Technological Imagination for Accessible Design: Invoking Blind Users for Sighted Computer Science Students

We propose a framework for designing computer science courses on accessible design, focusing on blind users. The dominant approach in the literature pursues student motivation for accessible design through three main springs: a ‘web of arguments’, highlighting utility and morality as key considerations, empathy, and mainstreaming. We introduce aesthetics as a compelling motivational resort, and we appeal to technological imagination to frame sighted students’ work in a personal project of weaving a Web of Voices. We present arguments, practices, and online resources to support teachers that introduce accessibility for blind users to sighted students.

[1]  Rod Michalko,et al.  Blindness Enters the Classroom , 2001 .

[2]  Loïc Martínez,et al.  Teaching Web Accessibility with "Contramano" and Hera , 2006, ICCHP.

[3]  Rosetta Giuliani Caponetto.  Fade to White , 2015 .

[4]  Mark Pilgrim.  Dive Into Accessibility , 2004 .

[5]  Rod Michalko.  Accomplishing the sighted world , 1977 .

[6]  Martin Johansson,et al.  Present-ing the user: constructing the persona , 2005, Digit. Creativity.

[7]  Grace Ebong Mbipom,et al.  The interplay between web aesthetics and accessibility , 2011, ASSETS.

[8]  Renata Pontin de Mattos Fortes,et al.  Using screen readers to reinforce web accessibility education , 2007, ITiCSE '07.

[9]  Grace Mbipom,et al.  Good visual aesthetics equals good web accessibility , 2009, ASAC.

[10]  Stephanie Ludi,et al.  Access for everyone: introducing accessibility issues to students in Internet programming courses , 2002, 32nd Annual Frontiers in Education.

[11]  Rod Michalko,et al.  The Two-in-One: Walking with Smokie, Walking with Blindness , 2011 .

[12]  Bob Regan.  Accessibility and design: a failure of the imagination , 2003, W4A '04.

[13]  Lisbeth Thorlacius,et al.  The Role of Aesthetics in Web Design , 2007 .

[14]  Brian J. Rosmaita.  Accessibility first!: a new approach to web design , 2006, SIGCSE '06.

[15]  David Sloan,et al.  Including accessibility within and beyond undergraduate computing courses , 2009, Assets '09.

[16]  Susan M. Harrison.  Opening the eyes of those who can see to the world of those who can't: a case study , 2005 .

[17]  D. Perkins.  Person plus: A distributed view of thinking and learning , 1994 .

[18]  Ye Diana Wang,et al.  A holistic and pragmatic approach to teaching web accessibility in an undergraduate web design course , 2012, SIGITE '12.

[19]  Robert F. Cohen,et al.  Accessibility in introductory computer science , 2005 .