In previous research, the computer frustrations of student and workplace users have been documented. However, the challenges faced by blind users on the Web have not been previously examined. In this study, 100 blind users, using time diaries, recorded their frustrations using the Web. The top causes of frustration reported were (a) page layout causing confusing screen reader feedback; (b) conflict between screen reader and application; (c) poorly designed/unlabeled forms; (d) no alt text for pictures; and (e) 3-way tie between misleading links, inaccessible PDF, and a screen reader crash. Most of the causes of frustration, such as inappropriate form and graphic labels and confusing page layout, are relatively simple to solve if Webmasters and Web designers focus on this effort. In addition, the more technically challenging frustrations, such as screen reader crashes and conflicts, need to be addressed by the screen reader developers. Blind users in this study were likely to repeatedly attempt to...

What Frustrates Screen Reader Users on the Web: A Study of 100 Blind Users

Improving web accessibility: a study of webmaster perceptions

This article presents the structure and theoretical foundations of the Learning Object Review Instrument (LORI), an evaluation aid available through the E-Learning Research and Assessment Network at http://www.elera.net. A primary goal of LORI is to balance assessment validity with efficiency of the evaluation process. The instrument enables learning object users to create reviews consisting of ratings and comments on nine dimensions of quality: content quality, learning goal alignment, feedback and adaptation, motivation, presentation design, interaction usability, accessibility, reusability, and standards compliance. The article presents research and practices relevant to these dimensions and describes how each dimension can be interpreted to evaluate multimedia learning resources.

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A Framework for Evaluating the Quality of Multimedia Learning Resources

This study sought to examine instructor immediacy and presence in an online learning environment in relation to student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. It found a statistically significant positive relationship between instructor immediacy and presence. It also found that the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence is a statistically significant predictor of student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. However, it did not find instructor immediacy to be a significant individual predictor of the aforementioned variables, whereas it did find instructor presence to be a significant individual predictor. The study also showed that students in synchronous online courses reported significantly higher instructor immediacy and presence. Implications for researchers and practitioners of online instruction are discussed at the conclusion of the paper.

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The Impact of Instructor Immediacy and Presence for Online Student Affective Learning, Cognition, and Motivation

Web access for users with disabilities is an important goal and challenging problem for web content developers and designers. This paper presents a comparison of different methods for finding accessibility problems affecting users who are blind. Our comparison focuses on techniques that might be of use to Web developers without accessibility experience, a large and important group that represents a major source of inaccessible pages. We compare a laboratory study with blind users to an automated tool, expert review by web designers with and without a screen reader, and remote testing by blind users. Multiple developers, using a screen reader, were most consistently successful at finding most classes of problems, and tended to find about 50% of known problems. Surprisingly, a remote study with blind users was one of the least effective methods. All of the techniques, however, had different, complementary strengths and weaknesses.

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Is your web page accessible?: a comparative study of methods for assessing web page accessibility for the blind

From the Publisher:
Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities is a vital tool for Web site developers and administrators who need to understand the law, the requirements of the disabled, and the processes of site evaluation and implementation. It includes an authoritative compendium of development tools and utilities, and is packed with examples demonstrating techniques for adjusting HTML tags, scripts, and other code to improve accessibility. Readers will learn answers to the challenges ahead, including how to: deliver highly graphic and visual content to the blind; provide access to Internet kiosks for the physically challenged; enable nonverbal users to "speak" to devices with voice recognition interfaces. This is a critical resource in helping companies comply with the "effective communication" requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Michael G. Paciello

Papers

Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities