Diretrizes de Acessibilidade em Ambientes de Desenvolvimento Integrado para Estudantes Cegos

Abstract

Assistive Technology (AT) has played a pivotal role in integrating and including people with disabilities in society. Adopting AT is essential for blind people to ensure equitable access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). However, in Computer Science courses, more than merely using AT may be required to guarantee an understanding of the concepts covered in the subjects and complete access to the resources offered by essential tools for their professional development. This is because screen readers, the primary accessibility tool blind students use to interact with digital systems, perform a linear reading of the content provided in the graphical interface. This limitation may require more time and cognitive effort from users. This challenge is particularly evident in Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), which have interfaces heavily reliant on graphical elements and may not be fully accessible to screen readers if accessibility requirements are not adequately implemented. In this context, design guidelines are crucial in providing recommendations for developing IDEs that meet the accessibility needs of blind students. This was the focus of this doctoral thesis, which sought to specify a set of guidelines to support the design and implementation of IDEs that consider the accessibility requirements necessary to facilitate the interaction of these students. To achieve this goal, a set of guidelines was developed following a methodology encompassing the following stages: Exploratory, Descriptive, Correlational, Selection, Specification, Validation, and Refinement. In each phase, studies included a literature review, survey, interviews, and focus groups involving students, professors, professional programmers, accessibility analysts, and IDE developers. These steps culminated in elaborating Accessibility Guidelines in IDEs for Blind Students. The results obtained in the validation stages indicate that this set of guidelines fulfills its mission of assisting in developing IDEs accessible to these students.