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Information Wayfinding of Screen Reader Users
The representations created in this study can help people understand the versatility of screen readers, and can inspire innovation and changes to these technologies for people with disabilities.
UMD researchers J. Bern Jordan, Victoria Van Hyning, Mason A. Jones, Rachael Bradley Montgomery, Elizabeth Bottner, and Evan Tansil had the opportunity to present their research on screen reader users at the 2024 ASSETS conference (an accessibility and computing conference).
“Screen readers are important assistive technologies for blind people, but they are complex and can be challenging to use effectively. [There are] wide variations and sometimes surprising differences in people’s skills, preferences, navigation, and troubleshooting approaches when using screen readers. These differences may not always be considered in research and development” (Jordan et. al, 2024).
In their study, the authors developed five personas to represent different screen reader experiences. Bern Jordan said “Many attendees approached afterwards and felt they had a new appreciation of the complexity of screen readers and the wide variations in how blind people use those tools.”
Read the full paper for free: Information Wayfinding of Screen Reader Users: Five Personas to Expand Conceptualizations of User Experiences (2024)
