Visual-Tactile Image Representation For The Visually Impaired Using Braille Device

Nowadays Internet usage is dramatically increasing all over the world and the information dissemination and acquisition is easier for sighted users. Unfortunately, visually impaired are still facing difficulties in interaction with websites. Particularly, screen reader is unable to facilitate disabled users to identify images such as basic geometric shapes. Inability to identify the shapes displayed on the screen creates restriction to interact and comprehend the content of websites for visually impaired. Thus, this project examines earlier researches and eases the web interaction of the blind people by identifying the shape of visual image converted into tactile representation using Braille device. For further investigation of the hypotheses, qualitative and quantitative method is used. The study findings are addressed to build a system that tackles the issue that screen reader is unable to address. System evaluation is executed upon producing the prototype of the system which comprises of user testing. The system is expected to improve understanding the content of webpage and enhance the interaction of visually impaired with web. Future recommendations and further findings will be discussed when system prototype milestone is fulfilled

Teaching Russian (FL) to visually impaired students during COVID: technological tools, teaching strategies, and digital materials

With the transition of traditional programs to emergency remote teaching contexts due to the COVID-19 crisis, we have been faced with a challenge that primarily concerns access to instruction for all students. This unprecedented situation has reshaped the issue of inclusive education. This paper aims at furthering the debate on inclusive distance education in Russian language learning by presenting the experience of teaching Russian as a foreign language (FL) at an elementary level to a group of 20 Italian native learners, including some who are visually impaired (VI). The course took place in Autumn 2020 and was originally planned as a conventional in-person class, but due to the pandemic was radically redesigned. The paper is organized around three main sections. The first section provides an overview of inclusive education policy within European and Italian contexts. The second section presents insights into visual impairment and a short review of the literature and research studies pertaining to FL education of VI children, youth, and adults. The third section provides a critical survey of the tools, strategies, and materials used in the course. In the concluding part we discuss the positive implications of merging distance and inclusive forms of education in the light of our experienc

A Formal Approach to Computer Aided 2D Graphical Design for Blind People

The growth of computer aided drawing systems for blind people (CADB) has long been recognised and has increased in interest within the assistive technology research area. The representation of pictorial data by blind and visually impaired (BVI) people has recently gathered momentum with research and development; however, a survey of published literature on CADB reveals that only marginal research has been focused on the use of a formal approach for on screen spatial orientation, creation and reuse of graphics artefacts. To realise the full potential of CADB, such systems should possess attributes of usability, spatial navigation and shape creation features without which blind users drawing activities are less likely to be achieved. As a result of this, usable, effective and self-reliant CADB have arisen from new assistive Technology (AT) research. This thesis contributes a novel, abstract, formal approach that facilitates BVI users to navigate on the screen, create computer graphics/diagrams using 2D shapes and user-defined images. Moreover, the research addresses the specific issues involved with user language by formulating specific rules that make BVI user interaction with the drawing effective and easier. The formal approach proposed here is descriptive and it is specified at a level of abstraction above the concrete level of system technologies. The proposed approach is unique in problem modelling and syntheses of an abstract computer-based graphics/drawings using a formal set of user interaction commands. This technology has been applied to enable blind users to independently construct drawings to satisfy their specific needs without recourse to a specific technology and without the intervention of support workers. The specification aims to be the foundation for a system scope, investigation guidelines and user-initiated command-driven interaction. Such an approach will allow system designers and developers to proceed with greater conceptual clarity than it is possible with current technologies that is built on concrete system-driven prototypes. In addition to the scope of the research the proposed model has been verified by various types of blind users who have independently constructed drawings to satisfy their specific needs without the intervention of support workers. The effectiveness and usability of the proposed approach has been compared against conventional non-command driven drawing systems by different types of blind users. The results confirm that the abstract formal approach proposed here using command-driven means in the context of CADB enables greater comprehension by BVI users. The innovation can be used for both educational and training purposes. The research, thereby sustaining the claim that the abstract formal approach taken allows for the greater comprehension of the command-driven means in the context of CADB, and how the specification aid the design of such a system

Emerging issues and current trends in assistive technology use 2007-1010: practising, assisting and enabling learning for all

Following an earlier review in 2007, a further review of the academic literature relating to the uses of assistive technology (AT) by children and young people was completed, covering the period 2007-2011. As in the earlier review, a tripartite taxonomy: technology uses to train or practise, technology uses to assist learning and technology uses to enable learning, was used in order to structure the findings. The key markers for research in this field and during these three years were user involvement, AT on mobile mainstream devices, the visibility of AT, technology for interaction and collaboration, new and developing interfaces and inclusive design principles. The paper concludes by locating these developments within the broader framework of the Digital Divide

Instructional eLearning technologies for the vision impaired

The principal sensory modality employed in learning is vision, and that not only increases the difficulty for vision impaired students from accessing existing educational media but also the new and mostly visiocentric learning materials being offered through on-line delivery mechanisms. Using as a reference Certified Cisco Network Associate (CCNA) and IT Essentials courses, a study has been made of tools that can access such on-line systems and transcribe the materials into a form suitable for vision impaired learning. Modalities employed included haptic, tactile, audio and descriptive text. How such a multi-modal approach can achieve equivalent success for the vision impaired is demonstrated. However, the study also shows the limits of the current understanding of human perception, especially with respect to comprehending two and three dimensional objects and spaces when there is no recourse to vision

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook

Contains a guide for integrating older adults and people with disabilities into all aspects of an arts organization -- from planning and design to marketing and technical assistance

A framework for the assembly and delivery of multimodal graphics in E-learning environments

In recent years educators and education institutions have embraced E-Learning environments as a method of delivering content to and communicating with their learners. Particular attention needs to be paid to the accessibility of the content that each educator provides. In relation to graphics, content providers are instructed to provide textual alternatives for each graphic using either the “alt” attribute or the “longdesc” attribute of the HTML IMG tag. This is not always suitable for graphical concepts inherent in technical topics due to the spatial nature of the information. As there is currently no suggested alternative to the use of textual descriptions in E-Learning environments, blind learners are at a significant disadvantage when attempting to learn Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematical (STEM) subjects online. A new approach is required that will provide blind learners with the same learning capabilities enjoyed by their sighted peers in relation to graphics. Multimodal graphics combine the modalities of sound and touch in order to deliver graphical concepts to blind learners. Although they have proven successful, they can be time consuming to create and often require expertise in accessible graphic design. This thesis proposes an approach based on mainstream E-Learning techniques that can support non-experts in the assembly of multimodal graphics. The approach is known as the Multimodal Graphic Assembly and Delivery Framework (MGADF). It exploits a component based Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to provide non experts with the ability to assemble multimodal graphics and integrate them into mainstream E-Learning environments. This thesis details the design of the system architecture, information architecture and methodologies of the MGADF. Proof of concept interfaces were implemented, based on the design, that clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. The interfaces were used in an end-user evaluation that assessed the benefits of a component based approach for non-expert multimodal graphic producers

The Museum as an Inclusive Community: A Blueprint for Moving Forward

The focus of this study is museum accessibility for patrons with disabilities. The history of museums and their evolution into institutions that strive to create an inclusive community means that many aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as well as the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 are applicable. Developing a tool for assessing museum compliance with the law was key to gathering data to use for improving compliance with the law. Using this data and comparing current compliance in four museums to three major legal cases against museums showed common areas for improvement in accessibility in all facilities involved in this study. Technical solutions for creating an inclusive museum are pulled from legal settlements as well as accessibility websites and presented here