Who knew that screen readers, unlike Web browsers, are not interoperable. Web site developers don’t worry about whether their code will work on Safari, Chrome or any other browser, but if they take accessibility seriously they have to test for JAWS, VoiceOver, NVDA and the rest. That’s about to change, thanks to the W3C ARIA-AT project. This session is a breakout follow-up to the main stage session on the same topic held yesterday.
Presenters
- Matt King, Accessibility Technical Program Manager, Facebook
- Jes Daigle, Engineering Manager, Bocoup
- Sina Bahram, Founder, Prime Access Consulting
- Wilco Fiers, Accessibility Technology Expert, Deque
- Michael Fairchild, Senior Accessibility Consultant, Deque
- Moderator: Caroline Desrosiers, Founder and CEO, Scribely
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH), and HumanWare have teamed to develop a device capable of rendering multiple lines of braille and tactile graphics on the same tactile surface. Currently referred to as the Dynamic Tactile Device (DTD), this tool aims to provide blind users with a multi-line book reader, tactile graphics viewer and so much more. Yesterday on the main stage, APH’s Greg Stilson discussed the new device with Will Butler. In this live breakout session, Stilson returns to discuss the DTD’s product development with Andrew Flatres at Humanware, which is collaborating with APH on the project.
Presenters
In the world of accessibility, mathematical studies have been a long standing challenge. For students, online math instruction and assessment can pose barriers. More specifically, there is not a sufficient, two-way method for getting math and science information, like charts, graphs, tables, or code for equations, to and from a refreshable braille display, which poses a challenge for online assessment. Thanks to innovation, research, and advancements in technology, some of these challenges are being addressed. This session will discuss the work NWEA is leading, in collaboration with the Perkins Access digital accessibility consulting team, to make middle school mathematics assessments more accessible for students with visual disabilities using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. NWEA accessibility research manager, Dr. Elizabeth Barker, was awarded a generous AI for Accessibility grant from Microsoft to help further these efforts.
Presenters
- Geoff Freed, Director of Perkins Access Consulting, Perkins Access
- Elizabeth RG Barker, Ph.D., Accessibility Research Manager, NWEA
- Dr. Sarah McManus, Digital Learning Director for the Education Services, Governor Morehead School for the Blind
