Making the Elusive More Tangible: Remote Tools & Techniques for Teaching Web Development to Screen Reader Users
Claire Ferrari, Chancey Fleet, Keita Ohshiro, Veronica Alfaro Arias, Amy Hurst · 2021 · Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference (W4A) · doi:10.1145/3430263.3452418
Summary
This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a free, remote web development workshop for 12 screen reader users, conducted over nine Saturday sessions between August and October 2020. The workshop was a collaboration between New York University and the New York Public Library's Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. Originally planned as in-person, it was moved to remote delivery due to COVID-19. The curriculum covered HTML, CSS and Design, and JavaScript, with accessibility woven throughout (including ARIA in the HTML unit, Color Theory and accessibility in CSS, and ARIA alerts and screen reader debugging in JavaScript). Each 2.5-hour session combined a 1.5-hour group lecture with 1-hour one-on-one TA sessions. A unique feature was the use of tactile diagrams — eight embossed graphics mailed to participants covering concepts like font types, the CSS box model, the Google homepage layout, and color wheels with braille labels. These were collaboratively designed through remote sessions between a sighted designer and a blind assistive technology educator using a braille embosser. The workshop also included a guest lecture by a blind web developer as a role model. Twelve participants were recruited (average age 39, all proficient screen reader users, mostly using JAWS), with one dedicated volunteer TA per student drawn from NYU's Engineering and New Media programs. The study received an overwhelming 112 responses to recruitment but was limited to 12 by the cost of producing and mailing tactile materials.
Key findings
All 12 students successfully created and published their own websites by the end of the workshop, demonstrating mastery of HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript. Self-efficacy scores increased by a median of 2 points across 15 web development confidence measures (on a 1-4 scale), while high interest levels were maintained throughout. Students reported feeling empowered and described the workshop as demystifying a subject that had felt inaccessible. HTML translated particularly well to screen reader use (quiz average 92%) because element naming overlaps with screen reader navigation commands. CSS was more challenging (quiz average 89%) because visual design concepts like color, spacing, and alignment are inherently abstract for blind users — students described CSS as "elusive" and "ephemeral" until tactile diagrams made concepts concrete. JavaScript was the most difficult unit, with students wanting significantly more time. Color emerged as the most challenging CSS topic: students expressed doubt they could ever independently and confidently choose color combinations without sighted verification. Tactile diagrams were universally praised — students found the color wheel, font type, and Google homepage layout diagrams most helpful. The 1-on-1 TA structure was critical: TAs provided screen sharing assistance, design feedback, and troubleshooting. TAs also benefited significantly, showing increased confidence in understanding accessibility concepts and increased interest in accessibility-related work. Students unanimously recommended expanding the workshop to 10-12 sessions.
Relevance
This research addresses a critical equity gap: disabled people are significantly underrepresented in web development despite growing job opportunities, and blind developers face accessibility barriers in learning and practicing programming. The workshop demonstrates that screen reader users can learn web development effectively in a remote format with the right tools and support structure. The practical recommendations are directly replicable: combine synchronous lectures with 1-on-1 TA support; include tactile diagrams for visual design concepts (producible in-house to avoid the high cost and slow turnaround of commercial tactile graphics); build an accessible WCAG-compliant workshop website with code snippets and linked tools; provide Zoom keyboard shortcut guides at the outset; include role models (blind developers as guest lecturers); and allocate at least 10 sessions with 3 sessions per major unit. The finding that CSS and visual design are the biggest barriers — not HTML or programming logic — challenges assumptions about what makes web development hard for blind learners and points to where the most pedagogical innovation is needed. The open educational materials (webworkshop.club) make this workshop immediately adaptable by other institutions. The mutual benefit for TAs also provides a model for service-learning partnerships between universities and disability communities.
Tags: education accessibility · screen readers · web development · STEM accessibility · blindness · tactile graphics · inclusive design · participatory design
Standards referenced: WCAG 2.1 · WAI-ARIA · ADA