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Accessibility Groups and Personas
Author: clfernandes
A persona is a fictional character created to represent a specific user type that might use a product, service, or website. Personas are based on real user research and data, and they include details about the user's goals, needs, behaviors, motivations, and pain points. Personas help us discuss trade-offs and compromises between different accessibility behaviors. For example, some behavior might be really good for one user, and really bad for another, or ok for both.
We have identified the needs of the following user groups as most critical within our current focus:
- Blind Users: Individuals who have very limited to no sight. These users rely on screen readers and keyboard navigation for all computer interactions.
- Low Vision Users: Individuals who have partial sight. They may use screen readers, keyboard navigation, screen magnification, and/or high-contrast settings.
- Users with Limited Motor Control: Individuals who may find it challenging to use a mouse or perform precise drag-and-drop actions. This includes users with various conditions that affect hand-eye coordination or fine motor skills. These users rely on keyboard navigation.
- K-12 Classroom Context: We assume that many of these users are students in mixed-ability classrooms.
- Existing Assistive Technology Knowledge: We expect users to have a basic understanding of how to use their preferred assistive technology or learn it from external resources (e.g., Code.org, Micro:bit, or other end-user tutorials).
The following are examples of personas within our priority user groups. These examples are intended to illustrate the diversity of our users' needs and abilities. User research and testing will be done to validate actual user interactions with Blockly’s keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility.
Alex is a 5th-grade student who is completely blind. He is new to coding and uses JAWS screen reader with keyboard navigation to interact with his computer. He is still learning how to use JAWS, with support from a TVI (teacher of the visually impaired).
Maria is a high school student with partial vision. She has done some block-based programming in the past. She uses a text magnifier and high contrast settings. She occasionally uses a screen reader for complex tasks. She prefers keyboard navigation but sometimes uses a mouse.
Emily is a 4th-grade student with cerebral palsy. She is new to programming. She has difficulty using a mouse and primarily uses keyboard navigation.
Jason is a high school student with a repetitive stress injury that makes using a mouse painful. He enjoys programming and is currently taking AP CS Principles. He prefers keyboard shortcuts and environments that are fully navigable without a mouse.