Pragmatic solutions for better integration of the visually impaired in virtual communities

Abstract

This article introduces and discusses issues in the design of user interfaces for visually impaired people in the domain of virtual communities. We begin by pointing out that collaborative virtual environments provide additional means for visually impaired people which may help to accomplish a better integration into existing communities and social activities. We give a short introduction to the way visually impaired people usually work with a PC and show how their method of information access differs to sighted people. We then take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of existing adaptations to operating systems. Based on this analysis we describe some requirements for user interfaces of groupware and chat applications which enhance the usability for visually impaired people without losing the attractiveness and intuitiveness for the sighted. We finally describe a prototype of a special IRC-Client, called BIRC, and discuss its advantages and limitations.

Groupware Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

“…The most frequently cited design guideline for accessibility includes W3C WAI-ARIA [29] and W3C WCAG 1.0/2.0 [30, 31, and 32]. Accessible groupware design related to presentation includes: support of auditory assistive tools and accessible front-end applications [11,23,31,32]; and, utilize male and female voices in audio output to add emphasis or distinction [11]. Accessible groupware design related to control includes: saving information [11]; and, synchronous control [41].…”

“…Groupware systems have come to be widely used in the office environment for tasks such as mail exchange and document sharing for many years [23]. Email, chat, or news groups have become key applications for most computer users [11].…”

“…Chat, synchronous discussion in e-learning, and web discussion boards by Hampel [11], Woodfine [41], Watters [32] and Thiessen [24]. Blog, email, and digital library access by Watanabe [31], Talagi [23] and Luk [15].…”

“…Winberg [40] studied collaborative manipulation for the visually impaired. Hampel [11] and Thiessen [24] studied chat for the visually impaired. Woodfine [41] studied e-learning for the dyslexic.…”

“…Winberg [40] studied orientation with the interface, to provide a mental model of the interface. Hampel [11] studied spatial arrangements of the GUI; the difficulty of converting Braille; overlapping windows; exploring in 2-D space; too much unstructured information; and, graphical messages. Woodfine [41] studied Fast-paced synchronous communications of an e-learning environment.…”