MultiWeb Improves Access

From: Real Times
September - November, 1998
Page 1

Gaining access to the World Wide Web poses unique problems for people with
disabilities. This is because the Web browsers such as Netscape or Internet
Explorer were not primarily designed with accessibility in mind. Although
there are techniques for making commercial web browsers more accessible (see
http://www.el.net/CAT/access1.html), this is a complicated process. 

For many people, a better approach would be to surf the Web with a special
Web browser, designed for adapted access An example of such a program is
PwWebSpeak, a specialized browser for blind people. This program accesses the
same information on the Web, but ignores graphics, reads text and links
aloud, and provides a set of controls designed for easy use by a non-sighted
user. 

Now there is MultiWeb, another specialized browser designed for sighted
people with a variety of access requirements. It was developed by the
Disability Access Research Team at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.
The program is free, and can be obtained at the Center or downloaded, along
with a very comprehensive manual, from the Deakin University Web site at
http://mis.deakin.edu.au/multiweb/download.htm 

MultiWeb is a self-contained browser. It does not support frames or Java;
however, it does support video and audio files. It provides the standard
browser controls and special features to customize input and display of
information. 

Multi Web creates a named icon for each user containing his or her access and
display preferences; clicking on an icon will start MultiWeb with the
appropriate settings for that person. MultiWeb features five operating modes:
mouse or keyboard; keyboard only; menu-based; switch input; and touch screen.
In all modes except keyboard only, the program displays a set of function
buttons which can be positioned along the top, bottom, or sides of the
screen. These buttons allow the user to scroll, move from page to page, jump
from link to link within a page, and control other browser functions. The
size of the buttons is adjustable; the touch screen mode features especially
large buttons. 

The scanning mode uses the mouse buttons for the switch signal, which means
that an extemal switch can be used with a switch-adapted mouse as the switch
interface, instead of more expensive special switch interfaces. Both the
touch screen mode (which would also be suitable for someone accessing the
program only by mouse), and the switch access mode, incorporate an onscreen
keyboard for entering text such as search terms or Web page addresses 

Other options include large print (which also enlarges the mouse pointer),
talking buttons, built-in text-to-speech (which will read Web pages aloud if
your computer is equipped with a sound card), and a feature that highlights
the text as it is read. Foreground and background colors can also be
specified, as can the font. 

MultiWeb does have a few drawbacks. The synthesized speech is not great,
although its intelligible once you get used to it. The onscreen keyboard
feature offers only the standard "qwerty" keyboard layout, which is not ideal
for some users. The scanning functions, although well thought out in some
respects, are not designed for efficiency; items are scanned one by one,
rather than in groups, which can slow down an experienced switch user. 

Overall, however, this is a very powerful, versatile program. It provides
effective access to the Web while incorporating a range of features helpful
to users with disabilities that could only be implemented on a standard Web
browser with extensive, complicated customizing and the purchase of
additional access software. Its features are well integrated, its easy to set
up and operate, and the price is right. 

(Thanks to Sarah Clutterbuck, Education Advisor for Adaptive Technology
Services at Education Queensland in Brisbane, Australia,for telling us about
Multi Web.)

