A11yBoard Google Slides Extension Makes Presentation Software More Accessible for the Blind
Main summary
Screen readers, which convert digital text to audio, can make computers more accessible for many disabled users, including those who are blind, have low vision, or dyslexic. However, slide presentation software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides, is not designed to make screen reader output consistent. These programs typically rely on Z-order, which follows the way objects on a slide overlap when a screen reader navigates through the content. Because Z-order does not adequately convey how a slide is presented in two-dimensional space, slideshow software may be inaccessible to people with disabilities.
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has created A11yBoard for Google Slides, a browser extension and phone app that allows blind users to navigate through text and complex slide layouts. By combining a desktop computer with a mobile device, A11yBoard allows users to work with audio, touch, gestures, voice recognition and search to understand where different objects are located on a slide and move them to create rich layouts. For example, a user can touch a text box on the screen and the screen reader will describe its color and position. Then, using a voice command, the user can shrink that text box and align it left with the slide title.
The team presented their research on October 25 at ASSETS 2023 in New York. A11yBoard is not yet available to the public.
«For a long time and even now, accessibility has often been viewed as, ‘We’ll do a good job if we allow blind people to use modern products.’ Absolutely, that’s a priority,» said lead author Jacob O. Wobbrock, professor at the School of Information at the University of Washington. «But that’s only half of our goal, because it only allows blind people to use what others create. We want to empower people to create their own content, beyond a PowerPoint slide that’s just a title and a text box».
A11yBoard for Google Slides builds on a line of research in Wobbrock’s lab that explores how blind users interact with «artboards»: digital canvases on which users work with objects such as text boxes, shapes, images, and diagrams. . Slideshow software is based on a series of these artboards. When lead author Zhuohao (Jerry) Zhang, a UW doctoral student at iSchool, joined Wobbrock’s lab, the two sought a solution to accessibility flaws in creativity tools such as presentation software. for slideshow. Building on previous research from Wobbrock’s lab on problems blind people have using work tables, Wobbrock and Zhang presented a prototype of A11yBoard in April. They then worked to create a solution that could be implemented through existing software and settled on a Google Slides extension.
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For the current paper, the researchers worked with co-author Gene SH Kim, a blind student at Stanford University, to improve the interface. The team tested it with two other blind users and asked them to recreate slides. Both testers noted that A11yBoard greatly improved their ability to understand visual content and create slides themselves without constant iterations with collaborators; they only needed to involve a sighted assistant at the end of the process.
Testers also highlighted points for improvement: staying continually aware of object positions while trying to edit them still presented a challenge, and users were forced to perform each action individually, such as aligning multiple visual groups from left to right, rather than complete these repeated actions. batch actions. Due to the way Google Slides works, the current version of the app also does not allow users to undo or redo edits on different devices.
Ultimately, the researchers plan to release the app to the public. But first they plan to integrate a large language model, such as GPT, into the program.
«That will potentially help blind people create slides more efficiently, using natural language commands like ‘Align these five boxes using their left edge,'» Zhang said. «Even as an accessibility researcher, I’m always amazed at how inaccessible these common tools can be. So with A11yBoard we’re setting out to change that.»
This research was funded in part by the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technologies and Experiences (UW CREATE) at the University of Washington.
