[NABS-L] Research study being conducted by the university of Maryland

[Bella Teta]

Hi, Just wanted to pass along this research study that is being conducted
by the University of Maryland, details below. Thank you.

 My name is Jiasheng Li, I am a research assistant at the Computer Science
Department in the University of Maryland.  We are conducting a
research project called TangibleSite that aims to help blind people design
and create their own website independently and without any coding or
programming skills. Nowadays, blind people can share their lives and
stories on social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram with the
help of accessible tools like VoiceOver and screen readers. However, for
those who wish to post their stories on their personal websites or they
want to create a blog website, the current screen readers do not provide
sufficient detailed graphic information and input possibilities. In this
project, our goal is to assist inexperienced blind users in developing
visual layouts and content input for websites. This will enable them to
design and create their own web pages independently. Our method involves
using Lego-like brackets to represent web elements and a large baseboard to
represent the web canvas. Blind users can design a web page layout by
arranging these Lego bricks and input content using voice commands or
keyboards. For this user study, we aim to collaborate with you to explore
how users will interact with our Lego bricks and utilize them to design
visual layouts with content input. No prior design experience is required,
as we want to understand the most natural workflow for users. We will also
provide all the necessary study apparatus. During the study, you will use
the Lego-like brackets to design a visual layout and try our voice commands
to input text, images, and video content. The study will take approximately
two hours, and participants will be compensated at a rate of $35 per hour.
Thank you again for your interest and appreciate your support in our
research project. Please feel free to email me at jsli at umd.edu (mailto:
jsli at umd.edu) or contact me at 540-449-5363 if you have any questions or
concerns.  Best wishes Jiasheng Li Ph.D. Student Computer Science
Department University of M aryland, College Park