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• Nonvisual Support for Understanding and Reasoning about Data Structures

  Brianna L. Wimer, Ritesh Kanchi, Kaija Frierson, Venkatesh Potluri, Ronald A. Metoyer, Jennifer Mankoff, Miya Natsuhara, Matt X. Wang · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Wimer, Kanchi, and colleagues present Arboretum, a web-based system that generates accessible representations of introductory data structure diagrams (arrays and binary trees) for blind and visually impaired (BVI) computer science students. The authors argue that current…

  blind and low vision · BVI · screen readers · tactile graphics · data structures

• Accessible Blockly: An Accessible Block-Based Programming Library for People with Visual Impairments

  Aboubakar Mountapmbeme, Obianuju Okafor, Stephanie Ludi · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents Accessible Blockly, a prototype library that augments Google's Blockly — the open-source library underlying most mainstream block-based programming environments (Scratch, MakeCode, AppInventor) — with keyboard and screen reader interaction capabilities.…

  block-based programming · screen readers · keyboard navigation · blind programmers · computer science education

• Personalization in the Interactive EPUB 3 Reading Experience: Accessibility Issues for Screen Reader Users

  Barbara Leporini, Clara Meattini · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper investigates the accessibility of interactive EPUB 3 digital books when accessed via screen readers. The authors designed and developed a multimedia, interactive EPUB 3 prototype — a digital guide to Sienese cuisine featuring 8 recipe chapters and 8 walking itinerary…

  EPUB · accessible publishing · screen reader · digital books · personalization

• Automatic Identification of Widgets and their Subcomponents Based on a Classification Pipeline for DOM Mutation Records

  Eduardo Henrique Rizo, Renata Pontin de Mattos Fortes, Humberto Lidio Antonelli, Willian Massami Watanabe · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents a machine learning pipeline for automatically classifying web widgets (specifically dropdown menus) and their subcomponents by analyzing DOM mutation records — the dynamic changes that occur in a web page's HTML structure when users interact with it or visual…

  WAI-ARIA · machine learning · web accessibility · automated testing · widgets

• Parallel DOM Architecture for Accessible Interactive Simulations

  Taliesin L. Smith, Jesse Greenberg, Sam Reid, Emily B. Moore · 2018 · Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This paper presents the Parallel DOM (PDOM) architecture developed by the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder to make their suite of 140+ free science and mathematics simulations accessible to students with visual impairments. PhET sims are…

  web accessibility · interactive simulations · screen readers · keyboard accessibility · WAI-ARIA

• Automatic Role Detection of Visual Elements of Web Pages for Automatic Accessibility Evaluation

  Carlos Duarte, Ana Salvado, M. Elgin Akpinar, Yeliz Yeşilada, Luís Carriço · 2018 · Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This short paper presents an approach to automatically detect the visual roles of web page elements — specifically menus and lists — to enable automated accessibility evaluation tools to assess WCAG techniques that require understanding an element’s semantic role, not just its…

  automated testing · web accessibility · WCAG · web page segmentation · navigation

• Lake Devo: accessible online role-play

  Greg Gay, Maureen Glynn, Naza Djafarova · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract describes Lake Devo, a web-based role-playing environment developed at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) for collaborative learning, and the strategies used to make it accessible to blind students using screen readers. Lake Devo…

  WAI-ARIA · screen reader accessibility · e-learning accessibility · web accessibility · collaborative learning

• Web Accessibility Guidelines for the 2020s

  Michael Cooper · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  Written by W3C/WAI staff member Michael Cooper, this paper provides an insider perspective on the strategic direction of web accessibility guidelines following the completion of the 2.0 suite — WCAG 2.0 (finalized 2008), ATAG 2.0 (2015), and UAAG 2.0 (2015). Cooper describes the…

  web accessibility · WCAG · WAI-ARIA · standards · guidelines

• 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

• A4TV: Assessing and Ameliorating the Accessibility of the Ascending Connected TV Platforms

  Daniel Costa · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes a two-stage research programme to study and improve the accessibility of connected TV platforms for visually impaired users. Connected TVs — smart TVs and set-top boxes with internet connectivity — use web technologies (HTML5, JavaScript)…

  connected TV · blindness · visual impairment · accessibility evaluation · multimodal interaction

• Affordable Web Accessibility: A Case for Cheaper ARIA

  Yury Puzis, Yevgen Borodin, Andrii Soviak, Valentyn Melnyk, I. V. Ramakrishnan · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper argues that the primary barrier to web accessibility is not technical limitations but the high cost of implementing WAI-ARIA, the W3C accessibility specification for rich internet applications. The authors systematically analyze why ARIA implementation is expensive by…

  WAI-ARIA · web accessibility · screen readers · web development · accessibility economics

• Look Ma, No ARIA: Generic Accessible Interfaces for Web Widgets

  Valentyn Melnyk, Vikas Ashok, Yury Puzis, Yevgen Borodin, Andrii Soviak, I. V. Ramakrishnan · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper proposes an alternative approach to web widget accessibility that bypasses ARIA entirely. Rather than relying on web developers to correctly implement ARIA markup — which is often missing, incorrect, or inconsistent — the system automatically detects, classifies, and…

  widget accessibility · screen readers · WAI-ARIA · machine learning · web chat

• User Individuality Management in Websites Based on WAI-ARIA Annotations and Ontologies

  Xabier Valencia, Myriam Arrue, J. Eduardo Pérez, Julio Abascal · 2013 · Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents a comprehensive system for automatically adapting websites to individual users' accessibility needs using WAI-ARIA-based annotations and an ontology that models users, adaptation techniques, and their relationships. Unlike previous transcoding systems that…

  WAI-ARIA · personalization · web accessibility · adaptive interfaces · ontology

• Essential Components of Mobile Web Accessibility

  Shadi Abou-Zahra, Judy Brewer, Shawn Lawton Henry · 2013 · Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  Written by three leaders of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, this paper examines how the shift from desktop to mobile and ubiquitous computing affects the interdependent components that together enable web accessibility. The authors outline eight essential components — web…

  mobile accessibility · web standards · WCAG · WAI-ARIA · W3C

• Developing a Semantic User and Device Modeling Framework That Supports UI Adaptability of Web 2.0 Applications for People with Special Needs

  Philip Ackermann, Carlos A. Velasco, Christopher Power · 2012 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents a semantic modeling framework for dynamically adapting web 2.0 application interfaces based on user preferences and device capabilities, developed within the EU-funded I2Web (Inclusive Future-Internet Web Services) project. The framework addresses a growing…

  adaptive interfaces · user modeling · device modeling · personalization · semantic web

• The AccDC Enterprise API for Advanced UI Automation

  Bryan Garaventa · 2011 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This demo paper presents the AccDC Enterprise API, a JavaScript-based dynamic content management system designed to build Rich Internet Applications with automatic accessibility built in from the ground up. Created by Bryan Garaventa through WhatSock.com, the API promotes the…

  WAI-ARIA · JavaScript · rich internet applications · web accessibility · accessibility tools

• WAI-ARIA Live Regions and HTML5

  Peter Thiessen · 2011 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper examines the interoperability of WAI-ARIA live regions with HTML5 semantic elements, testing whether screen readers can correctly handle dynamic DOM updates when live region attributes are applied to new HTML5 elements like section, nav, and article. The author…

  WAI-ARIA · HTML5 · screen readers · dynamic content · AJAX

• WAI-ARIA live regions: eBuddy IM as a case example

  Peter Thiessen, Stephen Hockema · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents a practical case study of implementing WAI-ARIA live regions in eBuddy, a web-based instant messaging application with over 100 million users that aggregated popular IM networks into a single browser client. The paper addresses the fundamental challenge that…

  WAI-ARIA · live regions · screen readers · dynamic content · instant messaging

• Is Wikipedia Usable for the Blind?

  Marina Buzzi, Barbara Leporini · 2008 · Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper evaluates the accessibility and usability of Wikipedia for blind screen reader users by analyzing three key interaction modes: browsing the home page, searching and viewing results, and editing content. The authors tested both the English and Italian Wikipedia using…

  screen readers · blind users · wiki accessibility · usability · Wikipedia

• Ajax Live Regions: Chat as a Case Example

  Peter Thiessen, Charles Chen · 2007 · Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents one of the earliest practical implementations of WAI-ARIA live regions, using an accessible Ajax chat application called Reef Chat as a proof of concept. The authors — Peter Thiessen from the University of Toronto's Adaptive Technology Resource Centre and…

  WAI-ARIA · ARIA live regions · AJAX · Web 2.0 · screen readers

• Accessibility of Emerging Rich Web Technologies: Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web

  Michael Cooper · 2007 · Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This keynote paper by Michael Cooper of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative examines the accessibility challenges and opportunities created by the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies in the mid-2000s. Cooper frames Web 2.0 as a paradigm shift characterised by greater…

  WAI-ARIA · Web 2.0 · Semantic Web · rich internet applications · web standards

21 results.