Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

899 results found in Assistive Technology.

Constructive Exploration
Constructive exploration is an interactive learning method in which a user is guided by a computer system to physically build a representation of spatial information using building blocks or other tan…
Content Description (contentDescription, Android Content Description)
A text attribute on Android UI elements that provides an accessible label for screen readers like TalkBack. Content descriptions serve the same purpose as alt text on web images — they convey the mean…
Content Extraction (Web Content Extraction, Text Extraction)
The process of separating meaningful content from the surrounding structural markup, navigation elements, and boilerplate text on a web page. For assistive technology users, content extraction is valu…
Content Transcoding (Content Adaptation, Content Transformation)
The process of automatically modifying web content to make it more accessible or usable for specific users or devices. Content transcoding can involve restructuring HTML, modifying CSS styles, replaci…
Context-Appropriate Technology (Appropriate Technology, Context-Appropriate AT)
Technology, particularly assistive technology, that is designed or selected to fit the specific social, economic, cultural, and environmental context in which it will be used. Context-appropriate tech…
Contextual Reinforcement (Header Reinforcement)
A technique in aural and non-visual rendering of tabular data where column headers, row labels, or other structural context is repeated alongside data values to help users understand the relationships…
Continuous Voice Control (Continuous Vocal Control, Proportional Voice Control)
A voice interaction paradigm in which vocal parameters such as pitch, loudness, vowel quality, and timbre are used to provide smooth, proportional, real-time control of a system, as opposed to discret…
Conversational Assistant (Voice Assistant, Virtual Assistant, Intelligent Personal Assistant)
A software application that uses natural language processing and speech recognition to interact with users through spoken or typed conversation, providing information, performing tasks, and controllin…
Conversational Interface (Conversational UI, Conversational User Interface, Chat Interface)
An interface that enables interaction through natural language dialogue, either spoken or text-based, rather than through traditional graphical controls like buttons and menus. Conversational interfac…
Cooperative Evaluation (Cooperative Usability Evaluation, Modified Think-Aloud)
A usability evaluation method in which the researcher and participant work together as collaborators rather than following a strict observer-subject protocol. Unlike standard controlled experiments, c…
Copilot (Shared Control) (Gaming Copilot, Assistive Copilot)
In shared-control video gaming, the copilot is the secondary actor who supports the pilot (the primary player, typically a person with a disability) by taking over game actions the pilot cannot perfor…
Coping Strategies (Coping Tactics, Workaround Strategies)
The techniques and approaches that users with disabilities develop to navigate around accessibility barriers they encounter on the web and in digital interfaces. Expert screen reader users, for exampl…
Core Haptics
Apple's iOS framework for designing and playing custom vibrotactile patterns on iPhone using the Taptic Engine. Core Haptics lets developers synthesize transient 'taps' and continuous vibrations, vary…
Corneal Reflection (Pupil-Center Corneal Reflection, PCCR)
An eye tracking technique that works by shining a near-infrared light at the eye and measuring the relationship between the reflection off the cornea (the bright spot called the glint) and the center …
Cross-Modal Transfer (Cross-Modal Perception, Sensory Substitution)
Cross-modal transfer refers to the ability to recognize or process information received through one sensory modality (such as touch or hearing) based on experience gained through a different modality …
Cross-Representation Highlighting (Synchronized Highlighting, Linked Highlighting)
A user interface technique that synchronizes selections across multiple representations of the same data, so that selecting an element in one view automatically highlights the corresponding element in…
Crossing-Based Interaction (Goal Crossing)
An alternative to traditional point-and-click interaction where users select a target by dragging across its boundary rather than tapping or clicking on it. Instead of requiring a precise tap within a…
Crowd Accessibility (Crowdsourcing for Accessibility, Human-Powered Access Technology)
An approach that combines human intelligence with machine intelligence to create accessible content and services for people with disabilities. In crowd accessibility, micro-tasks that automated system…
Cueing (External Cueing, Sensory Cueing)
In rehabilitation, cueing is the delivery of external sensory stimuli - visual, auditory, or somatosensory - that guide or trigger a motor action. Cueing is used most prominently in Parkinson's diseas…
Cultural Heritage Accessibility (Heritage Accessibility, Accessible Cultural Heritage)
The practice of making cultural heritage sites, monuments, museums, and artifacts accessible to people with disabilities through physical modifications, assistive technologies, and alternative formats…