Introduction: This case study's purpose is to make visible the skills and knowledge necessary for the instant localization of screen readers. About the case: The case study examines the work of localization experts at a nonprofit organization in Hungary, who localize the proprietary Job Access with Speech (JAWS) screen reader software and support its target users. Situating the case: The study was informed by research in translation studies and localization-focused literature within the field of technical and professional communication. Research on accessible usability and software design was also consulted. Methods/approach: Participant observations and interviews with employees of the nonprofit organization and with the software's users were conducted. Data were transcribed, then coded using qualitative data-analysis methods. Codes that emerged from the data were grouped into themes to create a narrative interwoven with quotes about the activities of localization experts. Results/discussion: The findings from this study show that the instant localization process used by localization experts of this software requires a specific set of skills in addition to those used in project-based approaches to localization. Additional language and communication skills, as well as programming knowledge to develop additional program features and training materials, were found to be essential for addressing all users’ needs. Conclusion: Technical and professional communication practitioners can contribute to the localization of adaptive technologies through their strong usability, user experience, and communication skills.

Generative AI tools allow anyone without web-design experience to have a business website created when the user provides a few specifications about the business, such as its name, type, and location. But the resulting websites not only fall short of the business's basic needs but they also raise major concerns about their accessibility for disabled users. This study specifically examines whether these AI generated websites are accessible to screen-reader users with visual disabilities. It presents data about the usability and accessibility of the products of three generative AI website builders, highlights the specific problems found by an expert screen reader test along with an automated machine scan of these sites, and discusses some causes of and recommendations for solving these problems.

The authors present the results of a study of a three-way international collaboration project among one Hungarian class and two classes from Michigan and Washington, respectively. This multifaceted study focused on business planning, web design, and accessibility with the aim of investigating the effect of accessibility instruction on the production of business plans and websites. The distinguishing feature of this study was its emphasis to orient the three student groups on disability and accessibility issues from the perspective of the critical social model of disability advanced by disability studies theorists. The researchers collected quantitative and qualitative pre/postproject survey data from their three classes. They combined this data with the text of student emails sent among the project teams and instructor notes about their teaching to arrive at conclusions about the effectiveness of the collaboration using a mixed-methods approach. The results from the data analyses revealed significant benefit of the client–provider relationships among the three classes and the accessibility instruction provided by the Washington class to the other two classes on the business plans and websites.

This article employs cross-cultural communication approaches to teaching instructional design in the times of COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on instructions from France, India, Spain, and the United States for making protective masks, the authors highlight how the writers and designers of these four documents from each culture approach their audiences, organize their DIY instructions, make language choices, employ images and other illustration devices, and culturally persuade users. While acknowledging cultural differences, the authors urge students to identify and adopt design strengths from diverse cultures in their own ideas about composing instructions.