VIDBE-Q Volume 68 Issue 2
47
observed, continuing to face east. The second time, she reviewed the map as she
stood perpendicularly, facing the busy city street. "This must be Broadway, so I
need to turn left to get to my building." In less than a minute, Celine arrived at her
destination doors. "I'm here," she announced confidently, "How long did it take
me?" "Just under 5 minutes," the researcher replied, and Celine smiled widely,
feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Later, Celine tested a route, similar in length and numbers of turns, using a
wayfinding app on her phone. Following the auditory turn-by-turn directions, she
noted when some were inaccurate by tuning into the sounds around her. She was
also excited to try wayfinding in a building using the GoodMaps app to find a key
destination indoors. After completing her outdoor and indoor routes using the
tactile map or the wayfinding app, Celine participated in a focus group with seven
other young adults with blindness or low vision. As the team shared their thinking
about the wayfinding tasks, the wayfinding tools, and their own O&M experiences
generally, Celine felt a greater sense of connection with her fellow travelers. "For
those of us who are younger," she offered during the focus group, "using apps is
just a part of our everyday lives. I mean, we expect to use them." Later, she
reflected that "I've never used a tactile map before. I felt frustrated using it in the
rainy weather, but I liked how it gave me a sense of the whole route."
