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• Blind Web Development Training at Oysters and Pearls Technology Camp in Uganda

  Claire Ferrari, Amy Hurst, Scott Fitzgerald · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper describes the development and delivery of a 7-day web development course for 13 blind and low-vision students (ages 18-35, average 24) at the Oysters and Pearls Technology Camp in Gulu, northern Uganda. None of the students had prior experience building websites,…

  STEM accessibility · blindness · low vision · web development · coding education

• Pushpak: Voice Command-based eBook Navigator

  Shradha Holani, Akashdeep Bansal, M Balakrishnan · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents Pushpak, a voice command-based eBook navigator designed to reduce the steep learning curve associated with screen reader software. The authors identify a key accessibility barrier: effective use of screen readers like NVDA and JAWS requires…

  voice control · screen reader · NVDA · eBook · natural language understanding

• Adaptable Accessibility Features for Mathematics on the Web

  Davide Cervone, Volker Sorge · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents the accessibility features in MathJax version 3, the widely-used JavaScript library for rendering mathematics on the web. The fundamental challenge is that standard mathematical markup formats (LaTeX, ASCIIMath, presentation MathML) lack the semantic…

  mathematics accessibility · MathJax · STEM accessibility · screen reader · Braille

• Web Development Training for Students That Are Blind

  Claire Ferrari · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper outlines a mixed-methods dissertation research plan for developing and evaluating a 10-day web development course specifically designed for students who are blind or have low vision. The author contextualizes the work within the employment…

  STEM accessibility · blindness · low vision · web development · coding education

• Comprehensive Accessibility of Equations by Visually Impaired

  Akashdeep Bansal · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes an approach to improving the audio rendering of mathematical equations for people with visual impairments by introducing a complexity metric that adapts how equations are spoken based on their structural complexity and individual user…

  mathematics accessibility · STEM accessibility · visual impairment · screen reader · speech synthesis

• AfricaSign -- A Crowd-sourcing Platform for the Documentation of STEM Vocabulary in African Sign Languages

  Abdelhadi Soudi, Kristof Van Laerhoven, Elmostafa Bou-Souf · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper presents AfricaSign, a web-based crowdsourcing platform designed to enable African Deaf communities to document their endangered sign languages, with a focus on early-grade and STEM vocabulary. Most African sign languages are severely under-studied and…

  sign language · Africa · endangered languages · crowdsourcing · signing avatar

• A Tangible Math Game for Visually Impaired Children

  Ana Cristina Pires, Sebastian Marichal, Fernando Gonzalez-Perilli, Ewelina Bakala, Bruno Fleischer, Gustavo Sansone, Tiago Guerreiro · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper presents iCETA, an inclusive interactive system for math learning that enables visually impaired children to autonomously engage with and solve additive composition tasks (addition and subtraction) through tangible interaction. The system was designed…

  visual impairment · children · mathematics accessibility · tangible user interface · inclusive design

• GraVVITAS 2.0: A Framework For Digital Accessible Content Provision

  Cagatay Goncu, Kim Marriott · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This demonstration paper presents GraVVITAS 2.0 (Graphics Viewer using Vibration Interactive Touch and Speech), a framework for making graphical information accessible to people with vision impairments on off-the-shelf mobile devices. The paper argues that while screen readers…

  visual impairment · accessible graphics · tactile graphics · haptic feedback · data visualization

• Designing a Low-cost Finger Wearable Audio-tactile Device

  Arshad Nasser · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This student research abstract describes the iterative design of ColorTact, a finger-worn wearable device that provides audio annotations when users explore tactile diagrams. The device addresses a fundamental limitation of conventional tactile graphics: they can only…

  assistive technology · tactile graphics · wearable technology · audio description · visual impairment

• Research to Market Transition of Mobile Assistive Technologies for People with Visual Impairments

  Sergio Mascetti, Dragan Ahmetovic, Cristian Bernareggi · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper examines why so few mobile assistive technology research prototypes for people with visual impairments ever reach end users, and shares practical lessons from the authors’ experience developing and distributing three iOS apps through EveryWare Technologies, a…

  assistive technology · visual impairment · mobile accessibility · technology transfer · blind

• shapeCAD: An Accessible 3D Modelling Workflow for the Blind and Visually-Impaired Via 2.5D Shape Displays

  Alexa F. Siu, Son Kim, Joshua A. Miele, Sean Follmer · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents shapeCAD, an accessible 3D modelling workflow that enables people who are blind or visually impaired (BVI) to author, explore, and modify 3D models using a combination of declarative programming (OpenSCAD scripts) and a 2.5D tactile shape display for…

  3D printing · blind · low vision · tactile displays · haptic technology

• GoDonnie: A Robot Programming Language to Improve Orientation and Mobility Skills in People Who are Visually Impaired

  Juliana Damasio Oliveira, Márcia de Borba Campos, Alexandre Amory, Rafael H. Bordini · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This demonstration paper presents GoDonnie, a text-based programming language designed to help people who are visually impaired (PVI) develop both computational thinking and orientation and mobility (O&M) skills simultaneously. GoDonnie is based on Logo, the classic educational…

  orientation and mobility · visual impairment · programming education · robotics · screen readers

• μGraph: Haptic Exploration and Editing of 3D Chemical Diagrams

  Cristian Bernareggi, Dragan Ahmetovic, Sergio Mascetti · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents μGraph (Multimodal Graph), a system that combines haptic force feedback and speech to enable people who are blind or visually impaired (VIB) to explore and edit three-dimensional structural chemical formulae. Chemical diagrams represent molecular structures…

  haptic technology · STEM accessibility · blind · visual impairment · chemistry education

• Defining Problems of Practices to Advance Inclusive Tactile Media Consumption and Production

  Abigale Stangl, Ann Cunningham, Lou Ann Blake, Tom Yeh · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents findings from three Tactile Art and Graphics Symposia (TAGS) that gathered 64 participants — 49% of whom were blind or had low vision — including artists, museum curators, tactile media designers, access technologists, teachers of the visually impaired…

  tactile graphics · tactile art · blind · low vision · accessible art

• Demo: Expanding Blocks4All with Variables and Functions

  Jacqueline Shao Yi Ong, Nana Adwoa O. Amoah, Alison E. Garrett-Engele, Mariella Irene Page, Katherine R. McCarthy, Lauren R. Milne · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This demonstration paper describes extensions to Blocks4All, an accessible blocks-based programming environment (BBPE) for iPad designed to enable children with visual impairments to learn programming through touchscreen interaction with screen reader support. Traditional BBPEs…

  programming education · blind · low vision · visual impairment · screen readers

• Exploration of Automatic Speech Recognition for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Higher Education Classes

  Janine Butler, Brian Trager, Byron Behm · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents a qualitative study of how deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (Rochester Institute of Technology) experienced automatic speech recognition (ASR) as a supplemental access service in mainstream higher…

  speech recognition · Deaf and hard of hearing · captioning · higher education · real-time captions

• Parallel DOM Architecture for Accessible Interactive Simulations

  Taliesin L. Smith, Jesse Greenberg, Sam Reid, Emily B. Moore · 2018 · Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This paper presents the Parallel DOM (PDOM) architecture developed by the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder to make their suite of 140+ free science and mathematics simulations accessible to students with visual impairments. PhET sims are…

  web accessibility · interactive simulations · screen readers · keyboard accessibility · WAI-ARIA

• Improving Usability of Math Editors

  Neil Soiffer · 2018 · Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This short paper presents an empirical analysis of mathematical symbol usage across US grade 6-12 textbooks to demonstrate that context-aware math editors could dramatically reduce the number of buttons needed for symbol entry, significantly improving usability for screen reader…

  mathematics accessibility · STEM accessibility · MathML · equation editors · screen readers

• Assistive Debugging to Support Accessible LaTeX Based Document Authoring

  Ahtsham Manzoor, Murayyiam Parvez, Suleman Shahid, Asim Karim · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This demonstration paper presents ALAP (Accessible LaTeX-based Authoring and Presentation), an open-source extension to the TeXlipse Eclipse plugin that makes LaTeX document authoring more accessible for blind researchers and writers. LaTeX is widely used for scientific and…

  mathematical accessibility · LaTeX · blind and low vision · text-to-speech · document authoring

• Design and Evaluation of a Multimodal Science Simulation

  Brianna J. Tomlinson, Prakriti Kaini, Siyan Zhou, Taliesin L. Smith, Emily B. Moore, Bruce N. Walker · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This demonstration paper presents a multimodal version of PhET's John Travoltage interactive physics simulation, designed to support learners with and without visual impairments in exploring static electricity concepts. The key design goal was creating a single simulation with…

  STEM accessibility · sonification · multimodal interface · visual impairment · science education

• A Demo of Talkit++: Interacting with 3D Printed Models Using an iOS Device

  Lei Shi, Zhuohao Zhang, Shiri Azenkot · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This Cornell Tech demo presents Talkit++, an iOS application that adds interactive multimedia labels to 3D printed tactile models for visually impaired students. Teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs) increasingly use 3D printers to create tactile learning materials, but these…

  blindness · low vision · 3D printing · tactile accessibility · computer vision

• On the Evaluation of Novel Sonification Techniques for Non-Visual Shape Exploration

  Sergio Mascetti, Andrea Gerino, Cristian Bernareggi, Lorenzo Picinali · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper proposes and evaluates six novel sonification techniques for enabling blind and visually impaired users to explore and recognize shapes on touchscreen devices, comparing them against two existing techniques from the literature. The motivation is that graphical…

  sonification · visual impairment · STEM accessibility · touchscreen · shape recognition

• Producing Accessible Statistics Diagrams in R

  Donal Fitzpatrick, A. Jonathan R. Godfrey, Volker Sorge · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents a system for making statistical diagrams accessible to blind users by generating semantically enriched SVG graphics from the R statistical computing environment. The core problem is that statistical graphics — bar charts, histograms, box plots, scatter plots,…

  data visualization accessibility · STEM accessibility · visual impairment · blindness · screen readers

• ChattyBooks and ChattyBook Service

  Masakazu Suzuki, Katsuhito Yamaguchi · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents ChattyBooks, a Windows application that converts STEM content in DAISY/accessible EPUB3 format into audio-embedded HTML5 with JavaScript, enabling playback in any web browser on any platform without requiring specialized DAISY/EPUB3 players. The…

  STEM accessibility · DAISY · EPUB · MathML · mathematics accessibility

• Tangibles + Programming + Audio Stories = Fun

  Varsha Koushik, Shaun K. Kane · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This poster introduces Story Blocks, a tangible programming toolkit designed to make block-based programming accessible to blind and visually impaired users. Block-based programming languages like Scratch and Blockly are popular tools for teaching children to code, but they…

  programming education · blindness · visual impairment · tangible interaction · children