find significant differences on four dependent measures out of the twelve measures we collected. Therefore, dyslexia might have an impact on how people learn and play chess using a computer, suggesting that chess may be useful as a fun way to help people with dyslexia improve their abilities.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127845808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jyotirmaya Mahapatra, Saurabh Srivastava, Kuldeep Yadav, K. Srivastava, Om Deshmukh
Recently, Mobile Instant Messaging Services (MIMs) such as WhatsApp have shown tremendous potential in enabling communication among diverse set of people. Such services have an even more critical role to play in developing regions. Due to the digital divide, a much higher prevalence of mobile-only internet connection has been reported, where millions of users leapfrogged to mobile-internet entirely skipping the desktop-based internet phase. In this paper, we report findings from a longitudinal field study conducted in a private higher education institution in India. The aim of the study was to explore the potential of an integrated blended learning setup which combines WhatsApp with a Learning Management System (LMS). The study was performed in a class of 20 final year engineering students over a period of three months. Our findings suggest that there is a systematic bias in the usage of WhatsApp vs. LMS based on several factors, including specifics of the learning activity, student behavior, and status of the course in the semester, and the time of the day. Synchronous and asynchronous interaction on WhatsApp are perceived to be engaging, support collaboration and aid learning by complementing LMS-based and face-to-face learning.
{"title":"LMS weds WhatsApp: bridging digital divide using MIMs","authors":"Jyotirmaya Mahapatra, Saurabh Srivastava, Kuldeep Yadav, K. Srivastava, Om Deshmukh","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899485","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, Mobile Instant Messaging Services (MIMs) such as WhatsApp have shown tremendous potential in enabling communication among diverse set of people. Such services have an even more critical role to play in developing regions. Due to the digital divide, a much higher prevalence of mobile-only internet connection has been reported, where millions of users leapfrogged to mobile-internet entirely skipping the desktop-based internet phase. In this paper, we report findings from a longitudinal field study conducted in a private higher education institution in India. The aim of the study was to explore the potential of an integrated blended learning setup which combines WhatsApp with a Learning Management System (LMS). The study was performed in a class of 20 final year engineering students over a period of three months. Our findings suggest that there is a systematic bias in the usage of WhatsApp vs. LMS based on several factors, including specifics of the learning activity, student behavior, and status of the course in the semester, and the time of the day. Synchronous and asynchronous interaction on WhatsApp are perceived to be engaging, support collaboration and aid learning by complementing LMS-based and face-to-face learning.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130703690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Ahmetovic, Cole Gleason, Kris M. Kitani, Hironobu Takagi, C. Asakawa
NavCog is a novel smartphone navigation system for people with visual impairments or blindness, capable of assisting the users during autonomous mobility in complex and unfamiliar indoor/outdoor environments. The accurate localization achieved by NavCog is used for precise turn-by-turn way-finding assistance as the first step, but the ultimate goal is to present a variety of location based information to the user, such as points of interest gathered from social media and online geografic information services.
{"title":"NavCog: turn-by-turn smartphone navigation assistant for people with visual impairments or blindness","authors":"D. Ahmetovic, Cole Gleason, Kris M. Kitani, Hironobu Takagi, C. Asakawa","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899509","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899509","url":null,"abstract":"NavCog is a novel smartphone navigation system for people with visual impairments or blindness, capable of assisting the users during autonomous mobility in complex and unfamiliar indoor/outdoor environments. The accurate localization achieved by NavCog is used for precise turn-by-turn way-finding assistance as the first step, but the ultimate goal is to present a variety of location based information to the user, such as points of interest gathered from social media and online geografic information services.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128577559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper identifies some of the challenges of teaching and learning accessibility through the lens of pedagogy (which deals with the theory and practice of education). We argue that accessibility education in computing science presents a set of unique and challenging characteristics for those engaged in accessibility capacity building. Significant moves are being made to embed accessibility within academic curricula and professional domains. However, through a qualitative thematic review of the accessibility pedagogic literature, we find that the field lacks the pedagogic culture necessary to support widespread excellence in teaching and learning. Nonetheless, our review identifies aspects of this small but important literature that indicate how a pedagogic culture for accessibility can be stimulated through research, debate and discussion, to promote a more pedagogically-grounded approach to the field as a whole.
{"title":"Exploring pedagogical culture for accessibility education in computing science","authors":"S. Lewthwaite, D. Sloan","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899490","url":null,"abstract":"This paper identifies some of the challenges of teaching and learning accessibility through the lens of pedagogy (which deals with the theory and practice of education). We argue that accessibility education in computing science presents a set of unique and challenging characteristics for those engaged in accessibility capacity building. Significant moves are being made to embed accessibility within academic curricula and professional domains. However, through a qualitative thematic review of the accessibility pedagogic literature, we find that the field lacks the pedagogic culture necessary to support widespread excellence in teaching and learning. Nonetheless, our review identifies aspects of this small but important literature that indicate how a pedagogic culture for accessibility can be stimulated through research, debate and discussion, to promote a more pedagogically-grounded approach to the field as a whole.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128341705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Digital education has potential to provide different possibilities for personalization and consequently reach a larger and more diverse number of people. Personalization is a key component of solutions addressing important and long-standing pedagogical challenges in education, such as dealing with heterogeneity of learning styles. In particular scenarios where accessibility support is required, personalization depends on the creation of different representations for individual pieces of content. In this light, the main goal of this article is to describe how we addressed the challenges involved in the construction of a platform that satisfies this requirement. We thus present a system that supports the creation, adaptation, and delivery of personalized courses for people with multiple types of disabilities. More specifically, we introduce the technology, describe its main capabilities, and discuss the results of early evaluations by two instructors of an institution that provides vocational training for people with intellectual disabilities. Our initial results show that the tool was favorably assessed by the instructors and can potentially be adopted in this community.
{"title":"A platform to support personalized training of people with disabilities","authors":"C. Cardonha, Andréa Britto Mattos, R. Guimarães","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899493","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899493","url":null,"abstract":"Digital education has potential to provide different possibilities for personalization and consequently reach a larger and more diverse number of people. Personalization is a key component of solutions addressing important and long-standing pedagogical challenges in education, such as dealing with heterogeneity of learning styles. In particular scenarios where accessibility support is required, personalization depends on the creation of different representations for individual pieces of content. In this light, the main goal of this article is to describe how we addressed the challenges involved in the construction of a platform that satisfies this requirement. We thus present a system that supports the creation, adaptation, and delivery of personalized courses for people with multiple types of disabilities. More specifically, we introduce the technology, describe its main capabilities, and discuss the results of early evaluations by two instructors of an institution that provides vocational training for people with intellectual disabilities. Our initial results show that the tool was favorably assessed by the instructors and can potentially be adopted in this community.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132789898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, we describe a study specifically focusing on the situationally-induced impairments and disabilities (SIIDs) which individuals who are blind encounter when interacting with mobile devices. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight legally-blind participants, and presented them with three scenarios to inspire discussion relating to SIIDs. Nine main themes emerged from analysis of the participant interviews, including the challenges faced when using a mobile device one-handed while using a cane to detect obstacles along the intended path, the impact of using a mobile device under inhospitable conditions, and concerns associated with using a mobile device in environments where privacy and safety may be compromised (e.g. when using public transport). These were found to reduce the quality of the subjective interaction experience, and in some cases limiting use of mobile technologies in public venues. Insights from our research can be used to guide the design of future mobile interfaces to better meet the needs of users whose needs are often excluded from the design process.
{"title":"An empirical investigation of the situationally-induced impairments experienced by blind mobile device users","authors":"A. Abdolrahmani, Ravi Kuber, A. Hurst","doi":"10.1145/2899475.2899482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/2899475.2899482","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we describe a study specifically focusing on the situationally-induced impairments and disabilities (SIIDs) which individuals who are blind encounter when interacting with mobile devices. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight legally-blind participants, and presented them with three scenarios to inspire discussion relating to SIIDs. Nine main themes emerged from analysis of the participant interviews, including the challenges faced when using a mobile device one-handed while using a cane to detect obstacles along the intended path, the impact of using a mobile device under inhospitable conditions, and concerns associated with using a mobile device in environments where privacy and safety may be compromised (e.g. when using public transport). These were found to reduce the quality of the subjective interaction experience, and in some cases limiting use of mobile technologies in public venues. Insights from our research can be used to guide the design of future mobile interfaces to better meet the needs of users whose needs are often excluded from the design process.","PeriodicalId":337838,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 13th Web for All Conference","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128276652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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