On Jul 21, 2004, at 2:27 AM, Helen Marshall wrote:
> I have a visually impaired student in my qual. methods course. He
> uses a screen reader (JAWS). Can one use
> NVIVO with JAWS? QSR advice is that it may be difficult because
> NVIVO is so visual. I checked the qualsoft archive
> and couldn't find anything on JAWs or screen readers. I'd very much
> appreciate advice from anyone who has experience
> here.
>
Accessibility is an interesting question, and is one we've explored for
HyperRESEARCH.
From what we've learned, the more closely software adheres to the
Windows Human Interface Guidelines published by Microsoft, the more
compatible that software is with screen readers and other software that
improves accessibility. In the case of visual impairment, making sure
every command is also available as a keystroke command makes a big
difference. (Unfortunately, this is not easy to do in the Macintosh. We
haven't solved that problem yet.) This is a case where the
point-and-click model of user interface simply doesn't work.
We're currently working on HyperRESEARCH version 2.7, which will be
more compatible with screen readers and the like than previous versions
have been. We're also looking into more advanced ways to support users
with disabilities and impairments for version 3.0.
We've received valuable feedback and suggestions from a blind user who
approached us several months ago, and would very much like the
opportunity to work with others who are looking for similarly enhanced
functionality. I'd like to invite any users with accessibility issues
to contact me at [log in to unmask] with any comments, suggestions,
requests for feature and interface enhancements, an interest in
betatesting HyperRESEARCH with accessibility and user interface issues
in mind, and the like.
Best regards,
Ann Dupuis
ResearchWare, Inc.
[log in to unmask]
http://www.researchware.com
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