COMP101COMP101

Guest LectureGuest Lecture

AccessibilityAccessibility

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Universal Usability (UU)Universal Usability (UU)

• Universal usability refers to design of information

and communications products and services that

are both accessible and usable by all

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Why is accessibility important?Why is accessibility important?

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Users are diverse!Users are diverse!

• Individual Differences

– Physical abilities

• Difficulties interacting with hardware

– Cognitive and perceptual abilities

• Differences in memory, learning, making decisions

– Personality differences

• Interested/disinterested in software

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What problems are faced by older What problems are faced by older adults when using technology?adults when using technology?

From: www.smh.com.au

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UTOPIA Project DVDUTOPIA Project DVD

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Older AdultsOlder Adults

• More than 32 million older people (55+) have a computer compared to 64 million aged 34-54

• Use of Internet is increasing

• May not all realize benefits of technology

• Can help them access healthcare, maintain communication

– 7 million Americans are long-distance caregivers for older relatives (Family Caregiving Alliance, 2005)

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Older AdultsOlder Adults

• Eye sight– Difficult to see small icons on toolbars

• Motor skill abilities– Smith et al (1999)

• Tested basic mouse clicking and drag-and-drop abilities

• Older participants found more difficulty performing tasks than younger participants

• Tasks such as double-clicking problematic

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Older AdultsOlder Adults

• Cognitive abilities– Component behaviors comprising cognition

decline with age– Component abilities such as speed and attention

are predictors of data entry, menu-based tasks – Therefore, Word Processing would be difficult– Searching on the Web also requires cognitive

skills such as memory, reasoning, attention, learning and problem solving

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Assistive Technologies for the BlindAssistive Technologies for the Blind

• Screen readers to access software or the Web

• A synthetic voice reads the text present

Screen reader reading out form

From: http://www.webaim.org/techniques/forms/screen_reader.php

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Assistive Technologies for the BlindAssistive Technologies for the Blind

• Understanding diagrams can be a challenge unless there is some alternative text

How would you describe this through text?

From: http://www.howstuffworks.com

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Screen ReadersScreen Readers

• Can be cumbersome reading a long page of text

• Also difficult to understand images and tables

• Braille output but not all blind people can read it!

• Can lead to social and technical isolation

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Assistive TechnologiesAssistive Technologies

• Partially sighted (including some elderly users) can use screen magnifiers

– Enlarges the information on the screen

– Create a large, scrolling virtual screen or magnify area close to the mouse

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ChildrenChildren

• Dexterity

– Motor control is not equal to adults

– May have problems double clicking or using 3 button mouse (Bederson et al. 1996)

– Difficulty dragging a mouse (Strommen, 1994)

• Speech

– O’Hare and McTear (1999) found that 12 year olds could generate text more quickly and accurately through dictation

– Speech recognition developed for adults doesn’t work so well with young children (Nix et al., 1988)

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ChildrenChildren

• Reading

– Different reading abilities

– What can be used to substitute?

• Background knowledge

– Jones (1992) – Children are less familiar with office concepts like file folders and in/out boxes

• Interaction style

– Playful, spontaneous interactions with technology

– Hanna et al. (1997) found kids repeatedly generating errors to hear funny noises!

• More information in Chapter 40 (Sears and Jacko)

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LegislationLegislation

• Economic impact of individuals with disabilities

• Section 508 - Americans with Disabilities Act

– Eliminate barriers in IT

– Make new opportunities for disabled

– Encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals

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LegislationLegislation

• Section 508 - Americans with Disabilities Act

– Law applies to all Federal agencies

– Good practice for private companies

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LitigationLitigation

• Sydney Olympics case (1999)

• Target (2009)

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Design Guidelines for Design Guidelines for InclusivenessInclusiveness

• Section 508

– Have a text equivalent to diagrams (e.g. alt text, longdesc)

– Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia

– Information conveyed with color is also available without color

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Design Guidelines for Design Guidelines for InclusivenessInclusiveness

• Section 508

– Pages should be readable without style sheet

– Row and column headers should be identified for data tables.

– Avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz

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Design Guidelines for Design Guidelines for InclusivenessInclusiveness

• Section 508

– Scripting should be identified by assistive technologies

– Permits users to skip repetitive navigation links

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Design Guidelines for Design Guidelines for InclusivenessInclusiveness

• Section 508

– Further info and sample HTML code at:

http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm

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What can I do if I want to design What can I do if I want to design a universally usable system?a universally usable system?

• Follow design guidance (Section 508)

• Simple design can be more effective than complex design

• Testing with target users is essential!

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What new technologies have What new technologies have been developed for individuals been developed for individuals

with disabilities?with disabilities?

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Research to Support Blind UsersResearch to Support Blind Users

• Assistive camera technology (Jayant et al., 2011)

• PortraitFramer (Android)• Number of faces detected voiced by mobile app• Vibrations presented to help user identify position of faces

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Research to Support Blind UsersResearch to Support Blind Users

• Color Detectors

– Color Teller (Brytech www.brytech.com)

– Handheld device detects colors, tints and shades

– Color is spoken out to user

– Can also tell you if lights are on in room or not

Research to Support Blind UsersResearch to Support Blind Users

• Games include RockBand, GuitarHero – Check out the ASSETS Conference for more papers

Folmer, E. (2011) Human Computer Interaction of Video Games: Game Accessibility

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Research to Support Physical Research to Support Physical DisabilitiesDisabilities

• Alternative entry devices

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Research to Support Behavioral Research to Support Behavioral DisordersDisorders

• Lanyi et al. 2006– Virtual classroom developed

– Aim is to improve confidence in virtual school environment to transfer to real school• Public speaking

Working with others

Lanyi et al. (2006) Virtual Reality in Special Needs Early Education. International Journal of Virtual Reality, 2006, 5(4):55-68

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Research to Support Research to Support RehabilitationRehabilitation

• Motek - http://www.motekmedical.com– Users can interact with virtual worlds– Improve physical and cognitive abilities– Treatment for head injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis,

motor neuron disease, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy

– Game (below) requires user to steer the dragon around an environment, testing orientation skills

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Research to Support Research to Support RehabilitationRehabilitation

• Motek - http://www.motekmedical.com– Patient mimics posture of an avatar to balance on

the boat– Waves are presented, so participant should stay in

control

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Research to Support Research to Support RehabilitationRehabilitation

• Simone Concepts simoneconcepts.com– Retraining users with TBIs to drive again– Simulation presented– Distracting tasks given– Checking participants behavior over time

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Biggest ChallengesBiggest Challenges

• Accessibility is not always prioritized

• How to use low-cost technologies

• Designing for multiple disabilities

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Biggest ChallengesBiggest Challenges

• Design for an aging population

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Biggest ChallengesBiggest Challenges

• Supporting disabled kids in the classroom

• Facilitating collaboration between disabled and non-disabled individuals

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What can I do?What can I do?

• Take IS303 for a stronger background in Human-Centered Computing

• Look at the proceedings of the ASSETS conference (http://assets13.sigaccess.org/)

• Think about getting involved in research at UMBC

– Volunteer to participate in research studies

– Work with faculty on projects

– URA