Coding without sight: Teaching object-oriented java programming to a blind student

In this paper, I describe my experience of teaching object-oriented Java programming to a blind student. This includes the particular environment setup used (a screen reader, JAWS, and an advanced Windows-based text editor, Textpad) and alterations made to the course to accommodate the blind student's special needs. I also discuss how a number of difficulties encountered by the blind student, such as compiling Java applications using the command-line interface and javac, a Java compiler, was addressed and provide some practical recommendations based on my experience

CAN: Composable Accessibility Infrastructure via Data-Driven Crowdsourcing

ABSTRACT Despite persistent effort, many web pages are still not acces sible to everyone. Fixing web accessibility problems can be complicated. Developers need to have extensive knowledge not only of possible accessibility problems but also of appro aches for fixing them. This paper is about using the large number of accessibility issues on real websites and crowdsourced fixes for them as a unique source of learning materi als for web developers to learn how to build accessible com ponents in a cost-efficient manner. In this paper, we present the design, development and study of CAN (Composable Accessibility Infrastructure), a crowdsourcing infrastructure that collects web accessibility issues and their fixes, dynami cally composes solutions on-the-fly, and delivers the crowdsourced content as teaching materials. Our unique CAN user interaction and system design enables end users with disabilities to both benefit from and contribute to the sys tem without additional effort in their daily web browsing, and allows web developers to experience real accessibility issues and initiate a learning process with first-hand materi als. CAN also provides an opportunity for data-driven dis covery of the common implementation practices that cause accessibility issues. We show how CAN addresses a set of accessibility issues on the top 100 popular websites. We also present our user study results where web developers who had varying knowledge of web accessibility all found our system an effective and interesting platform to learning web acces sibility

Catálogo de práticas de acessibilidade : um apoio online voltado à acessibilidade da Web

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação) — Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade UnB Gama, Engenharia de Software, 2021.A acessibilidade é um critério de qualidade de software que tem crescido em importância nos últimos anos. Em um mundo cada vez mais dependente de tecnologia para inúmeros aspectos do cotidiano, torna-se essencial que o acesso à essa tecnologia seja transparente e igualitário, para usuários das mais diferentes origens e capacidades. A normatização de práticas e técnicas, bem como a formulação de legislação promovendo a obrigatoriedade de construção de interfaces acessíveis para sites de empresas e serviços governamentais são exemplos de avanços importantes na área. No entanto, grande parte dos sites e aplicativos modernos ainda apresenta problemas de acessibilidade. Um motivo para esse cenário é a baixa consciência sobre questões de acessibilidade por parte dos desenvolvedores de software. Este trabalho buscou contribuir para a criação de interfaces mais acessíveis, ao oferecer um apoio online que reúne e resume aspectos relevantes da literatura especializada sobre o tema, com ênfase na acessibilidade da Web. Esse apoio, livre e de código aberto, apresenta recursos informativos sobre práticas e tecnologias relacionadas à acessibilidade, bem como provê exemplos de interfaces acessíveis e não-acessíveis. O apoio foi desenvolvido e aperfeiçoado ao longo de três ciclos de análise, e disponibilizado publicamente ao final do projeto.Accessibility is a software quality criteria of increasing importance in recent years. In a world more and more dependent of technology for innumerous aspects of daily life, it becomes essential for the access to that technology to be transparent and equalitarian. The standardization of practices and techniques, as well as the passing of legislation promoting mandatory accessibility in websites of enterprises and government services are examples of relevant improvements in the area. Nonetheless, a large part of modern websites and applications still present accessibility issues. A reason for this situation is the lack of awareness by software developers about accessibility questions. The present work intends to contribute to the creation of more accessible user interfaces, by providing an online support, where relevant aspects of the specialized literature concerning software accessibility are collected and summarized, with a special focus on Web accessibility. This support, free and open source, presents informative resources about accessibility-related practices and technologies, as well as providing examples of accessible and not accessible interfaces. The support was developed and improved during three cycles of analysis, and made publicly available at the end of the project

Voice and Touch Diagrams (VATagrams) Diagrams for the Visually Impaired

If a picture is worth a thousand words would you rather read the two pages of text or simply view the image? Most would choose to view the image; however, for the visually impaired this isn’t always an option. Diagrams assist people in visualizing relationships between objects. Most often these diagrams act as a source for quickly referencing information about relationships. Diagrams are highly visual and as such, there are few tools to support diagram creation for visually impaired individuals. To allow the visually impaired the ability to share the same advantages in school and work as sighted colleagues, an accessible diagram tool is needed. A suitable tool for the visually impaired to create diagrams should allow these individuals to: 1. easily define the type of relationship based diagram to be created, 2. easily create the components of a relationship based diagram, 3. easily modify the components of a relationship based diagram, 4. quickly understand the structure of a relationship based diagram, 5. create a visual representation which can be used by the sighted, and 6. easily accesses reference points for tracking diagram components. To do this a series of prototypes of a tool were developed that allow visually impaired users the ability to read, create, modify and share relationship based diagrams using sound and gestural touches. This was accomplished by creating a series of applications that could be run on an iPad using an overlay that restricts the areas in which a user can perform gestures. These prototypes were tested for usability using measures of efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction. The prototypes were tested with visually impaired, blindfolded and sighted participants. The results of the evaluation indicate that the prototypes contain the main building blocks that can be used to complete a fully functioning application to be used on an iPad

Teaching Accessibility and Design-For-All in the Information and Communication Technology Curriculum: Three Case Studies of Universities in the United States, England, and Austria

Digital technologies allow people with disabilities to participate independently in society in ways they never could before. The full realization of these new opportunities remains elusive, though, because working professionals in the information and communication technology (ICT) field rarely receive adequate training in how to make digital ICT accessible to people with disabilities. Adding accessibility to the university ICT curriculum can help create a critical mass of ICT professionals with accessibility awareness and expertise to finally realize the full accessibility potential of digital technologies. This dissertation provides a rich informational context from which ICT curriculum leaders can decide how to best infuse accessibility into their own curriculum