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Thread: Diagrams for blind people

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From: Oliver Burmeister
Date: Thu, Aug 08 2002 7:28PM
Subject: Diagrams for blind people
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Dear All.

This is not really a web related accessibility query, but I thought this
group might be able to help.

Note, I sent the same request to = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , but only
got 2 responses that were a little helpful. One told me to think outside the
box and come up with an alternate for diagrams, the other told me that there
is a photocopy like device called a 'burner' that with render diagrams in
Braille form.

I am teaching a java subject this semester that requires design work using
UML diagrams. I have a student taking the subject who is completely blind.

I have two related issues:

1. I need to demonstrate UML diagrams to the student in a way that is
accessible. Can you recommend a drawing tool that will render diagrams in a
format this student will be able to access?

2. The student needs to learn how to design programs, rather than just sit
down and start coding. Do you have suggestions for how I might teach the
student program design (preferably using UML notation). Ie, how does the
student draw diagrams that will also be able to communicate the design to a
tutor, or as necessary for assessment.

Lastly, part of the subject is teaching GUI development using java. Yes
there are accessibility guidelines for GUIs written in java to be
accessible. But what about the reverse? How does a blind student design and
code a GUI? Eg, some of the existing class exercises ask students to create
applets with event-driven functionality (buttons, mouse clicks, etc).

If you don't know any answers for these questions, perhaps you can point me
to resources or people who might be able to help.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide,

Oliver

------------------------------------------------
Oliver Burmeister
Lecturer
Swinburne Computer-Human Interaction Laboratory
School of Information Technology
Swinburne University of Technology
PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122
Australia
(T) +61 3 9214 8304
(F) +61 3 9214 5501
email: mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
URL: http://www.it.swin.edu.au/schil/biographies/oliverburmeister.html
SCHIL URL: http://www.it.swin.edu.au/centres/schil/

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From: Jessica Bobryk
Date: Thu, Aug 08 2002 7:55PM
Subject: Re: Diagrams for blind people
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Oliver,

I don't know the answers to any of your questions, but would like to know
when you do. My father is completely blind and I live with him, so it
would be very interesting to know what you came up with.

Jessica Bobryk
San Clemente Soap Factory
http://www.sanclementesoapfactory.com/

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From: Jessica Bobryk
Date: Thu, Aug 08 2002 7:55PM
Subject: Re: Diagrams for blind people
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From: Oliver Burmeister
Date: Thu, Aug 08 2002 8:51PM
Subject: RE: Diagrams for blind people
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Dear Jessica.

I'd be glad to share with you what I find out or what solutions my student
and I come up with. Why not send me a reminder in a month or so? By then I
ought to have some sort of solution.

Cheers,

Oliver

>

From: Jessica Bobryk
Date: Thu, Aug 08 2002 8:57PM
Subject: RE: Diagrams for blind people
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Excellent! Sounds like a plan and will do :-)

Jessica Bobryk
San Clemente Soap Factory
http://www.sanclementesoapfactory.com/

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From: Jon Gunderson
Date: Fri, Aug 09 2002 9:58AM
Subject: Re: Diagrams for blind people
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Oliver,
There is a list related to java programming:
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =

There also some resources at IBM:
http://www-3.ibm.com/able/snsjavag.html

You might get some answers from one of these two resources.

Jon

At 12:17 PM 8/9/2002 +1000, you wrote:
>Dear All.
>
>This is not really a web related accessibility query, but I thought this
>group might be able to help.
>
>Note, I sent the same request to = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , but only
>got 2 responses that were a little helpful. One told me to think outside the
>box and come up with an alternate for diagrams, the other told me that there
>is a photocopy like device called a 'burner' that with render diagrams in
>Braille form.
>
>I am teaching a java subject this semester that requires design work using
>UML diagrams. I have a student taking the subject who is completely blind.
>
>I have two related issues:
>
>1. I need to demonstrate UML diagrams to the student in a way that is
>accessible. Can you recommend a drawing tool that will render diagrams in a
>format this student will be able to access?
>
>2. The student needs to learn how to design programs, rather than just sit
>down and start coding. Do you have suggestions for how I might teach the
>student program design (preferably using UML notation). Ie, how does the
>student draw diagrams that will also be able to communicate the design to a
>tutor, or as necessary for assessment.
>
>Lastly, part of the subject is teaching GUI development using java. Yes
>there are accessibility guidelines for GUIs written in java to be
>accessible. But what about the reverse? How does a blind student design and
>code a GUI? Eg, some of the existing class exercises ask students to create
>applets with event-driven functionality (buttons, mouse clicks, etc).
>
>If you don't know any answers for these questions, perhaps you can point me
>to resources or people who might be able to help.
>
>Thank you for any assistance you can provide,
>
>Oliver
>
>------------------------------------------------
>Oliver Burmeister
>Lecturer
>Swinburne Computer-Human Interaction Laboratory
>School of Information Technology
>Swinburne University of Technology
>PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122
>Australia
>(T) +61 3 9214 8304
>(F) +61 3 9214 5501
>email: mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>URL: http://www.it.swin.edu.au/schil/biographies/oliverburmeister.html
>SCHIL URL: http://www.it.swin.edu.au/centres/schil/
>
>
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>To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
>visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/

Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
MC-574
College of Applied Life Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
1207 S. Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820

Voice: (217) 244-5870
Fax: (217) 333-0248

E-mail: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =

WWW: http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
WWW: http://www.w3.org/wai/ua

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From: Adrian Howard
Date: Sat, Aug 10 2002 1:15PM
Subject: [OT] Re: Diagrams for blind people
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On the diagram side I would take a look at <http://www.nctd.org.uk/>;.
It has lots of useful information on tactile diagrams.

Probably the simplest thing for you to use would be "swell" paper. You
can print/draw/photocopy onto it like normal paper, then run it
through a device (called a "fuser" I think) that makes the
appropriate sections "swell" so you can feel them. However, both paper
and fuser are expensive. It can involve some experimentation to get
right, and the detail is not wonderful.

I would also go and talk to the student *now* if that is at all
possible. They will have dealt with similar situations in the past and
may well have a preferred solution. More importantly they may have
tried things in the past that don't work - and it would save time and
expense to find that out now.

That said, I would probably go along with that first person on
blindprogramming who said to think outside the box (a little bit
anyway...).

Is the course's intent to teach UML diagrams, or to teach design
principles? If the latter, then just describe what the diagrams mean.
The map is not the territory and all that.

UML diagrams are documentation, they are aids that can help you make
design decisions, they are a communication medium. There are other
communication media and you can do good design without having UML
diagrams as the center of your process.

I've worked with blind and partially sighted developers in the past.
We talk through the issues. We write the issues down. We have meetings
(with whiteboards - it works, you just need to talk through what
you're doing). Yes, diagrams were sometimes produced (by a sighted
member of the team) but they were the end result of the design process
that everybody had participated in.

As for building GUI based apps.... again is the purpose of the course
to teach about GUIs or event-based coding? If the latter, how about a
non-GUI event-based application? Or a textual-UI event-based app?

[Sorry if I'm wandering off into a slight rant... it's just that I've
seen *so* many graduates in the interview room in my time who can draw
lots of very pretty, very neat diagrams - but can't design for toffee
:-) ]

Hope this helps!

Adrian

On Friday, August 9, 2002, at 03:17 am, Oliver Burmeister wrote:

[snip]
> I am teaching a java subject this semester that requires design work
> using
> UML diagrams. I have a student taking the subject who is completely
> blind.
>
> I have two related issues:
>
> 1. I need to demonstrate UML diagrams to the student in a way that is
> accessible. Can you recommend a drawing tool that will render diagrams
> in a
> format this student will be able to access?
>
> 2. The student needs to learn how to design programs, rather than just
> sit
> down and start coding. Do you have suggestions for how I might teach the
> student program design (preferably using UML notation). Ie, how does the
> student draw diagrams that will also be able to communicate the design
> to a
> tutor, or as necessary for assessment.
>
> Lastly, part of the subject is teaching GUI development using java. Yes
> there are accessibility guidelines for GUIs written in java to be
> accessible. But what about the reverse? How does a blind student design
> and
> code a GUI? Eg, some of the existing class exercises ask students to
> create
> applets with event-driven functionality (buttons, mouse clicks, etc).
[snip]

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