Muriel Garreta Domingo

Usability for all: towards improving the e-learning experience for visually impaired users

The new Information Society context entails new risks of social exclusion due to the digital exclusion even when it generates new possibilities for inclusion thanks to accessible Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and universal design [15]. In this context, we see that e-learning provides a powerful tool towards social inclusion. Yet, we have seen that compliance with accessibility and e-learning standards together with the usage of adequate devices does not guarantee a satisfactory experience for those with a disability [9]. As a result, our project specifically tackles the design of educational technical applications specifically developed for the visually impaired, following a user-centered design perspective

Scenario-based persona: introducing personas through their main contexts

The present work introduces a new way of conveying the results of a user analysis study. Personas are a well established user-centered design methodology; however they are not always well-understood or used by non-experts. By explaining our personas based on their main contexts we wanted to 1) reduce the bias that a face can generate by representing silhouettes instead; 2) combine the concepts of personas and scenarios; 3) foster understanding of our users by showing their main contexts (which are becoming more important with the increase of mobile devices); and 4) create a playful and more permanent artefact to hold all this information.