Internet Accessibility for Blind and Visually-Impaired Users: An Evaluation of Official U.S. State and Territory COVID-19 Websites

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-158
Author(s):  
Dylan H. Hewitt ◽  
Yingchen He
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Screen Readers ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Online Format ◽  
State Territory

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most health information was moved to an online format for easier dissemination. However, many of these health websites may not be accessible to users who are visually impaired, such as people who use screen readers and magnifiers. This study aimed to test the accessibility of 55 U.S. state and territory COVID-19 websites using 3 automated accessibility checker tools (MAUVE++, CynthiaSays, and AChecker). The homepage, testing, and vaccine pages for each state/territory were tested. Accessibility violations were categorized based on their relevance to visual impairment and compared between categories. Individuals who have vision loss but still access the websites visually are the most likely to be affected, with relevant accessibility violations detected in 81% of the checked cases. In addition, states/territories were ranked by their accessibility ratings. Our findings emphasize the need to improve the accessibility of public-facing health informational websites and provide suggestions for remedies.

scholarly journals Creating a serious game for people with visual impairment with an emphasis on adopting the smartphone

2020 ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
María D. R. Peralta Calvo ◽  
Yusmar A Flores Alvarado ◽  
Carlos M Santibáñez Camarillo
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Study Phase ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
Visual Disabilities ◽  
Screen Readers ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
First Contact ◽  
The Impact

A great number of benefits that technology provides are accessed by a smartphone, in order to use it, it is necessary to know how to use the screen readers. However, the use of technology should not be limited by not seeing, not hearing or not being able to touch any technological device. There is currently a gap between people with visual impairment and technology. Despite the existence of a large number of projects that aim to reduce this gap in Mexico, it has not been consistently reduced. This motivates us to develop contributions in this area, so that people with visual disabilities enjoy the same benefits as sighted people. This paper aims to provide a literature review derived from the study phase and an outline of the design phase in the application of the User-Centered Design methodology. This methodology guides the development of a serious game project that will support visually impaired children in their first contact with a smartphone. The bibliographic review that is presented here has allowed us to contextualize and understand the impact of technological contributions and projects for the visually impaired.

Assistive Technologies as a Search Tool for the Demanded Profile of Special Library

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-147
Author(s):  
Yuri Y. Lesnevsky
Keyword(s):  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Modern World ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Related Field ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Applied Development ◽  
Special Library ◽  
Almost All

Digital transformation of the modern world requires any person, including people with partial or complete vision loss, to have new competencies in organizing their own lives. The share of high-tech services is growing in almost all areas of library and information activities.The process of inclusion of visually impaired people in the world of new opportunities is directly related to the formation of the image of socially active special library. The author analyzes the management decisions and development of the Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a consumer and participant of the intersectoral and interdepartmental market of rehabilitation industry products. The article reveals the role of assistive (auxiliary) technologies in the expansion of a number of educational services for the interested social and professional groups of the population.The empirical basis of the article is the results of the information and applied development of the assistive technology sphere by the specialists of the Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Various social, technical, regulatory and economic aspects have defined the development of the institution over a long period of time. The interdisciplinary nature of the proposed method involves the use of advanced assistive technologies as the basis for expanding the services of special library.The article considers the proactive approach that takes into account the priorities of the readership as an actual and effective way to develop a system of special library and information services. The author proposes and approves as innovation the idea of using the achievements of the related field of activity — accessibility technologies. Educational and training activities of the library in this context become a targeted tool for informing and motivating specialists of various branches. The article shows the need for additional efforts to organize and coordinate the work in the conditions of different levels of competence of specialists. Advanced development of assistive technologies allows expanding the range of users.

Web-Based Teaching and Learning for Blind and Visually Impaired Faculty

2011 ◽  
pp. 124-143
Author(s):  
Maggie Lynch ◽  
Patti DeWitz
Keyword(s):  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Usability Analysis ◽  
University Support ◽  
Technology Initiatives

Currently, 24% of the population has experienced significant vision loss. Though there has been some progress on developing accessible Web pages, there has been little work on providing Web page development accessibility to visually-impaired faculty. This chapter presents a study designed to assist educational organizations with blind or visually-impaired (BVI) faculty in the development of online courses and in the teaching of those same courses. The study used the tools of interview, usability analysis, and experimentation. Issues discussed include software accessibility, college or university support requirements, motivational factors, instructor skill levels, and strategies for working with BVI faculty. The findings and recommendations are specific to the WebCT environment, but some of the strategies may be generalized to other similar environments. The article ends with a discussion of major technology initiatives currently underway.

scholarly journals Exploring the patient perspective of fatigue in adults with visual impairment: a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e015023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter Schakel ◽  
Christina Bode ◽  
Hilde P A van der Aa ◽  
Carel T J Hulshof ◽  
Judith E Bosmans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Patient Perspective ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Research Question ◽  
External Support ◽  
Future Research

ObjectivesFatigue is an often mentioned symptom by patients with irreversible visual impairment. This study explored the patient perspective of fatigue in visually impaired adults with a focus on symptoms of fatigue, causes, consequences and coping strategies.SettingTwo large Dutch low vision multidisciplinary rehabilitation organisations.Participants16 visually impaired adults with severe symptoms of fatigue selected by purposive sampling.MethodsA qualitative study involving semistructured interviews. A total of four first-level codes were top–down predetermined in correspondence with the topics of the research question. Verbatim transcribed interviews were analysed with a combination of a deductive and inductive approach using open and axial coding.ResultsParticipants often described the symptoms of fatigue as a mental, daily and physical experience. The most often mentioned causes of fatigue were a high cognitive load, the intensity and amount of activities, the high effort necessary to establish visual perception, difficulty with light intensity and negative cognitions. Fatigue had the greatest impact on the ability to carry out social roles and participation, emotional functioning and cognitive functioning. The most common coping strategies were relaxation, external support, socialising and physical exercise and the acceptance of fatigue.ConclusionsOur results indicate that low vision-related fatigue is mainly caused by population specific determinants that seem different from the fatigue experience described in studies with other patient populations. Fatigue may be central to the way patients react, adapt and compensate to the consequences of vision loss. These findings indicate a need for future research aimed at interventions specifically tailored to the unique aspects of fatigue related to vision loss.

Caring for and Communicating with Blind and Visually Impaired Elderly Persons

1987 ◽  
Vol 81 (7) ◽  
pp. 326-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.N. Bentz
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Community Health Nurses ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Extended Care

This article outlines behaviorial indicators of visual impairment and offers suggestions that will help nurses care for patients who have lost sight gradually and who are now either blind or visually impaired. These guidelines are particularly important for patients in hospital or extended care units, although they will also help community health nurses recognize the signs of visual impairment in home-bound patients.

scholarly journals BASAER Team: The First Arabic Robot Team for Building the Capacities of Visually Impaired Students to Build and Program Robots

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (24) ◽  
pp. 91-107
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Hamash ◽  
Hasnah Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Educational Robotics ◽  
Full Inclusion ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Visually Impaired Students ◽  
Guided Instruction ◽  
Educational Robots

the purpose of this study was to examine whether visually impaired students can build educational robots and program them if they receive adapted materials and instructions with guided instruction from well-trained educators in the fields of inclusive STEM Classrooms. Discussion of the technologies and our experimental approach is presented in this paper and validated through the continued successful effort with visually impaired students for two years of the program and specialists in the field of visual impairment and STEAM, we also validated our approach by performing experimental classes for students with different visual impairments and ages. The results indicated that the approach used by BASAER team was successful in enabling the blind and visually impaired students to build and program educational robotics and to participate effectively in national and international STEAM programs and competitions, with some limitations and Challenges encountered and explored during this research. The results from this study will be used to suggest a fully adapted system to support full inclusion for blind and visually impaired students in educational robots in STEAM context and to promote the adoption of this study and similar studies toward Inclusive STEM Classrooms.

In Support of Specialized Programs for Blind and Visually Impaired Children: The Impact of Vision Loss on Learning

1987 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.H. Hatlen ◽  
S.A. Curry
Keyword(s):  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Emotional Needs ◽  
Loss Of Vision ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Visually Impaired Children

The learning needs of blind and visually impaired children can be divided into three categories: needs that are met by adapting the curriculum, needs that are met by changes in methodology, and developmental and educational needs that are unique to these children. To fulfill the needs in each category, it is essential that instruction be provided by special teachers of the visually impaired who are knowledgeable of the effects of the loss of vision on learning, trained in effective methods of adaptation and remediation, and sensitized to the emotional needs of this population.

Psychological and pedagogical diagnosis of children with visual impairment

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 193-199
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Siedlaczek-Szwed ◽  
Agata Jałowiecka-Frania
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Counseling Center ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Visually Impaired Children

The text addresses issues related to the psychological and pedagogical diagnosis of children with visual impairment, which plays a very important role in programming, as well as in achieving the maximum results of revalidation or rehabilitation treatments undertaken on the basis of the diagnosis made. The authors present the results of research aimed at learning the process of diagnosing blind and visually impaired children in a public psychological and pedagogical counseling center conducted among 21 people involved in the diagnosis of blind and visually impaired children employed in facilities located in the Śląskie Voivodeship.

Housing Design and Persons with Visual Impairment: Report of Focus-Group Discussions

1995 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.G. Long
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Everyday Functioning ◽  
Housing Design ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Impact

This article describes the impact of positive and negative housing-design features on the everyday functioning of persons who are blind and visually impaired in their homes based on information obtained in focus-group discussions with consumers, parents, and professionals.

scholarly journals ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN IN RELATION TO CHRONOLOGICAL AGE AND GENDER

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-72
Author(s):  
Dzenana Radzo Alibegovic ◽  
◽  
Sevala Tulumovic ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
Blind And Visually Impaired ◽  
Orientation And Mobility ◽  
Visually Impaired Students ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Visually Impaired Children

The aim of this study was to examine the orientation and mobility in children with visual impairment in relation to gender and chronological age. The study included a sample of 35 respondents with visual impairment, aged between 7 and 15. The research was conducted in Sarajevo at the “Centre for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and Youth - Nedžarići” (Bosnian: Centar za slijepu i slabovidnu djecu i omladinu Nedžarići). The results of the research showed that there were statistically significant differences in relation to chronological age obtained on the variables “orientation indoors and in buildings” and “orientation in the yard”, and that there is a relation between orientation and mobility and chronological age on the variables “orientation indoors and in buildings” and “orientation in the yard”. Gender has no significant effect on the orientation and mobility abilities of visually impaired students.

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