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Introduction to Assistive Technology for Vision Impairments

2.4. Access to digital content

Digital content has several advantages over printed materials for persons with vision impairment as assistive technology solutions allow the users to interact flexibly with the content. However, an accessible user interface is essential for the electronic content to be equally available to persons with disabilities.
For example, persons with vision impairments generally use screen readers to surf the web. For these to work properly, there must be correct and accessible coding of web pages to allow the screenreader to successfully translate the website’s contents for the user.
The following video titled ‘Blind Experience’ is a visual impairment simulator that lets you experience what it’s like to be a person who is visually impaired or blind, engaging with online learning material and the differences between accessible and inaccessible digital content.

2.4.1 How to build accessible digital content

Activity - 5mins
Additional Notes and References

The YouTube playlists by Tommy Edison, who was born blind, is a treasure house of information about the challenges faced by persons with vision impairment and the opportunities available to enjoy a higher quality of life. Tommy uses humor to answer the most popular questions about living without sight, takes on more challenges which test his other senses, and goes on adventures that allow him to experience things for the first time.
Link to playlist: The Tommy Edison Experience – YouTube
For software, web developers and anyone interested in understanding digital accessibility in depth, this resource by Google is a great place to start. Browse through the topics and overall content outline for now and save the link for later reference when you get hands-on with development of accessible digital content.
Link:https://www.google.com/accessibility/for-developers/