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Web Accessibility

Web Accessibility. John Rochford UMMS Shriver Center Director, INDEX Program Rich Caloggero WGBH National Center for Accessible Media MIT Adaptive Technology Information Center. Introductions. names backgrounds related interests

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Web Accessibility

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  1. Web Accessibility John Rochford UMMS Shriver Center Director, INDEX Program Rich Caloggero WGBH National Center for Accessible Media MIT Adaptive Technology Information Center

  2. Introductions • names • backgrounds • related interests • experiences related to people with disabilities using the web (or computers in general) • experiences making websites accessible

  3. Simple Definition • Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web • More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. • Source: World Wide Web Consortium • Web accessibility applies to design & content

  4. Importance • helps people with many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more • provides equal access and opportunity to people with disabilities • helps people with disabilities more actively participate in society • is required by laws and policies in some cases • benefits peoplewithoutdisabilities and seniors • Source: World Wide Web Consortium • increases customer base / audience

  5. Making the Web Accessible • Assistive Technology: screen readers, single-switch devices, text-to-speech, etc. • Web software has to be accessible. Examples: • web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) • media players (NCAM ccPlayer, etc.) • authoring tools (Dream Weaver, Flash, etc.) • content management systems (Drupal, etc.) • learning management systems (Blackboard, etc.)

  6. Making Your Website Accessible • Depends on many factors, such as the type of content, the size and complexity of the site, and the development tools and environment. • Accessibility features are easily implemented if they are planned from the beginning of Web site development or redesign. • Fixing inaccessible Web sites can require significant effort and costs. • Source: World Wide Web Consortium

  7. Evaluating Website Accessibility • Knowledgeable human evaluation is required to determine if a site is accessible. • People with disabilities • Automated evaluation tools • Free, web-based, single-page • AChecker, WebAIM’s WAVE, etc. • Free, browser plug-in, single-page • WAVE, TPG Toolbar, FireEyes, etc. • Commercial Tools (Worldspace, etc.)

  8. How To Evaluate Websites Quick ways for nontechnical users to determine if a site is likely to be accessible: • Is there alternative (alt) text for images? • Is there an accessibility statement? • Use a free, web-based tool to check • WebAIM’sWAVE (demo)

  9. U.S. Laws • Section 508 requires that all Web site content be equally accessible to people with disabilities.  This applies to Web applications, Web pages and all attached files.  It applies to intranet as well as public-facing Web pages. • Source: U.S. Health and Human Services • Based upon Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • ADA: No applicability (yet)

  10. Standards • United States • Federal Standard: Section508.gov • Established in 2000 • 508 standards are being updated now • State Standards: Varied • World • WCAG 2.0 (As of December, 2008) • WCAG 1.0 published in May, 1999

  11. WCAG 2 Principles • Perceivable - Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. • Operable- User interface components and navigation must be operable. • Understandable- Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. • Robust- Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. • Source: World Wide Web Consortium

  12. Perceivable • Providetext alternatives for non-text content. • Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia. • Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning. • Make it easier for users to see and hear content. • Source: World Wide Web Consortium

  13. Operable • Make all functionality available from a keyboard. • Give users enough time to read and use content. • Do not use content that causes seizures. • Help users navigate and find content. • Source: World Wide Web Consortium

  14. Understandable • Make text readable and understandable. • Make content appear and operate in predictable ways. • Help users avoid and correct mistakes. • Source: World Wide Web Consortium

  15. Robust • Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools. • Source: World Wide Web Consortium

  16. Using the Web • How do people with disabilities use the web… • without a keyboard? • without a mouse? • without speakers? • without a monitor? • Job Access With Speech (JAWS) demo

  17. Accessible Content • Almost all accessible websites focus exclusively on design. • Many pay no attention to semantic markup: • headings, lists, bold-versus-strong, etc. • Examples of what they do not use: • plain language • multi-modal presentation • default large print (& scalable design)

  18. Cognitive Web Accessibility • Examples of cognitive disabilities: • learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, TBI, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, aging, etc. • Examples of functional commonalities: • cannot understand non-simple, textual content • are easily distracted • are flummoxed by inconsistent interfaces • do not recover easily from errors

  19. Cognitive Accessibility Resources • W3C Cognitive Accessibility Task Force • Clear Helper • Web Site • Blog • Twitter • Web AIM • Articles • Cognitive Web Accessibility Checklist

  20. Summary • Accessible websites are important and necessary for people with disabilities • Websites should be POUR: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust • Following standards can be easy & inexpensive • Making websites accessible makes them easy to use for everyone

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