6 research outputs found
Description strategies to make an interactive science simulation accessible
Interactive simulations are increasingly important in science education, yet most are inaccessible
to blind learners. In developing an accessible prototype of a PhET interactive science simulation, we
encountered significant challenges in providing screen reader access, including the need to: 1) describe
unpredictable event sequences, 2) cue productive interactions, and 3) to simultaneously convey multiple
changes. To address these challenges, we extended existing practices for verbal description of visual
interactive content, and we created new strategies for developing rich description for accessible
interactive science simulations
μGraph: Haptic Exploration and Editing of 3D Chemical Diagrams
People with visual impairments or blindness (VIB) encounter diffculties in exploring graphical representations that are widely used for the study of STEM subjects. In particular, graphs are used to represent many different scientifc notations: fowcharts, automata, cognitive maps, and more. Among these, structural chemical formulae are characterized by a complex, often 3-dimensional structure, which makes them hard to access and author with traditional assistive tools. We propose \ub5Graph, a multimodal system that combines haptic and speech feedback to enable people with VIB to explore and edit structural chemical formulae. Two main contributions are presented: (i) a novel, non-visual interaction paradigm for exploring graphs and its implementation in the \ub5Graph system, and (ii) an extensive evaluation of the proposed system with 10 participants with VIB showing that \ub5Graph is thoroughly accessible and that the haptic feedback enhances understanding of the geometric properties of a graph
Bluefish: A Relational Framework for Graphic Representations
Complex graphic representations -- such as annotated visualizations,
molecular structure diagrams, or Euclidean geometry -- convey information
through overlapping perceptual relations. To author such representations, users
are forced to use rigid, purpose-built tools with limited flexibility and
expressiveness. User interface (UI) frameworks provide only limited relief as
their tree-based models are a poor fit for expressing overlaps. We present
Bluefish, a diagramming framework that extends UI architectures to support
overlapping perceptual relations. Bluefish graphics are instantiated as
relational scenegraphs: hierarchical data structures augmented with adjacency
relations. Authors specify these relations with scoped references to components
found elsewhere in the scenegraph. For layout, Bluefish lazily materializes
necessary coordinate transformations. We demonstrate that Bluefish enables
authoring graphic representations across a diverse range of domains while
preserving the compositional and abstractional affordances of traditional UI
frameworks. Moreover, we show how relational scenegraphs capture previously
latent semantics that can later be retargeted (e.g., for screen reader
accessibility).Comment: 27 pages, 14 figure