C19: Making the Web Accessible to the Aging Population.

Do we believe that when we are over the age of 70, we will be able to book a cab and buy groceries online with the same ease as we do today? Do we think older adults are comfortable using technology they are expected to use to perform tasks necessary to function in today's world? Have you ever wondered why older adults need to click on a touchscreen multiple times in order to successfully complete a task? This course will equip you with the tools you need to empathize with the pain points older adults have while navigating the web as well as brainstorm and apply techniques that can make their experience better.

We are happy to be conducting this course at CHI 2023!

Manasi Vaidya and Sheng-Hung Lee will be running this in-person course at CHI 2023 in Hamburg, Germany on 25th April, 2023 (Tuesday). This course is divided into two units. This course is inspired by the research Manasi and Sheng-Hung currently do at the MIT AgeLab

Activities during the first unit of the course will include:

  1. Wearing the vision impairment glasses and analyzing websites to generate empathy for older adults that try to navigate various digital interfaces.

  2. Attempting to use touch-screen digital interfaces after wearing 2 layers of rubber hand gloves with the intention to simulate arthritis and low moisture in the hands.

  3. Creating your own simulation objects that might help you, your fellow designers, technologists, and coders to experience how older adults might use the interfaces we put out there.

  4. A chance to wear AGNES (Age Gain Now Empathy System)!

Here are some images for reference that Sheng-Hung took during Dr. Joseph Coughlin’s class: Global Aging and the Built Environment at MIT during the Spring 2022 semester

DSC08004.JPG
DSC08012.JPG
DSC08048.JPG

Registration Instructions 

If you are adding a course to your existing registration:

CLICK THIS LINK: https://cvent.me/YbG5VD.

  1. Scroll towards the bottom and click on the “Already Registered” option. Do not begin a new registration if you are already registered for CHI 2023.

  2. Enter your email address and confirmation code – found in your confirmation email.

  3. Click “Login” to proceed, then select “Modify Registration” towards the bottom on the next page.

  4. Proceed through your registration (“Next” button until the Optional Items page) to add the desired course.

  5. Select your course from the list and click “Next” at the bottom.

  6. Follow through to complete the addition by making a payment and clicking “Submit”.

If you are not yet registered for CHI:

CLICK THIS LINK: https://cvent.me/YbG5VD

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the appropriate category button (Member or Non-Member) to begin your registration. 

  2. Register - fill in all the required information needed for registration to attend CHI 2023.

  3. Proceed to the Optional Items page – select the course from the list and click next at the bottom of the page.

  4. Continue through registration to complete by making a payment and clicking “Submit”. A confirmation email is automatically generated.

Learning Outcomes

  • Create unique tools that will act as simulators to help other designers and software engineers. Introduce awareness regarding the abundant career opportunities that exist in the aging space.

  • Use web-accessibility guidelines published by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to design interfaces that are accessible to the aging population.

  • Evaluate existing websites/ applications/ softwares to see if they follow the accessibility guidelines.

  • Empathize with the aging population by stepping in their shoes to see how they experience the current versions of the digital interfaces.

  • Empathize with the aging population by stepping in their shoes to see how they experience the current versions of the digital interfaces.

Intended Audience

NO prerequisites!

This course is intended for students, researchers, or working professionals who have an interest in the space of user experience, computer science, user research, gerontology, psychology or human factors. 

Meet the Instructors

  • Manasi Vaidya

    Course Instructor

    Manasi Vaidya is a student researcher at the MIT AgeLab. She is pursuing the Health Systems Certificate at MIT Sloan School of Management in addition to the M.S. in Engineering and Management. Her research interests lie primarily in UX design - prior to MIT, she was a Senior UX Consultant at IBM

  • Sheng-Hung Lee

    Course Instructor

    Sheng-Hung Lee is a PhD Researcher in Human Behaviour and Service Design at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has graduate degrees in Engineering and Management as well as Mechanical Engineering from MIT as well. Prior to MIT, he has worked at IDEO and other companies in various leadership positions.