TY - GEN
T1 - How people with low vision access computing devices
T2 - 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, ASSETS 2016
AU - Szpiro, Sarit
AU - Hashash, Shafeka
AU - Zhao, Yuhang
AU - Azenkot, Shiri
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2016 ACM.
PY - 2016/10/23
Y1 - 2016/10/23
N2 - Low vision is a pervasive condition in which people have difficulty seeing even with corrective lenses. People with low vision frequently use mainstream computing devices, however how they use their devices to access information and whether digital low vision accessibility tools provide adequate support remains understudied. We addressed these questions with a contextual inquiry study. We observed 11 low vision participants using their smartphones, tablets, and computers when performing simple tasks such as reading email. We found that participants preferred accessing information visually than aurally (e.g., screen readers), and juggled a variety of accessibility tools. However, accessibility tools did not provide them with appropriate support. Moreover, participants had to constantly perform multiple gestures in order to see content comfortably. These challenges made participants inefficient-They were slow and often made mistakes; even tech savvy participants felt frustrated and not in control. Our findings reveal the unique needs of low vision people, which differ from those of people with no vision and design opportunities for improving low vision accessibility tools.
AB - Low vision is a pervasive condition in which people have difficulty seeing even with corrective lenses. People with low vision frequently use mainstream computing devices, however how they use their devices to access information and whether digital low vision accessibility tools provide adequate support remains understudied. We addressed these questions with a contextual inquiry study. We observed 11 low vision participants using their smartphones, tablets, and computers when performing simple tasks such as reading email. We found that participants preferred accessing information visually than aurally (e.g., screen readers), and juggled a variety of accessibility tools. However, accessibility tools did not provide them with appropriate support. Moreover, participants had to constantly perform multiple gestures in order to see content comfortably. These challenges made participants inefficient-They were slow and often made mistakes; even tech savvy participants felt frustrated and not in control. Our findings reveal the unique needs of low vision people, which differ from those of people with no vision and design opportunities for improving low vision accessibility tools.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006827240&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1145/2982142.2982168
DO - https://doi.org/10.1145/2982142.2982168
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - ASSETS 2016 - Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility
SP - 171
EP - 180
BT - ASSETS 2016 - Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility
Y2 - 24 October 2016 through 26 October 2016
ER -