Hunting for headings: sighted labeling vs. automatic classification of headings

Proper use of headings in web pages can make navigation more efficient for blind web users by indicating semantic di visions in the page. Unfortunately, many web pages do not use proper HTML markup (h1-h6 tags) to indicate headings, instead using visual styling to create headings, thus making the distinction between headings and other page text indis tinguishable to blind users. In a user study in which sighted participants labeled headings on a set of web pages, partic ipants did not often agree on which elements on the page should be labeled as headings, suggesting why headings are not used properly on the web today. To address this prob lem, we have created a system called HeadingHunter that predicts whether web page text semantically functions as a heading by examining visual features of the text as rendered in a web browser. Its performance in labeling headings com pares favorably with both a manually-classified set of head ing examples and the combined results of the sighted lab...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: ASSETS
• Authors: Jeremy T. Brudvik, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Anna Cavender, Richard E. Ladner
• Keywords: ASSETS 2008, Blind Web Users, Emerging Technology, Participants Labeled Headings, Web Page