2003
Doctoral thesis
Unknown
Criteria to improve web site usability and accessibility when interacting through screen readers: definition, application, and evaluation
Leporini B.
This research is related to the usability and accessibility of Web sites. Guidelines for Web site usability already exist, but they only marginally consider the exigencies of "special users", such as blind people or subjects with high levels of vision deficit. This study specifically aimed at defining, in a more precise way, the usability of Web sites, in order to improve their accessibility for "special users", who are obliged to navigate on the internet through screen readers. First of all, 19 criteria (general principles) and 54 checkpoints defining each criterion (technical solutions) were proposed; then, possible ways of application of such criteria and checkpoints was specified. This represented the starting point to evaluate the usability of Web sites: in this work, the heuristic-based method was proposed and used in order to assign levels of usability to several Web sites of interest. A user testing was performed by 15 voluntary users, chosen among blind and low vision subjects. Two Web site prototypes were specifically designed for this purpose, only differing for the presence/absence of important usability criteria defined in this study. By comparing the time spent by users navigating and performing assigned tasks on the two Web site (with and without criteria), the impact of the application of the proposed criteria on the quality of the navigation was estimated. Finally, an automatic tool, whose implementation is in progress, is briefly presented at the end of this work. This tool is the first step toward a complete and definitive automatic procedure able to evaluate real Web site usability, especially considering blind and low vision people's constraints. Further studies are in progress to reach this final goal.
Leporini B.
This research is related to the usability and accessibility of Web sites. Guidelines for Web site usability already exist, but they only marginally consider the exigencies of "special users", such as blind people or subjects with high levels of vision deficit. This study specifically aimed at defining, in a more precise way, the usability of Web sites, in order to improve their accessibility for "special users", who are obliged to navigate on the internet through screen readers. First of all, 19 criteria (general principles) and 54 checkpoints defining each criterion (technical solutions) were proposed; then, possible ways of application of such criteria and checkpoints was specified. This represented the starting point to evaluate the usability of Web sites: in this work, the heuristic-based method was proposed and used in order to assign levels of usability to several Web sites of interest. A user testing was performed by 15 voluntary users, chosen among blind and low vision subjects. Two Web site prototypes were specifically designed for this purpose, only differing for the presence/absence of important usability criteria defined in this study. By comparing the time spent by users navigating and performing assigned tasks on the two Web site (with and without criteria), the impact of the application of the proposed criteria on the quality of the navigation was estimated. Finally, an automatic tool, whose implementation is in progress, is briefly presented at the end of this work. This tool is the first step toward a complete and definitive automatic procedure able to evaluate real Web site usability, especially considering blind and low vision people's constraints. Further studies are in progress to reach this final goal.
See at: CNR ExploRA
2008
Contribution to book
Restricted
Making conference CDs accessible: a practical example
Hersh M., Leporini B.
The PDF document format is increasingly being used, including for conference CDs. This paper discusses the process of producing an accessible CD based on PDF documents for a small assistive technology conference, CVHI 07. It also analyses the accessibility features of the resulting PDF documents and the results of a survey of the conference authors on their experiences of (trying to) produce accessible PDF documents. The paper is introduced by brief discussions of PDF accessibility and of the results of surveys of the experiences of blind and visually impaired people of using PDF documents and the accessibility of PDF documents produced by UK universities. It concludes with a number of recommendations for conference organisers producing accessible CDs, as well as suggestions for future work.Source: edited by Miesenberger, K; Klaus, J; Zagler, W; Karshmer, A, pp. 326–333, 2008
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-70540-6_48
Metrics:
Hersh M., Leporini B.
The PDF document format is increasingly being used, including for conference CDs. This paper discusses the process of producing an accessible CD based on PDF documents for a small assistive technology conference, CVHI 07. It also analyses the accessibility features of the resulting PDF documents and the results of a survey of the conference authors on their experiences of (trying to) produce accessible PDF documents. The paper is introduced by brief discussions of PDF accessibility and of the results of surveys of the experiences of blind and visually impaired people of using PDF documents and the accessibility of PDF documents produced by UK universities. It concludes with a number of recommendations for conference organisers producing accessible CDs, as well as suggestions for future work.Source: edited by Miesenberger, K; Klaus, J; Zagler, W; Karshmer, A, pp. 326–333, 2008
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-70540-6_48
Metrics:
See at:
doi.org 
| link.springer.com | CNR ExploRA
2008
Contribution to journal
Restricted
Virtual visit of the Primate Gallery of the Museum of Natural History and Territory (University of Pisa): accessibility and usability for blind users
Leporini B., Palagi E., Norscia I.
Usability guidelines are available to design web site visits accessible to the blind users. However, the actual usability of accessible web pages changes depending on the type of information the user is dealing with. Museum web sites including specimen/exhibition hall descriptions need specific requirements to allow vision-impaired users, who navigates using a screen-reader (a device that reads the text of the page), to access pieces of information based on a visual perception. Here we address the additional usability guidelines applied to the web pages describing the Primate Gallery of the Museum of Natural History and Territory (University of Pisa).Source: Folia primatologica (Print) 79 (2008): 156–156.
Leporini B., Palagi E., Norscia I.
Usability guidelines are available to design web site visits accessible to the blind users. However, the actual usability of accessible web pages changes depending on the type of information the user is dealing with. Museum web sites including specimen/exhibition hall descriptions need specific requirements to allow vision-impaired users, who navigates using a screen-reader (a device that reads the text of the page), to access pieces of information based on a visual perception. Here we address the additional usability guidelines applied to the web pages describing the Primate Gallery of the Museum of Natural History and Territory (University of Pisa).Source: Folia primatologica (Print) 79 (2008): 156–156.
See at:
content.karger.com | CNR ExploRA
2008
Journal article
Open Access
"Fine Tuning" image accessibility for museum Web sites
Leporini B., Norscia I.
Accessibility and usability guidelines are available to design web sites accessible to blind users. However, the actual usability of accessible web pages varies depending on the type of information the user is dealing with. Museum web sites, including specimens and hall descriptions, need specific requirements to allow vision-impaired users, who navigate using a screen-reader, to access pieces of information that are mainly based on visual perception. Here we address a methodology to be applied for the proper creation and elaboration of alternative image descriptions in museum web pages. Such methodology has been applied to a gallery of the Museum of Natural History and Territory (University of Pisa). Such indications allow the user: (1) to address indexed contents and to link to information in more details, (2) to calibrate image descriptions (with a command providing alternative explanations for specimens), and (3) to access extra information for the blind (via hidden labels). A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to obtain effective and comprehensive descriptions. In this perspective, a cooperative environment is eventually proposed for team work facilitation.Source: Journal of universal computer science (Print) 14 (2008): 3050–3264.
Leporini B., Norscia I.
Accessibility and usability guidelines are available to design web sites accessible to blind users. However, the actual usability of accessible web pages varies depending on the type of information the user is dealing with. Museum web sites, including specimens and hall descriptions, need specific requirements to allow vision-impaired users, who navigate using a screen-reader, to access pieces of information that are mainly based on visual perception. Here we address a methodology to be applied for the proper creation and elaboration of alternative image descriptions in museum web pages. Such methodology has been applied to a gallery of the Museum of Natural History and Territory (University of Pisa). Such indications allow the user: (1) to address indexed contents and to link to information in more details, (2) to calibrate image descriptions (with a command providing alternative explanations for specimens), and (3) to access extra information for the blind (via hidden labels). A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to obtain effective and comprehensive descriptions. In this perspective, a cooperative environment is eventually proposed for team work facilitation.Source: Journal of universal computer science (Print) 14 (2008): 3050–3264.
See at:
www.jucs.org 
| CNR ExploRA
2004
Conference article
Unknown
Making an accessible forum more usable for vision impaired users: a case study
Leporini B.
In this paper, we show in which way an accessible forum can be used as an educational tool and can be improved by making it more friendly to vision impaired users. For this purpose, we considered an online course for ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence), specifically addressed to blind and low vision people. First, we describe the use of an accessible forum during an online course for the ECDL and then we present a set of criteria created in order to improve Web site usability. Finally, we discuss in which way the application of our criteria can improve the navigation in the forum, once the forum has been accessed.Source: CVHI 2004 - Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impairments, Granada, Spain, 29 June - 2 July 2004
Leporini B.
In this paper, we show in which way an accessible forum can be used as an educational tool and can be improved by making it more friendly to vision impaired users. For this purpose, we considered an online course for ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence), specifically addressed to blind and low vision people. First, we describe the use of an accessible forum during an online course for the ECDL and then we present a set of criteria created in order to improve Web site usability. Finally, we discuss in which way the application of our criteria can improve the navigation in the forum, once the forum has been accessed.Source: CVHI 2004 - Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impairments, Granada, Spain, 29 June - 2 July 2004
See at: CNR ExploRA
2006
Conference article
Unknown
Accessibility and usability in electronic texts: what does it mean?
Leporini B.
Visually impaired people have always experienced difficulties in reading texts, documents and books. However, the ability to obtain information independently is of crucial importance for visually impaired people, since it would give them access to a world which was previously closed to them in terms of access to educational tools, employment resources and information about personal interests and the latest information on a wide range of subjects. Electronic texts (e-texts) are potentially a viable solution. In this work we introduce the subject and describe the aim of the projectSource: CVHI 2006 - Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technology for People with Vision and Hearing Impairments, Kufstain, Austria, 18-21 July 2006
Leporini B.
Visually impaired people have always experienced difficulties in reading texts, documents and books. However, the ability to obtain information independently is of crucial importance for visually impaired people, since it would give them access to a world which was previously closed to them in terms of access to educational tools, employment resources and information about personal interests and the latest information on a wide range of subjects. Electronic texts (e-texts) are potentially a viable solution. In this work we introduce the subject and describe the aim of the projectSource: CVHI 2006 - Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technology for People with Vision and Hearing Impairments, Kufstain, Austria, 18-21 July 2006
See at: CNR ExploRA
2005
Contribution to conference
Unknown
Learning ecology and ethology in the Museum of Natural History and Territory of Calci (University of Pisa): a multisensorial and "egalitarian" approach for special users
Cordoni G., Leporini B., Norscia I., Palagi E.
The educational opportunities offered by a Museum, which is a public wealth, should be accessible to all users, including those with special needs, such as disabled people, children, and elderly visitors. The Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa, together with the Italian Blind Union (Section of Pisa) and the CNR of Pisa (ISTI), is promoting a more egalitarian approach to environmental education, through the realization of project that aims at allowing all visitors, including vision impaired ones: - to plan the visit to the Museum and access its main contents by navigating an accessible and usable Web site (following the requirements specified by the Italian law "Stanca" n. 4/2004); - to explore a "tactile hall", hosting "touchable" specimens and scale models of animals and divided into three main environments: wood/meadow, sea, and swamp (with a spatial arrangement following the DPR 384/78 and the Italian legislation related to the accessibility of public buildings to handicapped people); - to perceive the ecological context, with the help of three-dimensional boards representing the different environments, "sound backgrounds" with vocalizations of several animals and "nature noises", and special boards with Braille text for blind people and magnified text/background colours for low vision users. - to further increase their knowledge of the ecology and ethology of the animals "met" during the visit to the Museum through an accessible and interactive cd - including three different levels of education - for schools and any possible category of final users. In concclusion, a multisensorial approach is necessary to make the Museum really "available" for special users, to favour a clear understanding of the contents also by children and elderly people and to enhance a pleasant learning process of environmental subjects that are too often confined to a flat visual dimension.Source: 3rd World Environmental Education Congress, Torino, Italy, 2-6 october 2005
Cordoni G., Leporini B., Norscia I., Palagi E.
The educational opportunities offered by a Museum, which is a public wealth, should be accessible to all users, including those with special needs, such as disabled people, children, and elderly visitors. The Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa, together with the Italian Blind Union (Section of Pisa) and the CNR of Pisa (ISTI), is promoting a more egalitarian approach to environmental education, through the realization of project that aims at allowing all visitors, including vision impaired ones: - to plan the visit to the Museum and access its main contents by navigating an accessible and usable Web site (following the requirements specified by the Italian law "Stanca" n. 4/2004); - to explore a "tactile hall", hosting "touchable" specimens and scale models of animals and divided into three main environments: wood/meadow, sea, and swamp (with a spatial arrangement following the DPR 384/78 and the Italian legislation related to the accessibility of public buildings to handicapped people); - to perceive the ecological context, with the help of three-dimensional boards representing the different environments, "sound backgrounds" with vocalizations of several animals and "nature noises", and special boards with Braille text for blind people and magnified text/background colours for low vision users. - to further increase their knowledge of the ecology and ethology of the animals "met" during the visit to the Museum through an accessible and interactive cd - including three different levels of education - for schools and any possible category of final users. In concclusion, a multisensorial approach is necessary to make the Museum really "available" for special users, to favour a clear understanding of the contents also by children and elderly people and to enhance a pleasant learning process of environmental subjects that are too often confined to a flat visual dimension.Source: 3rd World Environmental Education Congress, Torino, Italy, 2-6 october 2005
See at: CNR ExploRA
2009
Contribution to book
Restricted
Translating museum visual contents into descriptions for blind User: a multidisciplinary approach
Leporini B., Norscia I.
Accessibility and usability guidelines are available to design web sites accessible to blind users. However, the actual usability of accessible web pages varies depending on the type of information the user is dealing with. Museum web sites, including specimens and hall descriptions, need specific requirements to allow vision-impaired users, who navigate using a screen-reader, to access pieces of information that are mainly based on visual perception. Here we address a methodology to be applied for the proper creation and elaboration of alternative image descriptions in museum web pages. Such methodology has been applied to a gallery of the Museum of Natural History and Territory (University of Pisa). Such indications allow the user: (1) to address indexed contents and to link to information in more details, (2) to calibrate image descriptions (with a command providing alternative explanations for specimens), and (3) to access extra information for the blind (via hidden labels). A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to obtain effective and comprehensive descriptions. In this perspective, a cooperative environment is eventually proposed for team work facilitation.Source: Computer-Aided Design of User Interfaces VI, edited by Lopez Jaquero V.; Montero Simarro F.; Molina Masso J.P.; Vanderdonckt J., pp. 60–68. New York: Springer, 2009
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-84882-206-1-5
Metrics:
Leporini B., Norscia I.
Accessibility and usability guidelines are available to design web sites accessible to blind users. However, the actual usability of accessible web pages varies depending on the type of information the user is dealing with. Museum web sites, including specimens and hall descriptions, need specific requirements to allow vision-impaired users, who navigate using a screen-reader, to access pieces of information that are mainly based on visual perception. Here we address a methodology to be applied for the proper creation and elaboration of alternative image descriptions in museum web pages. Such methodology has been applied to a gallery of the Museum of Natural History and Territory (University of Pisa). Such indications allow the user: (1) to address indexed contents and to link to information in more details, (2) to calibrate image descriptions (with a command providing alternative explanations for specimens), and (3) to access extra information for the blind (via hidden labels). A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to obtain effective and comprehensive descriptions. In this perspective, a cooperative environment is eventually proposed for team work facilitation.Source: Computer-Aided Design of User Interfaces VI, edited by Lopez Jaquero V.; Montero Simarro F.; Molina Masso J.P.; Vanderdonckt J., pp. 60–68. New York: Springer, 2009
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-84882-206-1-5
Metrics:
See at:
www.springer.com | CNR ExploRA
2009
Conference article
Unknown
Wikipedia, the open encyclopaedia: is it really open to blind users?
Leporini B.
Nowadays Web 2.0 applications allow anyone to create, share and edit on-line content, but accessibility and usability issues still exist. In this direction, wikis are becoming increasingly widespread, and offer great benefits in a variety of collaborative environments. to be universally valuable, wiki systems should be easy to use for anyone, regardless of ability. This paper describes obstacles that a blind user may encounter when interacting via screen reader with Wikipedia. For instance, Wikipedia presents many difficulties for the blind, especially when they wish to edit articles. Based on these accessibility issues, our study is aimed at investigating on the W3C ARIA suite as possible solution to simplify the Wikipedia Editing Page when interacting via screen reader. At the end, a user testing conducted by involving a group of blind users is shortly described.Source: Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impairment, pp. 1–6, Wroclaw, Poland, 20-23 April 2009
Leporini B.
Nowadays Web 2.0 applications allow anyone to create, share and edit on-line content, but accessibility and usability issues still exist. In this direction, wikis are becoming increasingly widespread, and offer great benefits in a variety of collaborative environments. to be universally valuable, wiki systems should be easy to use for anyone, regardless of ability. This paper describes obstacles that a blind user may encounter when interacting via screen reader with Wikipedia. For instance, Wikipedia presents many difficulties for the blind, especially when they wish to edit articles. Based on these accessibility issues, our study is aimed at investigating on the W3C ARIA suite as possible solution to simplify the Wikipedia Editing Page when interacting via screen reader. At the end, a user testing conducted by involving a group of blind users is shortly described.Source: Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impairment, pp. 1–6, Wroclaw, Poland, 20-23 April 2009
See at: CNR ExploRA
2011
Conference article
Unknown
Google News: how user-friendly is it for the blind?
Leporini B.
Being able to read text, find out information and know about the latest news has always been a challenge for those who cannot access the printed version, such as the visually-impaired. The advent of the Web has been a big step in the right direction for blind people to obtain up-to-date information on the internet. Many portals and Web sites offer online services for up-to-date news. In this paper our aim is to evaluate how easy and rewarding it is for blind people to access this. For this purpose, we are focusing on the well-known online service provided by Google, i.e. Google News as a case study. In order to truly benefit from access to the information available on the Web, the page interface must be simple and easy to use by everyone, including people who have to use assistive technologies. In this work we analyze not only the accessibility of the service offered by Google for its News, but also in particular the usability when interacting via screen reader.Source: 29th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2011, pp. 241–247, Pisa, Italy, 3-5 October 2011
Leporini B.
Being able to read text, find out information and know about the latest news has always been a challenge for those who cannot access the printed version, such as the visually-impaired. The advent of the Web has been a big step in the right direction for blind people to obtain up-to-date information on the internet. Many portals and Web sites offer online services for up-to-date news. In this paper our aim is to evaluate how easy and rewarding it is for blind people to access this. For this purpose, we are focusing on the well-known online service provided by Google, i.e. Google News as a case study. In order to truly benefit from access to the information available on the Web, the page interface must be simple and easy to use by everyone, including people who have to use assistive technologies. In this work we analyze not only the accessibility of the service offered by Google for its News, but also in particular the usability when interacting via screen reader.Source: 29th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2011, pp. 241–247, Pisa, Italy, 3-5 October 2011
See at: CNR ExploRA
2013
Contribution to conference
Restricted
Investigating the use of vibro-tactile feedback for mobile interaction by blind users: the numeric keyPad case
Leporini B., Chiti S.
For visually-impaired people interacting with touch-screens can be very complex because of the lack of hardware keys or tactile references. We investigate how a multimodal approach can overcome this issue. We propose a prototype which exploits haptic feedback as a support for detecting the numpad and special buttons.Source: 3rd Workshop on Mobile Accessibility, Paris, France, 28 Aprile 2013
Leporini B., Chiti S.
For visually-impaired people interacting with touch-screens can be very complex because of the lack of hardware keys or tactile references. We investigate how a multimodal approach can overcome this issue. We propose a prototype which exploits haptic feedback as a support for detecting the numpad and special buttons.Source: 3rd Workshop on Mobile Accessibility, Paris, France, 28 Aprile 2013
See at:
mobile-accessibility.di.fc.ul.pt | CNR ExploRA
2012
Conference article
Restricted
Accessibility of Android-based mobile devices: a prototype to investigate interaction with blind users
Chiti S., Leporini B.
The study presented in this paper is part of mobile accessibility research with particular reference to the interaction with touch-screen based smartphones. Its aim was to gather information, tips and indications on interaction with a touch-screen by blind users. To this end we designed and developed a prototype for an Android-based platform. Four blind users (two inexperienced and two with experience of smartphones) were involved from the early phase of prototype design. The involvement of inexperienced users played a key role in understanding expectations of smart phones especially concerning touch-screen interaction. Skilled users provided useful suggestions on crucial aspects such as gestures and button position. Although the prototype developed is limited to only a few features for the Android operating system, the results obtained from blind user interaction can be generalized and applied to any mobile device based on a touch-screen. Thus, the results of this work could be useful to developers of mobile operating systems and applications based on a touch-screen, in addition to those working on designing and developing assistive technologies. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.Source: 13th International Conference ICCHP 2012, pp. 607–614, Linz, Austria, July 11-13, 2012
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-31534-3_89
Metrics:
Chiti S., Leporini B.
The study presented in this paper is part of mobile accessibility research with particular reference to the interaction with touch-screen based smartphones. Its aim was to gather information, tips and indications on interaction with a touch-screen by blind users. To this end we designed and developed a prototype for an Android-based platform. Four blind users (two inexperienced and two with experience of smartphones) were involved from the early phase of prototype design. The involvement of inexperienced users played a key role in understanding expectations of smart phones especially concerning touch-screen interaction. Skilled users provided useful suggestions on crucial aspects such as gestures and button position. Although the prototype developed is limited to only a few features for the Android operating system, the results obtained from blind user interaction can be generalized and applied to any mobile device based on a touch-screen. Thus, the results of this work could be useful to developers of mobile operating systems and applications based on a touch-screen, in addition to those working on designing and developing assistive technologies. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.Source: 13th International Conference ICCHP 2012, pp. 607–614, Linz, Austria, July 11-13, 2012
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-31534-3_89
Metrics:
See at:
doi.org | CNR ExploRA
2012
Conference article
Restricted
Accessibility and usability of educational gaming environments for disabled students
Hersh M., Leporini B.
This tutorial discusses accessibility and usability issues for disabled students. It briefly reports on a study of disabled students and teachers in the UK, Italy and Poland and presents guidelines and recommendations.Source: ICALT 2012 - 12th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, pp. 752–753, Rome, Italy, 4-6 July 2012
DOI: 10.1109/icalt.2012.181
Metrics:
Hersh M., Leporini B.
This tutorial discusses accessibility and usability issues for disabled students. It briefly reports on a study of disabled students and teachers in the UK, Italy and Poland and presents guidelines and recommendations.Source: ICALT 2012 - 12th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, pp. 752–753, Rome, Italy, 4-6 July 2012
DOI: 10.1109/icalt.2012.181
Metrics:
See at:
doi.org | ieeexplore.ieee.org | CNR ExploRA
2007
Conference article
Open Access
An accessible and usable e-book as educational tool: How to get it?
Leporini B.
Accessible electronic publications, such as electronic books, journals, and training tools, can be useful for disabled students and workers, particularly in an educational context. E-books are an important educational tool for supporting the real integration of disabled students into classroom activities or distance learning. This paper discusses the main features of an e-book which is appropriate for visually impaired readers. Developing useful educational e-books for blind and visually impaired students often requires the adaptation of e-texts for sighted readers and therefore a number of different factors needs to be considered. In this paper particular consideration is given to the development of e-books which are suitable for blind and visually impaired people.Source: CVHI-2007 - Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technologies for People with Vision and Hearing Impairments: Assistive Technology for All Ages, Granada, Spain, 28-31 August, 2007
Leporini B.
Accessible electronic publications, such as electronic books, journals, and training tools, can be useful for disabled students and workers, particularly in an educational context. E-books are an important educational tool for supporting the real integration of disabled students into classroom activities or distance learning. This paper discusses the main features of an e-book which is appropriate for visually impaired readers. Developing useful educational e-books for blind and visually impaired students often requires the adaptation of e-texts for sighted readers and therefore a number of different factors needs to be considered. In this paper particular consideration is given to the development of e-books which are suitable for blind and visually impaired people.Source: CVHI-2007 - Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technologies for People with Vision and Hearing Impairments: Assistive Technology for All Ages, Granada, Spain, 28-31 August, 2007
See at:
ceur-ws.org | CNR ExploRA
2013
Contribution to book
Unknown
An overview of accessibility and usability of educational games
Hersh M. A., Leporini B.
This chapter presents an overview of accessibility and usability for educational computer-based games and the first survey of the accessibility and usability of digital educational games. The overview includes a discussion of accessibility and usability, both in general and in the specific context of educational games, as well as a brief presentation of issues relating to game design, including of mobile games. Since there are no previous studies of the accessibility and usability of educational computer-based games, studies of the accessibility and usability of the related areas of virtual learning environments, digital games for entertainment and PDF documents, are also presented. The overview of accessibility and usability and the results of the survey are used to draw up a structured list of 62 guidelines and recommendations, organised into three categories at the first level and ten at the second level. These guidelines and recommendations are illustrated by an example of their application to a fictitious new educational game.Source: Student Usability in Educational Software and Games: Improving Experiences, edited by Carina Gonzalez, pp. 63–101. Hershey: IGI Global, 2013
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4422-9.ch005
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1987-6.ch001
Metrics:
Hersh M. A., Leporini B.
This chapter presents an overview of accessibility and usability for educational computer-based games and the first survey of the accessibility and usability of digital educational games. The overview includes a discussion of accessibility and usability, both in general and in the specific context of educational games, as well as a brief presentation of issues relating to game design, including of mobile games. Since there are no previous studies of the accessibility and usability of educational computer-based games, studies of the accessibility and usability of the related areas of virtual learning environments, digital games for entertainment and PDF documents, are also presented. The overview of accessibility and usability and the results of the survey are used to draw up a structured list of 62 guidelines and recommendations, organised into three categories at the first level and ten at the second level. These guidelines and recommendations are illustrated by an example of their application to a fictitious new educational game.Source: Student Usability in Educational Software and Games: Improving Experiences, edited by Carina Gonzalez, pp. 63–101. Hershey: IGI Global, 2013
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4422-9.ch005
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1987-6.ch001
Metrics:
See at:
doi.org | doi.org | CNR ExploRA | www.igi-global.com
2016
Conference article
Open Access
Games for the rehabilitation of disabled people
Leporini B., Hersh M.
In this paper, we consider the use of games in the rehabilitation of disabled people, with particular attention to blind and partially sighted people. Serious games are currently very widely used in a variety of applications including education, training, culture, therapy and rehabilitation. However, this raises the issues of whether they are suitable for disabled people and the extent to which disabled people have been involved in the design. We will be reporting the results of a survey to investigate the extent to which existing and proposed games are accessible to disabled and older people, particularly blind and partially sighted people.Source: REHAB 2016 - 4th Workshop on ICTs for Improving Patients Rehabilitation Research Techniques, pp. 109–112, Lisbon, Portugal, 13-14 October 2016
DOI: 10.1145/3051488.3051496
Metrics:
Leporini B., Hersh M.
In this paper, we consider the use of games in the rehabilitation of disabled people, with particular attention to blind and partially sighted people. Serious games are currently very widely used in a variety of applications including education, training, culture, therapy and rehabilitation. However, this raises the issues of whether they are suitable for disabled people and the extent to which disabled people have been involved in the design. We will be reporting the results of a survey to investigate the extent to which existing and proposed games are accessible to disabled and older people, particularly blind and partially sighted people.Source: REHAB 2016 - 4th Workshop on ICTs for Improving Patients Rehabilitation Research Techniques, pp. 109–112, Lisbon, Portugal, 13-14 October 2016
DOI: 10.1145/3051488.3051496
Metrics:
See at:
ISTI Repository | dl.acm.org | doi.org | CNR ExploRA
2016
Conference article
Open Access
Haptic models of arrays through 3D printing for computer science education
Papazafiropulos N., Fanucci L., Leporini B., Pelagatti S., Roncella R.
Computer science is taught as a regular subject in the school systems of many countries. Most tools used to teach main topics of computer science curricula, such as data structures and algorithms, are visually oriented. Our work aims to assist visually impaired students to understand fundamental data structures and algorithms through 3D printed haptic models. We developed a simple but general method that can be used by the teacher to introduce data structures and algorithmic thinking to both visual impaired and sighted students in inclusive classes. We evaluated our models for teaching one-dimensional arrays to both visual impaired and sighted students.Source: ICCHP 2016 - International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, pp. 491–498, Linz, Austria, 13-15 July, 2016
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-41264-1_67
Metrics:
Papazafiropulos N., Fanucci L., Leporini B., Pelagatti S., Roncella R.
Computer science is taught as a regular subject in the school systems of many countries. Most tools used to teach main topics of computer science curricula, such as data structures and algorithms, are visually oriented. Our work aims to assist visually impaired students to understand fundamental data structures and algorithms through 3D printed haptic models. We developed a simple but general method that can be used by the teacher to introduce data structures and algorithmic thinking to both visual impaired and sighted students in inclusive classes. We evaluated our models for teaching one-dimensional arrays to both visual impaired and sighted students.Source: ICCHP 2016 - International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, pp. 491–498, Linz, Austria, 13-15 July, 2016
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-41264-1_67
Metrics:
See at:
ISTI Repository | doi.org | link.springer.com | CNR ExploRA
2017
Contribution to book
Open Access
Mobile recommender apps with privacy management for accessible and usable technologies
Hersh M., Leporini B.
The paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing survey of the use of computers and mobile devices, interest in recommender apps and knowledge and concerns about privacy issues amongst English and Italian speaking disabled people. Participants were found to be regular users of computers and mobile devices for a range of applications. They were interested in recommender apps for household items, computer software and apps that met their accessibility and other requirements. They showed greater concerns about controlling access to personal data of different types than this data being retained by the computer or mobile device. They were also willing to make tradeoffs to improve device performance.Source: Harnessing the Power of Technology to Improve Lives, edited by Peter Cudd, Luc de Witte, pp. 630–637, 2017
DOI: 10.3233/978-1-61499-798-6-630
Metrics:
Hersh M., Leporini B.
The paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing survey of the use of computers and mobile devices, interest in recommender apps and knowledge and concerns about privacy issues amongst English and Italian speaking disabled people. Participants were found to be regular users of computers and mobile devices for a range of applications. They were interested in recommender apps for household items, computer software and apps that met their accessibility and other requirements. They showed greater concerns about controlling access to personal data of different types than this data being retained by the computer or mobile device. They were also willing to make tradeoffs to improve device performance.Source: Harnessing the Power of Technology to Improve Lives, edited by Peter Cudd, Luc de Witte, pp. 630–637, 2017
DOI: 10.3233/978-1-61499-798-6-630
Metrics:
See at:
ISTI Repository | ebooks.iospress.nl | CNR ExploRA
2009
Contribution to book
Unknown
Screen readers
Asakawa C., Leporini B.
An abstract is not availableSource: The Universal Access Handbook, edited by Constantine Stephanidis. London: CRC Press - Taylor & Francis Group, 2009
Asakawa C., Leporini B.
An abstract is not availableSource: The Universal Access Handbook, edited by Constantine Stephanidis. London: CRC Press - Taylor & Francis Group, 2009
See at: CNR ExploRA | www.crcpress.com
2018
Contribution to journal
Open Access
Editorial: Serious games, education and inclusion for disabled people editorial
Hersh M., Leporini B.
Source: British journal of educational technology (Online) 49 (2018): 587–595. doi:10.1111/bjet.12650
DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12650
Metrics:
Hersh M., Leporini B.
Source: British journal of educational technology (Online) 49 (2018): 587–595. doi:10.1111/bjet.12650
DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12650
Metrics:
See at:
British Journal of Educational Technology | ISTI Repository | British Journal of Educational Technology | onlinelibrary.wiley.com | CNR ExploRA