Madhuka De Silva

Co-designing Inclusive Movement Learning Tools with Blind and Low Vision Users

PhD Research funded by and conducted at Monash University, Australia

Image generated through Wix AI

Awards

Awarded third place in Tactile and Embodied Design Competition, International competition organised by Georgia Tech University, 2024

Winner in thesis in 3 minutes competition

Context

People who are blind or have low vision (BLV) face significant barriers to participating in recreational movement activities like dance and fitness.

A key reason is that most teaching methods rely heavily on visual demonstration or vague verbal cues, with limited adaptation for non-visual learners. Physical guidance is sometimes used, but it can be inconsistent or uncomfortable.

Problem

How can we design accessible, non-visual approaches that support both BLV learners and their teachers in body movement education?

Solution

Providing sound and haptic feedback to student compared to teacher’s movement to provide precise details. Body movement is tracked through motion capture camera.

Research Skills and Methods

Designing Solutions Grounded in Context,

Identified gaps in research and real-world teaching practices

Centred lived experiences of BLV people as design drivers

Co-designed with BLV learners, teachers, technical experts, and accessibility researchers

Understanding User Needs through Mixed Methods,

Designed and analysed 2 surveys for both qualitative and quantitative insights

Conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with deep, active listening

Facilitated 4 focus groups to uncover shared priorities and challenges

Ran 11 in-situ workshops to observe real-world behaviours and understand needs

Applied reflexive thinking and both inductive and deductive analysis methods

What I delivered and Impact

Identified 4 key design challenges in accessible movement education by working closely with BLV learners and their teachers

Developed practical design guidelines for creating mult-isensory tools, including 5 main and 14 supporting considerations

Created a novel multi-sensory prototype that uses sound and vibration to support dance learning for BLV learners

Published findings through (peer-reviewed) high impact international conferences
- ASSETS 2023 (NY, USA): Understanding needs of BLV learners and teachers
- CHI 2025 (Yokohama, Japan): Exploring ideas through bodystorming workshops
- ASSETS 2025 (Colorado, USA): Co-designing to support accessible dance learning

Communicated through radio interviews with Vision Australia

Leading and Learning Through Mentorship

Guiding the Next Generation Towards Inclusive Design

Supervised six undergraduate students working on accessible online dance learning for BLV people
Extended an opportunity from my PhD into a student-led, real-world research project
Guided projects focused on movement tracking, sound feedback, and accessible web interfaces
Encouraged inclusive thinking and practical problem-solving in accessibility