Throughout the material on human-computer interaction, the concept of usability was emphasized. One area of usability that is often overlooked is accessibility. Research a disability, and describe how it effects a user’s ability to interact with systems, and describe some ways the user interface can accommodate these disabilities. Also, feel free to discuss the prevalence of the disability, and whether or not you would feel it is appropriate to make these accommodations in the systems used in the examples in this course.
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The computer accessibility also be called as accessible computing which refers to the accessibility system for all people. it’s main purpose is to enable disabled people to use their computers and carry out a series of daily tasks.whatever the disability type. The accessibility only contains hardware, also includes software, for sometime, if it is needed, the hardware and software should combine together. Here is the common disability type shows in Wikipedia:
“Cognitive impairments (head injury, autism, developmental disabilities), and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or ADHD.
Visual impairment such as low-vision, complete or partial blindness, and color blindness.
Hearing-related disabilities including deafness, being hard of hearing, or hyperacusis.
Motor or dexterity impairment such as paralysis, cerebral palsy, dyspraxia, carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury.”
For example, the students with learning disabilities can use word prediction programs to help them type the words and raise typing speed. The advanced speech synthesizers can help students who cannot speak to act the substitute voices and engage into the class discussions.
Combine with the examples I mentioned above, the support hardware and software is needed for the disable students to study. Fox can adds some common software and hardware to help disabled people work and study, but it still need to consider about the it’s cost.
I think your description and suggestion of prediction software available for students/children who have learning disabilities is a great idea. These tools would enhance the experience for students and help them with the learning process. I think Temple may have the resources in place already but definitely should consider adding more facilities to help current and future students.
Thank you for sharing, Hanqing. You mention many useful programs such as speed synthesizers, the word prediction machine which can be used to help disabilities to have better study experience. I agree with you that Fox should have some devices that are designed to be disabilities- friendly. I also recommend that when learning about the design of the system, the course should also take accessibility into considerations.
Hi Hanqing,
Thank you for sharing such valuable information about the learning disabilities. However, the cost could be the biggest problem. When searching sources, I realized that learning disabilities have no cure, but early intervention can provide tools and strategies to lessen their effects. People with learning disabilities can be successful in school and work and in their personal lives.
Thank you for your clear explanation for several kinds of disability. And I also like your examples mentioned about students with learning disability, there are solutions such as word prediction program and advanced speech synthesizers to help students study better.
I think that is a great idea. This would be really helpful for students and allow them to have a great learning experience. I liked your points about the synthesizers, the word prediction machine. Thank you for your detailed explanation of the disabilities.
I agree with you, because it is important to help everyone access the computer regardless the type of disabled. People can install different tools to make everything easier. For example, using their voice to enter information. That improves their working efficiency.
Working in higher education, accessibility is something that must be considered often in our system and software procurement for both students and faculty. Fortunately, technology has shown to help many of those with disability with things like reading documents, communicating with others, and conducting independent research. However, one disability that may affect a user’s ability to interact with a system would be someone who is visually impaired. This includes those who are blind, colorblind (and not able to differentiate certain colors used ), and those who have a difficult time reading smaller text. Visual impairment can potentially effect a user’s ability to read or input information necessary to interact with a system.
The system would accommodate for this through using/creating a user interface design that permits the use of screen readers, which allow is a device that allows users to easily read any text on the system screens out loud, that the user normally would not be able view. While the overall system may not have to make accommodations for users of the system, from a client perspective any interfaces the user interacts with would have to be reviewed for accessibility. This includes things like adding captions to photographs, using keyboard shortcuts to aid navigation, and even being mindful of colors and contrast for those who are colorblind. These things would be particularly important for user interfaces in the system. Such as client portals, form and reports, and any websites used to capture information for the system that require customer input. As an example for a system used in this very course, this would mean careful consideration for the use of portable digital devices in the case of drivers for On the Spot Courier Services.
I think you mention great points regarding some difficulties people would face if they were visually impaired. I feel like the alternative you mention are easy to implement and very practical and useful. I also like how you tied in your example to the case we have been working on in this class. Making sure On the Spot Courier has digital devices that have capabilities to accommodate for the visually impaired are important.
Thank you for sharing your answer. I like how you mentioned ways that can be implemented without incurring a lot of costs. Additional steps that can also be included are using a screen-enlargement utility: a system for zooming in on portions of the screen to make it easier for the visually impaired to view information on computer monitors. The system can also provide the ability to change the foreground and background colors to suit those that are color blind.
Thank you for your sharing. I really interest in what you mentioned about the color blindness because some of my friends have different levels of color blindness. As far as I know, a good example comes from computer games, more and more games now have color-blind mode options. The same more and more software is also starting to use this model.
Hi Iyana,
I like your point about the visually impaired disability and it is a good topic to discuss. Just as mentioned by Hanqing, there is color-blind mode option for more and more computer games, the accessibility concern should be considered by more and more interface designer from all kinds of organization and company.
I made a points point about some of the difficulties visually impaired people would have. Your solutions seem pretty useful and easy to implement. I also like that you mentioned to implement it without incurring a huge cost. Thank you for your sharing this post.
You made a great point *
HI Iyana,
You make an excellent point and I agree with your post. Visual impairment absolutely hinders a user’s ability to read or to interact with a system. Being visually impaired can also hind someone from your a cell phone. We quickly forget that people with impairments can’t always utilize the new thing or the normal thing (cell phone) at this point often. My uncle is legally blind, however he has very little vision in one eye. Nevertheless, he utilizes his cell pone every day( to much if you ask me. LOL!). He overcame his disability by using Google. Google does everything for him with a touch of a button. If it weren’t for Google talk I have no clue as to how he would communicate with me or even keep up with whats happening around him.
Hello Lyana,
You pointed to a key issue in system and software designs. The accessibilities for people with disabilities are extremely important. The people with disabilities may have special needs, but sometimes a good design can avoid the extra cost on those kind of systems. For example, more physical buttons and inputting reactions.
A accessibility issue that could be faced with people who are diagnosed with muscular atrophy and distrophy is trying using a traditional keyboard. Muscular atrophy is when the muscles deteriorate and the patient effected cannot move or use their muscles to their full ability. A way user interfaces can accommodate people with this disability are voice recognition softwares that can automate manual functions of a computer/webpage. Though this type disability is not extremely prevalent, about 1 in 6000 individuals are severely effected.
Computer Aids for the Blind – The University at Buffalo”s Assistive Technology Training Online Project provides this list of keyboard and mouse alternatives for its blind population.
You bring up a great point, that while this disability may not be extremely prevalent it is important to also consider the severity of the condition for users and how it will effect their interaction with the system.
You mentioned about voice recognition software is really a good point. Interface designing should put effort to accommodate people with disability in all possible areas.
You made a pretty great point about considering the severity of the condition for users. I also like your point about voice recognition software. Thanks for sharing your post
Nice points, Ami. It is sweat to take the patients with muscular atrophy and dystrophy in to considerations; even they may occupy a small amount of the population. I do believe everyone should have equal rights to access the services.
One disability/disorder that comes to mind where the user interface has made great advances is autism. An individual with autism is challenged with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and non verbal communication. People with autism are often very attentive and technology had made advancements to help with their needs Touch windows have been created to help an individual with autism to interact and navigate with a computer system. Track balls have been made to allow the individual to use a ball to move the mouse around with their fingertip or hand. Many eventually master the trackball and can move onto navigating through the use of a mouse. There is various software available to improve attention skills, problem solving skills, fine motor skills, and academic skills. Alternative keyboards are also available for individuals to easily identify button and press them as needed.
Enter a webpage into this simulat or to see what it looks like to those who are colorblind. These simulators can also help those designing accessible websites.
Thank you for your sharing, now I know the autism can be one type of the disability which I didn’t consider before. People with autism are usually very sensitive, especially for the language of others. Thus, technicians need to take this into account when designing tools and interactive interfaces.
You do a good job in introducing the autism and the software used to help the people with autism. I learned a new disability type. As the development of the technology, I believe more devices or products can be accessible to those people who with disabilities.
You have very good examples to illustrate today’s technology that used to accommodate people with disability. Touch windows, track balls and so on are helpful in some degree. Technology is evolving and the concern about disability people is spreading, there will be more interface design or technology used to help them in the future.
Hi Saruch
You bring up a great example when mentioning autism. I did not think of it myself before. I never really thought of it as real disability before. This is a very good example to illustrate technology that can accommodate people with disabilities. Thank you for sharing
You are quite right Sarush. I have close relations that have autism and I have seen so many different assistive technologies, its extraordinary. Keeping in mind that Autism is a spectrum, ( from high functioning to low functioning), the assistive technologies in all its varying degrees will greatly help as they are originally designed with user interfaces that are supposed to be easy and friendly.
Hi Sarush,
Thanks for sharing, because I had no clue about the great enhancements that were created to assist autism. I especially did not know about the touch window as you discussed. My uncle is legally blind, however he has a very small fraction of his site. Nevertheless, the center for the blind assisted me in getting him a special reader which magnifies his tablet, as well as reads to him.
Thank you Sarush, you raised a nice point, various input devices create convenience to people with disabilities.
People with mobility impairment may have a challenge using the standard keyboard and mouse. Some of these people have little or no use or their hands or arms.
There are a few techniques that I found that can be used to accommodate people with mobility impairments. To make selections, individuals use switches activated by movement of the head, finger, foot, breath, etc. One of the ways is to use an infrared camera on the monitor and a processing unit that translates eye motion into on screen action. The user chooses a key by looking at it for a longer time. An impulse sensor that sticks to the skin can also be used to sense and transmit the electrical impulses from the brain and can turn certain movements into mouse clicks. Advances in technology systems also allow someone to operate the computer by just using their mouth, cheek, tongue or chin to move the on-screen cursor and can click on an item by blowing into or sucking out of the straw. Voice recognition systems also allow users to control computers just by speaking words and letters.
I think accommodations in the systems for this disability can be made if there is someone in an organization who needs them because they come at a higher price than the standard computer equipment or systems.
Special needs children can also benefit from computer-based learning.
Thank you for your sharing, I have the same consider with about the price of the support hardware and software. If Fox wants to set up these support tools, it should consider about the price, the avg number from recently years disable students.
Mobility impairment is indeed limit person’s interaction with a system. You provide great examples used to accommodate this type of disabilities. Whether to taking accommodations in a system or not, should take the necessity (i.e. target users, numbers of disabilities in the workforce, price) into consideration.
You provide a great example of how a system can accommodate people with Mobility impairment to help them interact with a system. Like someone else previously mentioned in their comment, whether or not we should do the accommodations in a system will depend on the target users, numbers of disabilities in the workforce, and the cost.
Hi Karabo,
Thanks for sharing. For the life of me I couldn’t recall the system (wheelchair?) that was used to make the selections as you described.”To make selections, individuals use switches activated by movement of the head, finger, foot, breath, etc.”. I have never seen this used in person. However, I know of at least one person who utilized this feature, which was Christopher Reeve (original Superman). I recall him falling off his horse which left him immobilize. If I recall correctly he used a chair that made selections you describe.
Impulse sensor is a very cool idea. I never heard of an interface using that, so it would be revolutionary to implement something like that.
Accessibility by all users is always a very important issue. What may be usable by some people may not be usable by someone with a disability. Those with learning disabilities process information differently and therefore may struggle with reading online or using certain kinds of software. Those with dyslexia and other vision impairments face several issues with accessibility.
Computer Aids for the Blind – The University at Buffalo”s Assistive Technology Training Online Project provides this list of keyboard and mouse alternatives for its blind population.
Color Blindness Simulations – Enter a webpage into this simulat or to see what it looks like to those who are colorblind. These simulators can also help those designing accessible websites.
Using Handhelds to Help People with Motor Impairments – Those with Muscular Dystrophy and other nervous system disorders can benefit from using devices such as a mouse and keyboard. The disorder affects their gross motor control but not their fine motor control.
Use of Computer Technology to Help Students with Special Needs – Children are now growing up in the “digital age,” and computers are so important to their educational environment. Special needs children can also benefit from computer-based learning.
The University at Buffalo”s Assistive Technology Training Online Project is a great tool to help prototype and assess the usability of your system/software. Your comment also brings up a great point that during the process of designing forms and reports, it is important to consider ‘who will use the form or report’ with an open mind when conducting requirements determination, to consider those users with a wide range of disabilities.
I love the color blindness simulator you have mentioned because my father is color-blind, I really hope he can feel the exactly red and green. He told me red and green are just gray. He also can not figure out pink and green if they are not separated.
These are all great points as you have noted. In the design and analysis phase, you need to consider all class of people that would use the software. A physically disabled person going into the store would have to get a specialized cab (like access-a-ride etc) that can accommodate wheelchairs etc, so taking into consideration that disabled people might be more inclined and comfortable to place orders online instead of having to go into the store, accommodations should be made in the system/software to allow for this.
Thank you Zhixin, you listed good examples for dyslexia ad other vision impairments face several issues, no matter the blind, color blindness simulations, or motor impairments.
I did not know about the services that the University of Buffalo offers, but this is good information to know! I think that because they offer such services, individuals who are not sure if they have an impairment can self-diagnose once interacting with the program. If they find that they in fact have something, they can get the appropriate help.
According to the definition, disability is an impairment that may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory or some combination of these. In the Windows operating system, it has established a variety of human-computer interaction methods to provide accessibility to users who have a disability. For example, if someone has difficulties in reading the screen, Windows can provide him plenty of tools to solve this issue, including a magnifier to get a close look, a high contrast theme with bigger text and sharp color, and even a narrator to read everything for him. Also, if someone has difficulties in operating his hands, he can just use his voice easily to give orders to the system through Speech recognition function.
Windows operating system’s human-computer interaction methods to help people who have a disability operate their computer better. Therefore, these accessibility features not only improve the work efficiency for people with disability but also help them rebuild their confidence in life.
Hi Yijiang,
I agree with your example of Windows operating system is interesting and everything said by smart people like you is correct 🙂
I like your post, Yijiang.
People who have the disability could achieve a better life. For example, Stephen Hawking, a great English theoretical physicist. He interacted with his computer using Intel’s system. “Hawking’s computer system uses a rudimentary timed interface. A cursor automatically scans across an on-screen keyboard, and whenever the renowned physicist blinks, he triggers an infrared sensor on his cheek. This stops the moving cursor and selects whatever key or option the cursor was highlighting at the time.”
Reference: https://iq.intel.com/behind-scenes-intel-keeps-stephen-hawking-talking/
I agree with you, because these tools can make people improve their working efficiency. It helps people overcome their issues to receive and send information.
Well said, Human-computer interaction researchers at Microsoft envision a future where technology enhances the human experience for everyone, everywhere. Research results are routinely translated to technological innovations that impact Microsoft customers and products and benefit society at large through open science collaborations.
Thank you, yijiang. You mentioned a good point, windows operating system’s interaction methods. They have found this issue at least from I was a kid, I played with those functions. I didn’t know their real usages at that time. But I think they are necessary. And it is sweat to care their accessibilities.
I agree with you. The human-computer interaction method of the Windows operating system can help people with disabilities to better operate their computers. Therefore, these accessibility features not only improve the working efficiency of the disabled, but also help them rebuild their confidence in life.
Visual impairment is one of the disability types, which refers to a decreased ability to see that cannot be fixed by usual means or totally blind. This kind of disabilities will create difficulties when interacting with systems. A navigation system as an example, because the person cannot see the map or the directions on the screen, the system will be hard to use by visual loss people. Usually, the navigation system for the visually impaired will have the voice-based assistance or sensing technology to make the person aware of the path and the potential obstacle in the path. Many ATM systems in the bank also accessible for the disabilities today.
According to the research, about 20% of Americans are with one type disability. So accessibility is becoming an increasingly important element to the enhance the user experience, maintain the workforce, increase goodwill and enhance the competitiveness of the company. The accommodations in the systems should be used in the examples in this course (spot courier service system & customer loyalty system) if the company wants to seize more customer which other companies may ignore. If the company has sufficient technical staff, resources, and financial support should also be considered.
Thanks for giving some insight on the accommodations for the visually impaired. The screen reader is also helpful as it cay display information in Braille, use voice output, or use other audio signals to indicate graphics on the screen. I appreciate how you talked by the customer loyalty program. Since their goal is that “no customer escapes”, they should as you said conduct a research and implement accommodations for their customers to gain a competitive advantage.
I also found information on visual impairment. You give great examples of systems we interact with daily that would present a challenge. You also bring up a great point that ALL consumers or users should be considered in system accommodation and development. Variations in users (i.e. disabilities like visual impairment) influence the usability of systems.
Good point. Vision-impaired navigation systems will have speech-based assistive or sensory technologies that make people aware of the path to the road and potential obstacles. Many of the bank’s ATM systems are also available today for people with disabilities.
I did not know 20% of people have a disability, that’s interesting. It definitely makes sense to try and cater services for people with disabilities, so people of all types can access the content.
People with visual and mobility impairment may have a challenge using the computer screen. People with visual impairment have a hard time reading what is on the screen, and people with mobility impairment who cannot move their hands. There are a few tools that can be used to accommodate people who suffer from visual impairment. For instance he can use Windows magnifier, change the text size and the colors etc. In addition people suffering from mobility impairment can just use voice control to easily interact with the system. By just speaking words and letters, people can use the on-screen cursor and control the computer. Those type of system would cost more than the regular computer systems, but I feel that it would appropriate to make these accomodations in a system in the instance that there is someone in an organization who needs them.
Great point. Like I said in my comment, an employer in the any country should expect to make reasonable accommodation to employ a disabled person, which includes “Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position; acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, and providing qualified readers or interpreters.”
People who have visual and mobility impairment are quite common all over the world, therefore, some specific accessibility tools are necessary for these users to operate the system better. As the most popular operating system in the world, Windows has millions of users so some of them could have visual and mobility impairment. Through built-in Windows accessibility features, Windows provides more convenience to these users with a disability to interact with a computer without too much barrier and creates a more friendly environment for them to live in a digital world.
I agree with you Casid. Having systems with the features you mentioned above would easily accommodate people with disabilities. Even though it can be costly, the manpower and the value it can create should not be disregarded.
After reading some classmates’ comments, I want to talk about color blindness. People who are color-blind are very common in our lives. People who are color blind can do normal stuff, even drive in United Stated. Most color-blind people can’t tell the difference between red or green, but they can learn to respond to the way the traffic signal lights up — the red light is generally on top and green is on the bottom. Unfortunately, color-blind people are not allowed to drive in China. My father has red and green blindness, but he also has over 20-year driving experience. The driving test standard was not strict as nowadays in early years so that my father could pass the driving test and got the driver license. I found a source from Utah Driver License – Visual Disorders, “People who are completely color blind usually suffer from poor visual acuity and possible associated visual field loss. Red-green color discrimination is not important because of traffic light standardization, except in the case of commercial intrastate drivers, who by federal requirement, must be able to recognize standard colors of red, green and amber”. The driving test standard of our country stipulated that drivers must be non-colorblind (and judged by using color-blind examination charts). I think it is not humane, because the law-makers lacked scientific and objective assessment of analyzing the color blindness. They think color-blind people cannot correctly identify the red and green traffic lights, so the color-blind people are not allowed to drive, seriously depriving the color-blind people of their right to drive motor vehicles. A suggestion can change this situation is that color-blind people can be distinguished ‘stop’ or ‘go’ by changing the shape, pattern, or flashing period of traffic lights.
Thank you for sharing your own experience Mengqiao. In the terms of traffic light, in some countries of China, the traffic light in sidewalk is designed not only by the color (red/green) but also by the pattern. For example, if the pattern is static man in red it means stop, and if the pattern is walking man in green it means move. I think it is a really humanization design for color-blind people.
True. The Chinese government is making a lot of humanization design for the color-blind people on the road or in the building, but I really hope they make some changes for traffic rules.
I like you post and more understanding about color blindness people’s situation.
Hi, Mengqiao, thank you for sharing the story.
I agree with you. People who have the colorblind problem can still work and live normally. I think the Chinese Government establishes that rule to avoid the potential traffic accident, but they did not realize people are colorblind have their own way to distinguish the colors. Your father is very lucky because he has drive license. Hope Chinese government can realize the problem and figure out some solutions for this problem,
Computer accessibility refers to the accessibility of a computer system to all people, regardless of disability type or severity of impairment. One example of disability causes a barrier to effective computer use is visual impairment, such as low-vision, blindness, and color blindness. Because in the most situation, computer interfaces with visual input and provide visual feedback to the users, the individual who has visual impairment could face a significant challenge when interacting with a computer. Using the larger font, high DPI displays, and high contrast themes and icons could be helpful for people who have low vision. Screen reader software can help people who has the visual disability to interact with a computer system, which provides feedback via text to speech or refreshable braille display.
I agree with you, because it is important for people to access to the computer no matter they are disabled or not. The people with visual problem need screen reader for them to receive the information. However, it is only public information
Nice point. There are also a concept called “accessibility features of computer”, which are designed to help people with disabilities use technology more easily. For example, a text-to-speech feature may read text out loud for people with limited vision, while a speech-recognition feature allows users with limited mobility to control the computer with their voice.
That is true, Dongjie, also I agree with you that ” in the most situation, computer interfaces with visual input and provide visual feedback to the users, the individual who has visual impairment could face a significant challenge when interacting with a computer. “
I agree with you. With a computer interface with visual input and providing visual feedback to the user, visually impaired people may face major challenges when interacting with the computer.
It is important to improve accessibility for disabled. Computers should be used by anyone regardless he or she is disabled or not. For example, some people lost their arms, so they cannot type the words on the computers. Computers should have application to transfer what they are saying to words. These people can enter the words by saying something. Another example is that, some people have visual problems. They cannot see the screen, so the information cannot be readable. these computer can transfer the words to voice to make these people receive the public information. In addition, their voice can help them lock and unlock their computers. They do not need to use fingerprint or password for security.
Well said, I totally agree with you. I also think that everything should put more “humanity” or user-friendly when the idea was come up, especially in the technology aspect.
You bring up really good view about that. For example, Hawking, Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able to communicate through a speech-generating device, initially through use of a hand-held switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle.
Just a question: do you think if people have visual impairment use screen reader software will result in some information security problems? and how to avoid them?
You are very correct. Two very helpful ways the user interface can accommodate these disabilities are the alternative keypad and the voice prompt options. However, these need to go through proper quality testing. I have seen some voice prompt options that are simply horrible, you ask for a, and its asking- are you talking about “d”, this can be very frustrating and make a potential customer just lose faith in that particular store., and this defeats “no customer escapes”
Usability issues for disabled people are not only in hardware but also in software. Ideas you mentioned about security setting provide a simple solution. Voice input method is used in many areas today and provide convenience for different type of users.
You are right, some spcial software programs called screen readers can read computer screens and speech synthesizers speak the text. The availability of earphones for individuals using speech output systems can reduce the distractions for others nearby.
Usability is part of the broader term “user experience” and refers to the ease of access and/or use of a product or website. A design is not usable or unusable per se; its features, together with the context of the user (what the user wants to do with it and the user’s environment), determine its level of usability. The official ISO 9241-11 definition of usability is: “the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.”
However, all humans have limitations in their physical capabilities. The definitions of who is considered disabled would be “an individual with a disability is a person who: has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment.” An employer in the any country should expect to make reasonable accommodation to employ a disabled person, which includes “Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position; acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, and providing qualified readers or interpreters.”
Well said, Xiaomin! I agree that all humans have limitations and that employers around the world should accommodate the needs of users that are impaired with any kinds of disabilities. This is especially applicable when interacting with the computer systems. The contents in the web should be made available in a way that is accessible to users with disabilities as well.
User experience is always a key issue for most of the organization that should keep improvement, no matter for normal users or disabled people. The problem is more severe for disabled people since have problem with this even on many easy functions that normal people won’t have problem with. How to improve the user experience and make most of users comfortable with is always the important question.
I like your sharing. A person who is considered to be disabled is defined as: “A person with a disability is a person who has physical or mental impairment that severely restricts one or more major life activities; has a record of such damage; or is considered to have such a defect.”
Usability and human-computer interaction (HCI) are becoming core aspects of the system development
process to improve and enhance system facilities and to satisfy users’ needs and necessities. HCI will assist designers, analysts and users to identify the system needs from text style, fonts, layout, graphics and color, while usability will confirm if the system is efficient, effective, safe, utility, easy to learn, easy to remember, easy
to use and to evaluate, practical visible and provide job satisfaction to the users.
Wise answer, Linlan. Accessibility tools should not be only beneficial to system users, but also useful to system designers. In today’s digital world, human-computer interaction is playing a critical role. As a core function of HCI, accessibility or usability can help people with visual and mobility impairment to operate the system better through adjusting fonts, color, and display. An outstanding human-computer interaction design can help both normal users and people with a disability improve their work efficiency and effectiveness.
A friendly reminder: Remember to adjust your paragraph layout while you copy and paste things from Word document. Lol.
Hi Linlan,
It is important that HCI are the core aspects of system development. The below link discusses how we can work together to assist people with disability who wish to use a computer. They talk about people in wheelchairs not being able to sit under a desk, or some with limited mobility of their arms not being able to use a standard keyboard. Unfortunately, some modification are very slow/limited to be implemented. This is definitely true for the color blind gentlemen that I wrote about below.
https://www.washington.edu/doit/working-together-people-disabilities-and-computer-technology
Disability exist in all forms and can occur at any time. Thus, it will be prudent to build a system accessible to forms of disability.
Some computer interfaces require hearing most computer uses sound to warn the user of an error, this gives rise to a significant challenge in computer accessibility. Developing computer usable by people with hearing impairments – Auditory Processing Disorders, Conductive, Sensorineural, or Mixed is important.
A computer should be able alert a user with an icon or pictures to enhance accessibility. Example will be SoundSentry where visual alert can light the monitor with picture of instruction, blinking title, or direction.
Hi Pascal
I agree with your comment about “A computer should be able alert a user with an icon or pictures to enhance accessibility”. Computer and the environment could be adjusted to assist in one’s disability. I located a web page (below) that provides information and tips on accommodating web users with disabilities. According to the link below Mr. Alex was a “reporter for more than 20 years and has developed a repetitive strain injury that makes it painful to use a mouse and to type for extended periods of time.
Though it took considerable research, time, and commitment to learn, he is able to work with less pain using the following modifications to his work environment:
-use of an ergonomic keyboard
-use of keyboard commands without a mouse
-voice recognition software on his computer and mobile phone
-assertive touch on his mobile phone”
https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-web/stories#reporter
There are several disabilities that challenge web users with how they interact with the web. Some disability include color blindness, complete blindness, hearing imperative, or mentally challenged. The link below (WC3) has several examples of people with disability and how sites could be adjusted/corrected to assist them in the usage of a different web pages. They discuss a color blind man who encounter barriers when shopping online. Mr. Lee cannot differentiate between red and green. According to the website below he see brown when these colors are used. As some of you may recall, typically when completing a form of any kind the important information always has a red asterisk. To combat his difficulties the site states “Lee has better experiences with online content and apps that use adequate contrast and allow him to adjust contrast settings in his browser. He is also better able to recognize when information is required when asterisks are used. Lee can more easily identify the products he would like to purchase, especially clothing, when the color label names are included in the selection options rather than color swatches alone.” The site also provides a few articles/ tips on assisting Mr. Lee with his ability by adjusting how users can interact with a web page.
https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-web/diversity
The computer accessibility is a kind of concern that being considered more and more nowadays. Disability such as visual impairment including low-vision, color blindness, complete or partial blindness and so on exist in our society, and there are several ways to accommodate people with such disability. Another example I come up with is that the drive-through of some Starbucks Coffee provides service of gesture language through the touch screen. When people with hearing disability or unable to speak, they can use gesture language service to communicate with barista to order drinks and foods. This is a very good example to accommodate people with disability. In the future, computer accessibility needs to be emphasized and the interface design should also consider accessibility of computer or technology.
Great explanation, Yingyan! The need of computer accessibility is increasing more than ever. I like your example of starbucks. In my previous job, there was cafeteria which only hired people with visual disabilities. They were provided with devices that cash register that had a built in audio feature. The device helped them to deal with payments with voice guidance.
Gesture language is a great idea. Having more than just a typing input for a website could really make it more accessible.
Various disabilities can affect user’s ability to interact with systems.Among many, visual disability is one of them. The ability to interact with web system also depends on the severity of visual disability. Color blindness, low vision and blindness are examples of visual disability. In order to make the interface accessible for users with visual disability, developers should ensure the contents can be customized in a way that meets the need of visually impaired users. Further, listening to the audio embedded presentation can help overcome the barrier for users with visual disabilities.
Color blind and general blind as well as deaf are common disabilities faced by many people. and make their life complex in terms of systems’ functionality and usability. Designers now invented different access to certain functions and increase the convenience for people with disability. For example, on pages contains paragraphs of texts, designers add extra accessible function to read the text.
Another special situation is that many users have difficulty with detailed mouse movements and may also have problems holding down multiple keyboard keys simultaneously. Most of these issues should be taken care of by improved browser design and should not concern content designers except for the advice not to design image maps that require extremely precise mouse positioning. Client-side image maps will work even for users who cannot use a mouse at all: the browser should be able to move through the links under keyboard control.
I agree with you, most individuals who are blind cannot access visual material presented on the computer screen or in printed materials. but designer will designe Braille key labels can assist with keyboard use. Also, speech output systems can be used to read screen text to computer users who are blind.
Benefited from Temple’s disabilities resource service, I really appreciate for people put the accessibility of the people with disabilities into the consideration. I think windows is the pioneer with its interface for who have visions disabilities, and I played that function when I was a kid. To be honest, at that time I didn’t know those functions are design for disabilities, I thought those tools are hardly used and very inconvenient and I just turn that off.
Until recently, I am occasionally having vision issues due to side effect of the medicine, and I no long have choice to “just turn it off”. I start to use the voice audio. Maybe few people know, but in fact if you buy an audio adopter you can use kindle to read books for you. The function is not completed. The language has to be settled as English, and only text file is supported. Sounds good, but when I really used it, I just be mad for my disabilities, because under that mode, the input setting is designing for people who is completely blind, but I am not. I just become very impatient for taping over and over again, even I can see the button is just over there. But even though, their existence still helps a lot.
I believe the advanced of the technology can easily improve the life and decrease the cost of differentiating the needs for people with different levels of disabilities. I hope more and more accessibilities can be designed friendlier not just for people with disabilities but for the elder and patients.
People with disabilities meet barriers of all types. However, technology is helping to lower many of these barriers. By using computing technology for tasks such as reading and writing documents, communicating with others, and searching for information on the Internet, students and employees with disabilities are capable of handling a wider range of activities independently. Still, people with disabilities face a variety of barriers to computer use. These barriers can be grouped into three functional categories: barriers to providing computer input, interpreting output, and reading supporting documentation. Hardware and software tools (known as adaptive or assistive technologies) have been developed to provide functional alternatives to these standard operations. Specific products, and approaches to using them, are described below.
1. mobility impairments
2. blindness
3. low vision
4. hearing or speech impairments
5. specific learning disabilities
I like how you bring up that technology is helping people (students and employees alike) who are not fully capable complete their daily tasks and feel included. I also think it is commendable to society for continuously developing adaptive/assistive technologies to help those in need.
I agree with you. By using computer technology to accomplish tasks such as reading and writing documents, communicating with others, and searching information on the Internet, students and employees with disabilities can independently handle broader activities.
I like that you went into detail about the different challenges that could be faced when using an interface. Catering to those with low or no vision could be important.
Usability refers to the ease of access and use of a product or website. A design may be regarded as unusable when its features, together with the context, makes it uneasy for users to navigate within the environment. The official ISO 9241-11 defines usability as the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specific goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
Accessibility by all users is very important. This will allow both users that disable and those that are not to effectively access or process an information. People with a mobility impairment may have a challenge using the standard keyboard or mouse.
Few techniques that can be used to accommodate people with mobility challenges include:
Using switches activated by movement of the head, finger, foot, breath, or the sensory devices that can pick signals from the brain. Another method is to use an infrared camera on the monitor and a processing unit that translates eye motion into on-screen action. The users can choose a key and look at it for some time. Voice recognition systems also allow users to control or make use of computers by speaking words to the system.
Accommodations in the systems for the physically challenged can be made most by special order from organizations with disabled employees.
I personally suffer from PTSD which in some ways actually affects the way I accept information. Issues with attention, focus and anxiety effects how long I will stay on a website and at what point I will leave due to not being able to navigate it. From my experiences I have learned that living life with a disability involves educating yourself on how to maneuver in a world that’s not necessarily designed to help you. I think page layout is a very important aspect of Navigation. Websites with similar layouts to other common websites and clearly labeled areas are a big help to prevent frustration. When I go to a website I have several default things should I will do in order to make Web site navigation easier. I try to identify certain information before I even start my browsing. If it’s hard to find that browsing information due to the layout then I am likely to leave to find any easier option.
The format used for text and layout is also important. I actually use a text to voice Program program in order to read long text on websites. If they are incompatible with the service then I am less likely to go through said website. It would potentially help a lot if the service was available within websites. It may be a backwards thought but think about a website like and talk to you similar to a customer service agent on a phone. A similar Similar solution is somewhat present in popup chat boxes with customer services are automated customer service response bots that are able to assist you. The differences sometimes I’m not interest in communicating with another person and like any other website user just want to browse without feeling being forced into a social situation.
An accessibility issue can occur with those who have dementia. It is when a person forgets their history and can affect short term as well as long term memory. This would hinder a person in remembering their login credentials. A recommendation to help with this issue is using a different factor of authorization. This could be something they are, and if two-factor is needed, something they have. Using a fingerprint scanner would take a person’s ability to remember out of the equation and would just require them to take part in a facial recognition scan for fingerprint scan. I believe this would be worthwhile for a system with abnormal levels of people that would benefit from using this system.
It is important to increase the accessibility of people with disabilities. Regardless of whether he or she is disabled, anyone should use a computer. For example, some people lose their legs, so they cannot type words on a computer. Computers should have applications to pass what they say. These people can input these words by saying something. Another example is that some people have vision problems. They cannot see the screen, so the information is unreadable. These computers can convert text into speech so that these people can obtain public information. In addition, their voice can help them lock and unlock their computer. They do not need fingerprints or passwords for security checks.
I think that having a text-to-speech system would be a good addition to a website. You can make the entire website accessible by using specific verbal cues to navigate everything.
Having specific interfaces for those with disabilities is super important. It may not be too profitable to do so, but it will definitely be appreciated by the niche audiences with certain disabilities. Dyslexia is a disability/disorder that interested me. An interface can have a mode that is specifically tailored to those with this problem. There are special fonts that can be used for this, such as dyslexie font. There are plenty of other disabilities that you can make accessible to a specific system.