OCAD University Open Research Repository

The Blind Leading the Blind: Increasing Blind & Low-Vision Participation in Interactive Design

Rallo, Adam (2023) The Blind Leading the Blind: Increasing Blind & Low-Vision Participation in Interactive Design. [MRP]

Item Type: MRP
Creators: Rallo, Adam
Abstract:

There is global concern that the migration of commerce, communications, and other services to the Internet may be marginalizing blind & low-vision individuals. Current efforts to ensure interactive accessibility are commonly based in legislating WCAG 2.0 compliance, yet there is growing evidence that this approach has limited effectiveness. Research with disabled designers has asserted that better solutions to accessibility problems will come from disabled designers themselves. There is little research on blind & low-vision individuals studying or working as Interactive Designers, and the available research is mostly through related fields such as the Computer Sciences and Web Development. In order to build on this research, an exploratory study was undertaken with blind & low-vision adults who had experience and/or interest in Interactive Design education & training. Eight individuals were interviewed and asked about the barriers they had faced, and how they would envision an ideal Interactive Design education. Reported barriers included finances & funding, finding suitable training programs, post-secondary pre-requisites, institutional readiness, hardware & software tools, teacher competence, attitudes & ideology, and ‘the burden’ of needing to constantly act as advocates for themselves, and the emotional, mental, and physical toll this takes. Participants’ input was synthesized into a series of considerations aimed at Interactive Design training program administrators, teachers, and other personnel. Further research will be necessary to test the efficacy of these considerations, as well as to better discern the degree to which the reported barriers and recommendations are exclusive to or disproportionate to Interactive Design education & training.

Date: December 2023
Uncontrolled Keywords: Accessibility, Blind, Design, Development, Disability, Education, Inclusivity, Interaction, Interactive, Low-vision, Training, Web
Divisions: Graduate Studies > Inclusive Design
Date Deposited: 18 Jan 2024 17:02
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2024 17:02
URI: https://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/4181

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