University Students using a Screen Reader for Education Tasks

Two recent events induced me to think about accessibility to the World Wide Web: A student in a Web research and publishing class I was teaching had a vision problem that made viewing material on a computer screen difficult, and I learned that the U.S. government has directed that soon Web pages of government agencies must comply with federal regulations regarding accessibility. The first problem was solved by increasing the font size in the browser, but what if the student had been totally blind? My instructional Web page containing material used in the class had not been created with visual impairments in mind. How can we make instructional Web pages accessible to all people? Do we not have an obligation, absent government mandates, to make our Web pages accessible? This exploratory study examined the accessibility of Web sites belonging to 80 colleges of communications and schools of journalism in the United States and Canada by subjecting them to a computer-generated test (the Bobby test) that examines the hypertext markup language (HTML) used to format the pages. This paper suggests ways to revise the markup of pages to make them more accessible to students with vision, hearing, and mobility problems. Additionally, it lists resources for keeping abreast of the latest developments in accessibility standards and tools. Instruction via the Internet and through Web pages to enhance face-toface classes is becoming more common. Some scholars compare the magnitude of increased dependence on computerbased instruction to the effect created by the introduction of the textbook during the Middle Ages (Gibbons & Fairweather, 1998). However, to blind students, it's not necessarily good news that more universities are putting course materials online these days. For them, the Web threatens to become the equivalent of a classroom building without an access ramp (Young, 1998). The National Federation of the Blind (1999) estimates that about 750,000 people in the United States are blind, and each year 50,000 more will become blind. Institutions are using the Web to market themselves. Increasing numbers of journalism and mass communication faculties are embracing new technology (Sutherland & Stewart, 1999). Many of us are enhancing our courses with Webbased syllabuses and other course materials, and we probably are doing this without considering that some students may have difficulty retrieving this information. The blind, for example, use screen readers and special software to decipher the visual display of a Web page into an aural or Braille version. As more and more audio files are placed on the Web, another group is getting locked out - the hearing-impaired. A problem arises when Web page creators are not aware of the pitfalls they are throwing in the way of those with impairments. Kirsanov (1997), who provides advice on creating Web pages, said there are precious few situations that pose really tough challenges to accessibility. He concluded, In the great majority of cases, inaccessible Web pages are a result not of the technologies applied, but of their incor rect implementation and lack of proper care (paragraph three). It is time to examine how we can make our Web pages more accessible to those with visual problems, hearing problems and motor and cognitive disabilities. Waddell (1998) said, Unless a Web site is designed in an accessible format, significant populations will be locked out as the World Wide Web rapidly advances from a text-based communication format to a robust, graphical format. Background Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, (29 U.S.C. 794) prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicap in federally assisted programs and activities. Most activities of state and local governments, because they receive federal funding, are covered by this Act. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990, (http://www. …

Objective To investigate the utility of cognitive assessment during robot‐assisted surgery ( RAS ) to define skills in terms of cognitive engagement, mental workload, and mental state; while objectively differentiating between novice and expert surgeons. Subjects and Methods In all, 10 surgeons with varying operative experience were assigned to beginner ( BG ), combined competent and proficient ( CPG ), and expert ( EG ) groups based on the Dreyfus model. The participants performed tasks for basic, intermediate and advanced skills on the da Vinci Surgical System™. Participant performance was assessed using both tool‐based and cognitive metrics. Results Tool‐based metrics showed significant differences between the BG vs CPG and the BG vs EG , in basic skills. While performing intermediate skills, there were significant differences only on the instrument‐to‐instrument collisions between the BG vs CPG (2.0 vs 0.2, P = 0.028), and the BG vs EG (2.0 vs 0.1, P = 0.018). There were no significant differences between the CPG and EG for both basic and intermediate skills. However, using cognitive metrics, there were significant differences between all groups for the basic and intermediate skills. In advanced skills, there were no significant differences between the CPG and the EG except time (1116 vs 599.6 s), using tool‐based metrics. However, cognitive metrics revealed significant differences between both groups. Conclusion Cognitive assessment of surgeons may aid in defining levels of expertise performing complex surgical tasks once competence is achieved. Cognitive assessment may be used as an adjunct to the traditional methods for skill assessment during RAS .

Purpose. This study aims to improve Wikipedia usability for the blind and promote the application of standards relating to Web accessibility and usability.Method. First, accessibility and usability of Wikipedia home, search result and edit pages are analysed using the JAWS screen reader; next, suggestions for improving interaction are proposed and a new Wikipedia editing interface built. Most of the improvements were obtained using the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) suite, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) within the framework of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Last, a scenario of use compares interaction of blind people with the original and the modified interfaces.Results. Our study highlights that although all contents are accessible via screen reader, usability issues exist due to the user's difficulties when interacting with the interface. The scenario of use shows how building an editing interface with the W3C WAI-ARIA suite eliminates many obstacles that can prevent blind users from actively contributing to Wikipedia.Conclusion. The modified Wikipedia editing page is simpler to use via a screen reader than the original one because ARIA ensures a page overview, rapid navigation, and total control of what is happening in the interface.

In recent decades, the use of the Internet has spread rapidly into diverse social spheres including that of education. Currently, most educational centers make use of e-learning environments created through authoring tool applications like learning content management systems (LCMSs). However, most of these applications currently present accessibility barriers that make the creation of accessible e-learning environments difficult for teachers and administrators. In this paper, the accessibility of the Moodle authoring tool, one of the most frequently used LCMSs worldwide, is evaluated. More specifically, the evaluation is carried out from the perspective of two visually impaired users accessing content through screen readers, as well as a heuristic evaluation considering the World Wide Web Consortium’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines. The evaluation results demonstrate that Moodle presents barriers for screen reader users, limiting their ability to access the tool. One example of accessibility problems for visually impaired users is the frequent inability to publish learning contents without assistance. In light of these results, the paper offers recommendations that can be followed to reduce or eliminate these accessibility barriers.

Equal access to resources is a central tenet of American democracy. As the United States moves toward an information-based economy, the concept of public resource has expanded to include information resources such as the Internet. Equality in Internet access is important because of the effects that Internet usage has on both the individual and societal level. Individuals with Internet access have advantages over those without access in several important areas: economic (e.g., the ability to purchase goods for better prices in a wide range of categories; the ability to electronically manage and enact financial transactions); health (e.g., the ability to instantly obtain detailed information on a wide range of health-related topics; the ability to research and better understand illness conditions); and lifestyle (e.g., the ability to participate in online support and discussion groups). On a societal level, Internet use has been linked to increases in civic engagement, interpersonal trust, and life contentment (Shah, Kwak, & Holbert, 2001). The effects of the Internet in these areas are even greater for some individuals than the influences of traditional media (Shah, McLeod, & Yoon, 2001). Beyond the advantages presented by Internet access in general, equality in online news access is of specific importance. One of the most important uses of the Internet is obtaining current events and news information; nearly half of online users say that visiting newspaper Web sites is their top online activity (CyberAtlas, 2003). It is estimated that 61% of Internet users go online for news at least once a week and 27% obtain online news everyday (Pastore, 2000). Individuals' preferences for online news reflects perceptions that these news sources provide benefits unobtainable through traditional news outlets. Among such benefits: information unavailable elsewhere, the ability to find topics of interest through search features, greater convenience, and information that is more up-to-date and in-depth (Pew Research Center, 2000). Early analyses of equality in Internet access focused on demographic variables. However, as Internet access has become more universal (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2002), discussions of equality in access have moved beyond demographics to address the disabled population (Bush, 2001), with particular emphasis on the visually impaired (Schloss, 2001; Ranen, 2002). Since near-universal Internet connectivity suggests that most visually-impaired individuals can electronically connect to online news sites, the question remains as to the extent to which this connection results in meaningful, and thus equal, access. The visually impaired have meaningful access only if Internet-based information is presented in a way that lets web page content be clearly decoded, processed, and read aloud by assistive technologies such as automated screen readers, the most common way by which the visually impaired access Internet-based information (Held, 2000). Screen readers have the potential to speak all text and to orally describe all of the graphics on a particular Web page--that is, to put into words what is written in text and/or shown in a particular picture or diagram. However, only when designers provide descriptive labels for graphics and clear descriptions of link options do screen readers work well to communicate page content (Lescher, 2000). This study evaluates the extent to which online news is accessible to the visually impaired. Method The accessibility of online news content was evaluated through the use of an artificial intelligence expert system and a content analysis. The expert system determined whether the underlying code used on an online news Web page was sufficient for an automated screen reader to make sense of the content. The result of this evaluation was pass or fail. A content analysis of failing sites determined the extent of problems. …

Blind users browse the web using screen readers. Screen readers read the content on a web page sequentially via synthesized speech. The linear nature of this process makes it difficult to obtain an overview of the web page, which creates navigation challenges. To alleviate this problem, we have developed ScreenTrack, a browser extension that summarizes a web page's accessibility features into a short, dynamically generated soundtrack. Users can quickly gain an overview of the presence of web elements useful for navigation on a web page. Here we describe ScreenTrack and discuss future research plans.

Blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals utilize systems called “Screen Readers” to navigate the World Wide Web. These systems retrieve the text information from the web pages accessed by a browser and convert this text to speech. However, typical screen readers process only one channel of audio and, therefore, convey the information from the web page in single-track, linearized format, stripping from it the two-dimensional spatial information available to sighted users of the same web page. There is an interest in presenting the sound from screen readers in multiple “virtual auditory columns,” aiming to restore the perception of two-dimensional placement of items on contemporary web pages. In this paper, we explore alternative methods to spatialize sound over five horizontal positions, in front of a computer user. An experimental comparison of two of these sound spatialization methods was statistically evaluated. The results indicate that there is not a statistically significant difference in accuracy achieved by application of the Vector-Based Amplitude Panning (VBAP) or the Linear Panning (LP) methods.

THERE ARE some 30 million people with disabilities in the U.S. If you have created Web pages without thinking about how accessible they will be for these people, you be unintentionally locking them out of your site. I am certainly no expert on accessibility, but I thought I should at least know something about it, and I'm passing along what I've learned so far with a few suggestions for how you can learn more about the topic. I will also discuss a great website that has a free online test for accessibility. But accessibility is a wider issue than just accessibility for people with disabilities. It also becomes an issue as more and more users are accessing the Web using small-screen, low-power devices such as cell phones and small PDAs. Some estimates are that mobile users of the Web will be the majority of users in the next five years or so. There are three main sets of accessibility standards: the government's Section 508 guidelines, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards, and the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) standards. Undoubtedly, various professional associations devoted to people with disabilities have position statements and standards of their own. The government's 508 standards carry the force of law. I say may because I believe the matter is still being argued in various courts of law. Some large websites, such as AOL and MSN.com, have come under pressure in the last few years to abide by Section 508. It is doubtful that small sites will ever be forced to comply with Section 508, but thinking about the standards as you create Web pages is certainly easier than retrofitting a site's pages. And many of the standards are remarkably simple and easy to accommodate. Of the three sets of standards listed above, the government's Section 508 standards are the easiest with which to comply. The W3C standards are listed in three levels. Satisfying all three levels would be difficult. The Nielsen Norman Group is a consulting firm that devised its over 100 standards after doing large-scale user tests of various commercial websites, such as the American Airlines site. Section 508 standards and information about them are available at www.access-board.gov. Here is the government's summary of Section 508. Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) The criteria for Web-based technology and information are based on access guidelines developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium. Many of these provisions ensure access for people with vision impairments who rely on various assistive products to access computer-based information, such as screen readers, which translate what's on a computer screen into automated audible output, and refreshable Braille displays. Certain conventions, such as verbal tags or identification of graphics and format devices, like frames, are necessary so that these devices can read them for the user in a sensible way. The standards do not prohibit the use of website graphics or animation. Instead, the standards aim to ensure that such information is also available in an accessible format. Generally, this means use of text labels or descriptors for graphics and certain format elements. (HTML code already provides an Alt Text tag for graphics which can serve as a verbal descriptor for graphics.) This section also addresses the usability of multimedia presentations, image maps, style sheets, scripting languages, applets and plug-ins, and electronic forms. The best summary of the W3C priority one guidelines I found was at www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips/. These 10 tips have to do with many of the same elements mentioned in the Section 508 summary above. Here, in nontechnical language, is the advice contained in the tips. Use real text instead of images or pictures of text. If you use pictures of anything, even of text, provide captions or descriptions. Give all pages a descriptive title at the top. …

Guideline review tools detect and flag a web page’s or site’s deviation from design criteria (e.g., W3C HTML coding standards [World Wide Web Consortium, 2001c], Section 508 guidelines [Center for Information Technology Accommodation, 2002], or W3C Content Accessibility Guidelines [World Wide Web Consortium, 1999]). A few tools can assist practitioners with making recommended changes or can modify designs automatically. Section 3 of Chapter 10 showed that, among the automated evaluation tools, practitioners were most likely to use guideline review tools, yet they were not satisfied with the tools that they had used.

Website in brief

Bridging the Web Accessibility Divide

Blind people rely on screen readers to interact with the Web. Since screen readers narrate the digital content serially, blind users can only form a one-dimensional mental model of the web page and, hence, cannot enjoy the benefits inherently offered by the 2-D layout; e.g., understanding the spatial relations between objects in a webpage or their locations on the screen helps navigate webpages. Haptic interfaces could provide blind people with a tactile feel for the 2-D layout and help them navigate web pages more efficiently. Haptic Displays, capable of high resolution tactile feedback, could render any webpage in a tactile form enabling blind people to exploit the aforementioned spatial relations and focus screen reading on specific parts of the webpage. In this paper, I report on the preliminary work toward the development of FeelX -- a haptic gloves system that will enable tactile web browsing. FeelX will be used alongside regular screen readers, and will provide blind screen-reader users with the ability explore web pages by touch and audio.

Navigating webpages with screen readers is a challenge even with recent improvements in screen reader technologies and the increased adoption of web standards for accessibility, namely ARIA. ARIA landmarks, an important aspect of ARIA, lets screen reader users access different sections of the webpage quickly, by enabling them to skip over blocks of irrelevant or redundant content. However, these landmarks are sporadically and inconsistently used by web developers, and in many cases, even absent in numerous web pages. Therefore, we propose SaIL, a scalable approach that automatically detects the important sections of a web page, and then injects ARIA landmarks into the corresponding HTML markup to facilitate quick access to these sections. The central concept underlying SaIL is visual saliency, which is determined using a state-of-the-art deep learning model that was trained on gaze-tracking data collected from sighted users in the context of web browsing. We present the findings of a pilot study that demonstrated the potential of SaIL in reducing both the time and effort spent in navigating webpages with screen readers.

Online learning has been running in Indonesian universities due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Online learning has become a challenge to both parties, lecturers, and students with special needs. The use of several online platforms for learning has not provided accessibility for students who are blind and deaf. To pursue friendly learning in inclusive classrooms for blind and deaf students, then we need a facility that supports learning for blind and deaf students. The purpose of the study is to develop a learning model that can be used for online learning using an interactive website. The interactive Web-Based Learning Model is an innovative learning model which is designed for special needs students to access online learning more effectively. The procedure used in this interactive web-based learning model is that every blind and deaf student can access learning through various devices connected to their cell phone or laptop to make the learning process two-way and effective. The research was conducted using the research & development method which consists of the stages of producing a model product and then validating and testing the model. The result of this study is an online learning model using a website that can present learning material from lecturers in the form of pages that all the menus can be read directly by blind students through a screen reader on their devices (user friendly) and they can send assignments via voice note options. The website is equipped with videos accompanied by subtitles so that it has accessibility to deaf students. This model consists of the following stages: 1) Planning which includes needs analysis and content analysis, 2) The learning process through an interactive website containing structured learning material, interactive learning through video and discussion features, 3) Evaluation includes test and non-test in the form of process and result in analysis.

This study critically examines the accessibility and usability of assistive technology tools used by visually impaired and blind students in English language learning at undergraduate level. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 students to evaluate the efficacy of four key assistive technologies: Braille, screen readers, tape recorders, and computer software. It can be concluded that these tools have a positive influence on the participants' studying English, JAWS screen reader softwares was mostly used as they are considered to be the most user-friendly. The findings of this study also revealed that there is still a need for these available tools to improve in the design and compatibility. Out of the 12 participants 7 reported using Braille in conjunction with the computer softwares. The study addresses the issues of usability and accessibility in the context of English language learning for the visually impaired and blind undergraduate students. In summary, the study contributes valuable, evidence-based insights in the role of assistive technology tools for the development of inclusive, effective, and equitable education practices for the visually impaired and blind undergraduate students studying English language.