Raising Accessibility Awareness: Designing Accessibility Testbed for Education and Public Use

Abstract

As accessibility’s importance continues to grow, there is a need to develop accessibility education and raise awareness through engaging hands-on experiences. First, this article describes the design process of the public accessibility testbed, which includes points where visitors can observe and use assistive technologies and simulation tools to experience accessibility challenges. Second, we conducted a survey for visitors. Exploring the effectiveness and impact of accessibility points, we aim to assess how these points facilitate learning about accessibility issues, specifically whether visitors leave with a deeper understanding of these challenges. Also, we evaluated the guidance and information provided at these points to enhance visitor understanding and engagement. The findings also gather insights on potential improvements or new features for the accessibility points based on visitors’ suggestions.