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• Multimodal Perception of Histological Images for Persons Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

  Ting Zhang, Bradley S. Duerstock, Juan P. Wachs · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This research addresses a critical barrier preventing blind or visually impaired (BVI) students and scientists from participating in STEM laboratory work: the inability to perceive real-time visual scientific data from instruments like light microscopes. While tactile graphics…

  blindness · STEM accessibility · sensory substitution · haptic feedback · multimodal interface

• Investigating the Implications of 3D Printing in Special Education

  Erin Buehler, Niara Comrie, Megan Hofmann, Samantha McDonald, Amy Hurst · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper investigates the use of 3D printing in special education settings through case studies at three sites serving students with cognitive, motor, and visual impairments, and presents GripFab, a simplified 3D modeling tool designed for occupational therapists (OTs) to…

  3D printing · digital fabrication · special education · assistive technology · DIY assistive technology

• Tactile Graphics with a Voice

  Catherine M. Baker, Lauren R. Milne, Ryan Drapeau, Jeffrey Scofield, Cynthia L. Bennett, Richard E. Ladner · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper presents Tactile Graphics with a Voice (TGV), a system that uses QR codes and a smartphone application to make text labels on tactile graphics accessible to blind and low-vision users — particularly the estimated 60% of blind people who are not fluent in Braille.…

  tactile graphics · visual impairment · QR codes · STEM accessibility · Braille

• Online Nemeth Braille Input/Output Using Content MathML

  Samuel S. Dooley, Susan Osterhaus, Dan Brown, Edgar Lozano, Su H. Park · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents a software system that enables automatic two-way conversion between printed mathematical notation and Nemeth Braille, using Content MathML as an intermediary representation. Access to mathematical content remains one of the most challenging…

  braille · mathematics accessibility · STEM accessibility · visual impairment · MathML

• AudioDraw: User Preferences in Non-Visual Diagram Drawing for Touchscreens

  William Grussenmeyer, Eelke Folmer · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper investigates how people who are blind can independently create visual diagrams on touchscreen tablets, addressing a significant gap in accessibility. Diagram-building features in productivity tools like MS Word, PowerPoint, and UML editors are largely inaccessible…

  blindness · touchscreen accessibility · diagram creation · non-visual interaction · STEM accessibility

• Towards Universal Rendering in MathJax

  Davide Cervone, Peter Krautzberger, Volker Sorge · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents the MathJax Consortium's effort to transform MathJax from a purely visual mathematics rendering library into a universal rendering solution that supports readers with visual, print, and motor impairments. The authors describe how mathematical content on the…

  STEM accessibility · mathematics accessibility · MathML · screen readers · universal design

• An Accessible Blocks Language: Work in Progress

  Varsha Koushik, Clayton Lewis · 2016 · Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This demonstration paper presents Pseudospatial Blocks (PB), a nonvisual blocks programming language designed to make block-based coding environments accessible to blind learners. Block languages like Scratch, Snap, MIT App Inventor, and Microsoft Block Editor are among the most…

  blindness · programming education · screen reader · education · STEM accessibility

• Exploring Auditory Graphing Software in the Classroom: The Effect of Auditory Graphs on the Classroom Environment

  Brianna J. Tomlinson, Jared Batterman, Yee Chieh Chew, Ashley Henry, Bruce N. Walker · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study examines the real-world deployment of GNIE (Graph and Number line Input and Exploration), an auditory graphing software developed by Georgia Tech's Sonification Lab, in a middle school math classroom at the Georgia Academy for the Blind over two school years…

  auditory displays · sonification · STEM accessibility · educational technology · visual impairment

• Browser-Independent Accessible Math

  Neil Soiffer · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper describes the re-architecture of MathPlayer (version 4) from Design Science, transforming it from an Internet Explorer-only plugin into a standalone library that any assistive technology can use to make mathematical notation accessible in any browser or application.…

  MathML · STEM accessibility · screen readers · speech generation · braille

• End-to-End Solution for Accessible Chemical Diagrams

  Volker Sorge, Mark Lee, Sandy Wilkinson · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents a complete pipeline for making chemical diagrams — typically distributed as inaccessible bitmap images — fully accessible on the web. The system takes bitmap images of molecular diagrams as input and produces interactive, explorable SVG diagrams with semantic…

  STEM accessibility · image accessibility · visual impairment · screen readers · SVG

• Guiding Novice Web Workers in Making Image Descriptions Using Templates

  Valerie S. Morash, Yue-Ting Siu, Joshua A. Miele, Lucia Hasty, Steven Landau · 2015 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This study compares two approaches for using non-expert crowdworkers to create accessible descriptions of STEM images (charts, graphs, diagrams) for people who are blind or have print-reading disabilities. The researchers tested Free-Response Image Description (FRID), where…

  image description · alt text · crowdsourcing · human computation · STEM accessibility

• Towards Making Mathematics a First Class Citizen in General Screen Readers

  Volker Sorge, Charles Chen, T. V. Raman, David Tseng · 2014 · Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents a comprehensive approach to integrating mathematical speech translation into ChromeVox, Google's open-source screen reader for the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. The authors address the fundamental challenge that mathematical notation on the web exists in…

  screen readers · mathematics accessibility · MathML · ChromeVox · text-to-speech

• Tactile Graphics with a Voice Demonstration

  Catherine M. Baker, Lauren R. Milne, Jeffrey Scofield, Cynthia L. Bennett, Richard E. Ladner · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS '14)

  This demonstration paper presents Tactile Graphics with a Voice (TGV), a system that makes labels on tactile graphics accessible to blind and low vision users who do not read Braille. STEM textbooks are filled with images — from parabolas to cell diagrams — that are essential…

  tactile graphics · blindness and low vision · QR codes · STEM accessibility · braille

• Doing Math: Mathematics Accessibility Issues

  Nancy Alajarmeh · 2012 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This student award paper argues that mathematics accessibility for visually impaired students must move beyond rendering (displaying and reading mathematical notation) to support "doing the math" — the active manipulation of algebraic expressions, equation solving,…

  mathematical accessibility · blind and low vision · STEM accessibility · education accessibility · assistive technology

• Improving accessibility to mathematical formulas: the Wikipedia math accessor

  Leo Ferres, Jose Fuentes Sepúlveda · 2011 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents MathAcc, an assistive technology system that generates natural language descriptions in Spanish for the more than 355,000 mathematical formulas found across 26,174 Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia renders formulas as rasterised PNG images of LaTeX expressions,…

  mathematical accessibility · blindness · natural language generation · MathML · Wikipedia

• Note-Taker 3.0: An Assistive Technology Enabling Students Who Are Legally Blind to Take Notes in Class

  David S. Hayden, Michael Astrauskas, Qian Yan, Liqing Zhou, John A. Black · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper presents the results of a three-year iterative development of Note-Taker, a portable hardware/software assistive device that enables students with low vision to independently take handwritten or typed notes during classroom lectures. The core problem is…

  low vision · blindness and low vision · educational technology · assistive technology · STEM accessibility

• ASL-STEM Forum: Enabling Sign Language to Grow Through Online Collaboration

  Anna C. Cavender, Daniel S. Otero, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Richard E. Ladner · 2010 · CHI '10: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This paper presents the ASL-STEM Forum, the first online video-based collaboration tool designed to help expand American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The paper addresses a significant educational barrier: ASL…

  American Sign Language · deaf education · STEM accessibility · online collaboration · video forums

• Note-Taker 2.0: The Next Step Toward Enabling Students who are Legally Blind to Take Notes in Class

  David S. Hayden, Liqing Zhou, Michael J. Astrauskas, John A. Black · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper describes the iterative design and usability testing of the Note-Taker, a portable assistive device that enables students who are legally blind to take notes during classroom lectures. The core problem is that note-taking requires rapidly switching between a far-sight…

  low vision · legal blindness · note-taking · STEM accessibility · education

• Haptic User Interface Design for Students with Visual Impairments

  Hyung Nam Kim · 2009 · Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '09)

  This short paper explores the design of haptic user interfaces to help students with visual impairments understand science concepts related to heat and temperature — topics where common misconceptions are prevalent even among sighted students and where traditional teaching…

  haptic technology · visual impairment · STEM accessibility · science education · multimodal interaction

• Multimodal Trajectory Playback for Teaching Shape Information and Trajectories to Visually Impaired Computer Users

  Andrew Crossan, Stephen Brewster · 2008 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This research investigates how haptic (force-feedback) and audio trajectory playback can teach shapes and gestures to blind and visually impaired computer users. The fundamental challenge addressed is that spatial information—shapes, diagrams, graphs, maps—is difficult to convey…

  haptic technology · multimodal interaction · visual impairment · force feedback · tactile graphics

• Refreshable tactile graphics applied to schoolbook illustrations for students with visual impairment

  Grégory Petit, Aude Dufresne, Vincent Levesque, Vincent Hayward, Nicole Trudeau · 2008 · Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This paper presents research on making schoolbook illustrations accessible to students with visual impairments using a refreshable tactile display system. The system combines the STReSS2 (Stimulator of Tactile Receptors by Skin Stretch), a device that produces tactile feedback…

  tactile graphics · visual impairment · education · haptic technology · refreshable displays

• Mathematics on the Web: Emerging Opportunities for Visually Impaired People

  Cristian Bernareggi, Dominique Archambault · 2007 · Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the @Science European thematic network surveys the state of the art in making mathematical content on the web accessible to visually impaired people, arguing that MathML adoption is the key to unlocking accessibility. The authors explain a fundamental challenge:…

  mathematical accessibility · visual impairment · blind users · MathML · braille

• Automated tactile graphics translation: in the field

  Chandrika Jayant, Matt Renzelmann, Dana Wen, Satria Krisnandi, Richard Ladner, Dan Comden · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This paper describes two years of field work extending the Tactile Graphics Assistant (TGA), a system developed at the University of Washington to automate the translation of figures from mathematics, science, and engineering (STEM) textbooks into embossed tactile graphics for…

  tactile graphics · Braille · STEM accessibility · blindness and low vision · image processing

• Lambda: A Multimodal Approach to Making Mathematics Accessible to Blind Students

  Alistair D N Edwards, Heather McCartney, Flavio Fogarolo · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the Lambda System, a European Union-funded project designed to make mathematics accessible to blind students through a multimodal mathematical editor. Mathematics relies heavily on visual two-dimensional notation — fractions are stacked vertically, square…

  visual impairment · mathematics · braille · education · MathML

• A Cisco Education Tool Accessible to the Vision Impaired

  J. Hope, B. R. von Konsky, I. Murray, L. C. Chew, B. Farrugia · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper describes iNetSim, a universally accessible network simulator developed at Curtin University of Technology to allow vision-impaired and sighted students to complete Cisco Certified Network Associate level 2 (CCNA 2) laboratory sessions. The standard Cisco learning…

  visual impairment · education · screen reader · VoiceOver · network simulation