Study and Report about the Use of Technology by the Visually Impaired

In view of the important role watching technologies play in the lives of people with visual disability (PVDs), this paper is intended to review the use of desktop, web and cell phone applications by PVDs. To accomplish such goal, the involved work gathered data from interviews conducted at some Sao Paulo associations and through an electronic form available on the web. The paper presents the resulting qualitative study containing: a) identification of the major difficulties PVDs face to use the studied technologies; b) comprehension of the major benefits from using such technologies; c) identification of new technologies as made available to PVDs; d) identification of the requirements for the design of new technologies; e) review of the potential use of distance education in favor of PVDs. This paper provides a qualitative analysis and reports that may help enable research groups to find out solutions to some of the problems addressed herein.