Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Mindmapping for visually impaired users (self.Blind)
submitted 5.242668209876543y ago by higherarchyeducation
Hi r/blind,
I've been working on a project for the last year developing an online mindmapping software that is highly accessible and efficient for visually impaired users and would love any suggestions or feedback you might have on how to improve it. An introduction video is in the YouTube link following this paragraph.
https://youtu.be/CeySMrEwZYU
The App is called Higherarchy, and it makes mindmapping (and concept mapping) more efficient for visually impaired users by utilising vectors graphics (so less visually impaired users can zoom in on text as much as they need) and inbuilt text to speech for the fully visually impaired/blind. The key innovation is that you can navigate every node (I.e. every point) on the mindmap with your keyboard, and it will read out the content automatically, meaning you can follow all the paths and subtopics of a subject intuitively without the need for screen reading software (though I have utilised alt tags and aria tags should you prefer screen readers for whatever reason).
Furthermore, you can easily make your own mindmaps as all the inputs to make a mindmap are keyboard mapped, with the general process being: you navigate to the node you want to edit, and press the desired key to allow you to input whatever you'd like at that node (whether its a title, description, content, image/video urls etc.), or press the insert key and insert a child node. This gives it great potential for blind users who may want use it for purposes other than educational content, like storing URLs in a way that's easy to navigate and find.
For fully blind users who can't see the video itself and only the audio, the App is going to always have a free option(should have put that in the script as its only in the footage itself), and whilst it is freemium, I will never charge for accessibility features.
I'm also looking for visually impaired beta testers who can help improving the sites accessibility, so please comment or message me if you're interested. I'm a university student so unfortunately don't have any money to pay for your services right now (I'm currently pursuing some crowdfunding so that may change), but will happily offer free premium membership and content when the site releases in return for your time.
All suggestions for improvement are welcome, thanks.
I've been working on a project for the last year developing an online mindmapping software that is highly accessible and efficient for visually impaired users and would love any suggestions or feedback you might have on how to improve it. An introduction video is in the YouTube link following this paragraph.
https://youtu.be/CeySMrEwZYU
The App is called Higherarchy, and it makes mindmapping (and concept mapping) more efficient for visually impaired users by utilising vectors graphics (so less visually impaired users can zoom in on text as much as they need) and inbuilt text to speech for the fully visually impaired/blind. The key innovation is that you can navigate every node (I.e. every point) on the mindmap with your keyboard, and it will read out the content automatically, meaning you can follow all the paths and subtopics of a subject intuitively without the need for screen reading software (though I have utilised alt tags and aria tags should you prefer screen readers for whatever reason).
Furthermore, you can easily make your own mindmaps as all the inputs to make a mindmap are keyboard mapped, with the general process being: you navigate to the node you want to edit, and press the desired key to allow you to input whatever you'd like at that node (whether its a title, description, content, image/video urls etc.), or press the insert key and insert a child node. This gives it great potential for blind users who may want use it for purposes other than educational content, like storing URLs in a way that's easy to navigate and find.
For fully blind users who can't see the video itself and only the audio, the App is going to always have a free option(should have put that in the script as its only in the footage itself), and whilst it is freemium, I will never charge for accessibility features.
I'm also looking for visually impaired beta testers who can help improving the sites accessibility, so please comment or message me if you're interested. I'm a university student so unfortunately don't have any money to pay for your services right now (I'm currently pursuing some crowdfunding so that may change), but will happily offer free premium membership and content when the site releases in return for your time.
All suggestions for improvement are welcome, thanks.
redstone1337 2 points 5y ago
this looks really cool, and I'd be interested in helping. Can this be adapted to make more general flowcharts? I'm looking for an accessible way to diagram network topologies.
higherarchyeducation [OP] 2 points 5y ago
Thanks for the interest, I'll definitely get you sorted out with an account once the beta goes live. There's nothing I can think of that would prevent different network topologies from being implemented and that's something I'll get round to researching for you once my university exams are finished. The only thing I can think that would be different from the currently inherently hierarchal structure is how I'd interface connecting nodes with keyboard commands when its no longer as simple as simply highlighting a node an inserting a child. If you have any ideas on how best to implement this please let me know, thank you.
stormsong19 1 points 4y ago
Hi. Just wondering if this is still being worked on/when we might expect a beta? Hope your exams went well.
higherarchyeducation [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Hi, very sorry for the delay in updating, have been very busy with an internship aswell as exams and this project. I've been making great progress recently, though it is looking like the app itself will have to use its own in built text-to-speech rather than the users preferred option due to difficulties and limitations from browsers that prevent aria-tags from being dynamically reallocated as a user browses or changes a mind map. Whilst I'm running behind schedule, something I'm very sorry about, I'm still aiming to release by the end of this year. Best Regards.
samarositz 1 points 5y ago
Hi, I am an assistive technology specialist at a community college. I'd love to find an accessible mind\-mapping solution to replace our inaccessible Inspiration software. please sign me up as a beta tester. So far the only accessible software I've found is Mindnode but it's Mac and iOS only so not something we can instal in our labs.
higherarchyeducation [OP] 1 points 5y ago
I've noted your username and will send you a message when the beta is ready with details on how to sign up:)
Abreger 1 points 5y ago
Hi,
My name is Ashley Breger and I would be happy to test out your software. My email address is Ashbreger@yahoo.com.
My name is Ashley Breger and I would be happy to test out your software. My email address is Ashbreger@yahoo.com.
stormsong19 1 points 5y ago
I'd love to test this app. I also write articles for a visually impaired focused tech site, so I'll write up a quick summary of this and see if we can get more testers. Is there another way people can contact you, other than reddit? I'm sure some potential visually impaired users won't have reddit to respond here.
higherarchyeducation [OP] 1 points 5y ago
You can email me at higherarchyorg@gmail.com if you'd like, though my response time right now are a little slower than I'd like due to aforementioned university exams. I'd be massively grateful for any exposure to potential users, if you could email your site address to the email above I'd love to take a look when I have time. I'll also be sure to send you an email when the beta goes live so you can check it out, thanks.
HailDaHailu 1 points 5y ago
I'm also a university student and would love to try this beta! The app looks and sounds so cool and easy to use. (I'm not in a maths related department, but I gather it can be used for other stuff. Also computing really interests me but not enough that I'll know what I'm saying so bear with me.) I used a software called x-mind in the past for mind-mapping - I guess it was similarly vector-based. However ZOOMING IN it didn't too well at all and I'm glad people are making something to address that!
Just one thing... so its a social media site with mind-mapping functionalities. Are you collecting users' data? (like reddit is... but idk) How long do you store- what do you do with it?- any annoying ads on it... (I know if I'm using the free version you've got to make up the money somehow, but yeah.)
Think its great you designed this during uni though.
Just one thing... so its a social media site with mind-mapping functionalities. Are you collecting users' data? (like reddit is... but idk) How long do you store- what do you do with it?- any annoying ads on it... (I know if I'm using the free version you've got to make up the money somehow, but yeah.)
Think its great you designed this during uni though.
higherarchyeducation [OP] 2 points 5y ago
Thanks :) On the data-collection front I'm trying to minimise data-collection to users who aren't explicitly consenting to the analytics functionality (where it tracks how much time you spend in each topic etc), so there will be clear positive affirmation from users in that regard. I'm not intending to sell any data or include any advertising, and would like the premium membership tiers to subsidise the free tier. As I live in the UK, I'll have to comply with GDPR from the end of this month anyway, so that has much stricter controls on data to prevent the passing around and unethical processing of sensitive data. This also means you can put in a request for personal data deletion and I'll be obligated by law to remove all data you've submitted to the site.
I'll be more than happy to sort you an account when the beta is ready, you can use it for any subject or content you desire, whilst I've advertised using a maths map as an example, the fact you can make your own maps means its limited only by your imagination.
I'll be more than happy to sort you an account when the beta is ready, you can use it for any subject or content you desire, whilst I've advertised using a maths map as an example, the fact you can make your own maps means its limited only by your imagination.
HailDaHailu 1 points 5y ago
Wow- thanks. It's been 5 days since I last replied, but I'm still ready and waiting to use this beta when it is ready! PM me when you can.
fastfinge 1 points 5y ago
Hi! As a completely blind user, I've never really done any mind mapping; connecting ideas like that never felt intuitive or useful to me. But I have no idea if that's because I had no easy and accessible way to do it before, or if being blind from birth means my mind just doesn't work like that. It would be interesting to try the software and find out.
higherarchyeducation [OP] 2 points 5y ago
I'd love to get feedback from a user like yourself, I'll send you a message when I'm satisfied that the accessibility is sufficient for full usage and get you sorted out with an account and any assistance you may need. Your perspective will be really valuable and hopefully you can benefit from the easier overall mental outline of a subject that mindmapping (or concept mapping) can bring.
TheBlindBookLover 1 points 5y ago
Hi. This sounds really interesting. I will check it out.
higherarchyeducation [OP] 1 points 5y ago
I'd be more than happy to message you when the beta is ready in around 2 months to sort you out with an account to try it out.
saharacanuck 1 points 5y ago
I’m partially sighted and mind mapping is generally a pain. I’ll check it out (I should be sleeping right now... it’s past 2am)
higherarchyeducation [OP] 2 points 5y ago
Really glad to hear you're interested, I'll be starting the beta once I finish my university exams in July and will message you to sort you out with an account if you'd like.
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