History of accessibility

images. Helsinki School for the Blind
A classroom with geography class going on. The globe is examined by a student under the guidance of the teacher. The picture might be taken in the 1930s according to Teuvo Ruponen, a student at the School for the Blind. During his time in the '50s, the desks were arranged unidirectionally.
Source: Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired

History of accessibility. fourth transformation

First transformation in access to information
The first transformation was in the 19th century, when Braille, developed by The Frenchman Louis Braille, enabled blind people to literacy. There were other relief writing systems, but braille lived on.

Second transformation in access to information
The second transformation was in the 1950’s, when the first audiobooks appeared It was not until the 1950s when such tape recorders were obtained that whole books could be recorded.

Braille books take up a lot of space. The Bible takes three shelf meters, but only one small box was needed for open reel tapes.

Third transformation in access to information -
Accessibility of websites
The third transformation began around the early 1990’s, when information technology and IT tools became more commonly available to the visually impaired. Along with websites and digital services, accessibility, i.e. their functionality with the technical aids of the visually impaired became a prevailing issue.

WCAG guidelines
Online content accessibility guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) define how to make online content more accessible to people with disabilities or limitations. Similarly, more useable for the elderly and otherwise,
Improve usability for all users.

The guidance applies to public services, but taking it into account benefits all

Fourth transformation in access to information - Smartphones

Day Care Center for the Blind
In the day care center different handicrafts were learned. Source: Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired

The fourth transformation is smartphones and the opportunities offered by their apps.

A low-vision or blind person can use the current touchscreen smartphones with their screen magnification and screen reader functions almost as efficiently as sighted people can.

However, this depends on how graphical elements are described and how accessible the apps are implemented.

teosluettelo_historia_fi.pdf