The Travails of Visually Impaired Web Travelers Presented by Chih-Tang Lee By Carole Goble Simon Harper Robert Stevens

Problem addressed  Most visual navigation cues are not appropriate for a VI user to navigate in the virtual world. Hypothesis  Propose a model that evaluates mobility support given to VI users on the web.  “… traveling and mobility on the web mirrors traveling and mobility in the physical world.”

Traveling 3 mental representations:  Landmarks, route knowledge, survey knowledge Author’s definition of travel:  “… confident navigation and orientation with purpose, ease and accuracy within an environment.” In the physical world:  Simpler information of the environment.  Detailed route description and more specific obstacle information.  Increased use of mental maps.

Traveling In the virtual world:  Rely more on audible solutions than enhancing actual web navigation. Screen scraping (sensory translation): web browsers and specialist browsers (screen readers).  Listening vs. scanning: information flow is slower.  Explicitly warned of obstacles.  Mental map usage is limited.

Model of Travel Travel objects - Travelers use landmarks and memory objects to make sure they are going in the right direction. Mobility actions - And navigates and orientates by consulting memory objects, and detecting and identifying landmarks.

Model of Travel Mobility instruments - Consultation, detection and identification with mobility instruments.

Mobility Evaluation Is the object a cue or obstacle?  Travel purpose: seeking information, orientation, navigation, etc.  User  Timeliness of feedback  User agent  Presentation form

Mobility Evaluation Common presentation forms

IMDB Home Page Evaluation

IMDB Home Page Evaluation

Conclusion Related travel in the virtual world to that in the real world. The proposed model can aid the identification of cues and obstacles and promote improved mobility support for VI users. Need to extend model’s usage to web sites.

? Authors Carole Goble Robert Stevens Simon Harper Professor, University of Manchester Prototype mobility tools for visually impaired surfers A pilot study to examine the mobility problems of visually impaired users traveling the web