Accessibility in the News

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Government websites are inaccessible to disabled people

IT Examiner.com http://www.itexaminer.com/government-websites-are-inaccessible-to-disabled-peopl...

The Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) has learnt that 23 government agencies have failed to make their homepages accessible to users with special needs, reports the Deccan Herald. Software tools were used to conduct an automated test on the websites of agencies like the National Informatics Centre, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of HRD. Most of these websites couldn't fulfil even the basic access criteria set out in the guidelines of the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C). Nirmita Narasimhan, conductor of the tests at CIS, said, "Except for the Reserve Bank of India and CMC Vellore, all the sites don't even meet priority 1 of WCAG (W3C Access Guidelines), which would ensure availability of text for non-text elements (images) and other graphical contents that can't be read out by screen reader software." She said that all of the websites failed in priority 2 and 3 of the guidelines.

Contributed on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:04:26 GMT.

Practical Considerations for Online Accessibility Raised at IGF Hyderabad

http://glenfarrelly.blogspot.com/2008/12/practical-considerations-for-online.html

The Internet Governance Forum session in Hyderabad India on Internet accessibility, "Including Accessibility and Human Factors in the Universalization of the Internet - How to reach persons with disabilities, the 10% of the next billion", raised practical consideration for the issues of Internet accessibility. To begin with there was a bit of a debacle in that the lack of an Internet connection at the conference centre that stays up for longer than five minutes meant that the captioner online in Canada could not get the webcasts of the sessions in order to caption it for those attending with hearing impairments. It also meant that I have been unable to live blog or microblog the sessions as originally planned. This session opened up with background information on various organizations' work in establishing accessibility standards, their importance, and their gradual global spread. What I did find particularly interesting is that Shadi Abou-Zahra from the W3C addressed a critique I have heard a few times about how they determined their accessibility goals. The W3C has a formal process that strives to seek user participation throughout the process from working group development, public working drafts, and implementation testing. They firmly believe in including users in standardization. Not only are their recommendations available for public review and comment, but they also push out their drafts to applicable disability organizations for their input.

Contributed on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:03:06 GMT.

BSI British Standards invites comments on new draft standard on accessible websites

BSI http://www.bsigroup.com/en/About-BSI/News-Room/BSI-News-Content/Sectors/ICT--Tel...

BSI British Standards is inviting all interested parties, and in particular marketing professionals and web users with disabilities, to review and comment on the draft of a new standard on accessible websites. DPC BS 8878 Web accessibility - Building accessible experiences for people with disabilities - Code of Practice is applicable to all public and private organizations wishing to offer accessible, usable websites to their customers.

Contributed on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:01:50 GMT.

Web accessibility - Building accessible experiences for disabled people - Code of practice

Intute - Best of the Web http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/blog/2008/12/04/web-accessibility-%E2%80%93-bui...

BSI has released a draft standard for public comment. BS 8878 will give business owners and marketing managers' new guidance for building and maintaining Web content that is accessible to people with disabilities. It explains the business case for accessibility, how to allocate responsibilities within an organisation, the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act, how people with disabilities use websites, how to choose technologies and how to contract with Web developers or vendors of content management systems. Comments are invited until 1st February 2009. The final Standard is expected to be published in summer 2009.

Contributed on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:01:04 GMT.

Testing Web Content for Accessibility

http://webaim.org/resources/evalquickref/

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) has created this resource as an easy resource to help understand web accessibility testing. It is designed to be printed as a one page PDF file. An HTML version is also available.

Contributed on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT.

Quick Reference - Web Accessibility Principles

http://webaim.org/resources/quickref/

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) has created this resource as a quick overview and easy resource to help understand the concepts of web accessibility. It is designed to be printed as a one page PDF file. An HTML version is also available.

Contributed on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:59:20 GMT.

BSI consults on first British Standard for accessible websites

OutLaw.com http://www.out-law.com/page-9632

A British Standard will give business owners and marketing managers new guidance for building and maintaining web content that is accessible to disabled people. A draft version of BS 8878 was released for public comment today. Julie Howell, chair of the cross-industry committee responsible for the draft Standard, said that awareness of the importance of web accessibility is high. "But there is an almost universal failure to create web experiences that can be used by disabled people," she said. The 46-page draft Standard explains the business case for accessibility, how to allocate responsibilities within an organisation, the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act, how disabled people use websites, how to choose technologies and how to contract with web developers or vendors of content management systems. The draft also contains text which can be extracted and used in an organisation's accessibility or procurement statement

Contributed on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:57:02 GMT.

Using Second Life with Learning-Disabled Students in Higher Education

http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=573

The educational potential of Second Life is still in the process of being developed and harnessed. According to Stephanie McKinney, Agi Horspool, Renee Willers, Omar Safie, and Laurie Richlin, an essential step in this development will be to figure out how to use Second Life to support students who are learning-disabled (LD) who face numerous challenges in traditional instruction in higher education. The interactive and multifaceted media available in Second Life could allow educators to become less dependent on traditional methods, such as reading, lecturing, and note taking, with which many LD students struggle. Innovative pedagogical uses of Second Life would benefit these students enormously, and there are numerous opportunities to use Second Life to offer an additional channel of support for them. However, these opportunities come with their own challenges, and thus, colleges and universities need to keep the specific needs of these students in mind when developing programs that implement Second Life.

Contributed on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:55:22 GMT.

Good news for everyone?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/digitalstudent/good-news

New technology is helping to increase access to education for those with disabilities and learning difficulties, but can one system please everyone? The days of relying on printed worksheets and copious note-taking by students in university lecture rooms are gone. Technology allows students to study in previously unimagined ways and places. This has benefits for all students, but one of the biggest impacts has been on improved accessibility to further and higher education for students with disabilities and people with learning difficulties. Sophisticated software now turns speech into written form for the hearing impaired, while printed words are transformed into sounds at the click of a button for the blind. Students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia can change the size or colour of the font on a printed document to make it easier to read. But technology does not spell good news for everyone. A student's ability to access learning can vary hugely depending on their age and past experience of technology, how resourceful they are in claiming the grants to which they are entitled, and the nature of their disability and the tasks they need to perform.

Contributed on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:54:21 GMT.

Discussing Online Accessibility on International Day of the Disabled Person

http://glenfarrelly.blogspot.com/2008/12/discussing-online-accessibility-on.html

Today is the international Day of the Disabled Person, so it's fitting that the United Nations and Internet professionals and experts worldwide have gathered at the Internet Governance Forum in Hyderabad to address the issue of improving website accessibility for those who are disabled. The session, my first of the conference, was called "Information Accessibility: Equal Access and Equal Opportunity to People with Disabilities". Overall, there was a lot of focus on the role of standards for website accessibility, but it was rather short on actual plans for its widespread adoption.

Contributed on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:53:39 GMT.

Technology helps shatter limits of disability

eSchool News online http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=56181

NCTI conference urges developers, educators to find tools that ease disabilities--and increase chances for success. A web site with information on learning disabilities, a national research center for studying advanced technologies, and a web site for those who are dealing with traumatic brain injuries: These were some of the new initiatives highlighted at the National Center for Technology Innovation's 2008 Technology Innovators Conference, which explored ways that assistive technology (AT) can help persons with disabilities not only learn and function, but also achieve their dreams. "This conference has really inspired me," said Tracy Gray, director of NCTI, "because all I've heard from AT industry veterans is the word 'vision.' I feel like we're all looking to the horizon, to the vanishing point, and we just keep moving forward until we see another vanishing point, and then move even farther. The dedication and the vision I've seen are incredible."

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:23:21 GMT.

Understanding Web Accessibility

http://infosysblogs.com/web2/2008/11/understanding_web_accessibilit.html

Starting this week, we will be addressing the area of Web Accessibility - organized in multiple blog entries - to address various facets of Web Accessibility. In this posting, we will look at the big picture, the meaning of Web Accessibility and its relevance for promoting Equal Opportunity. What is Web Accessibility? As stated by renowned accessibility expert Shawn Lawton Hewitt, Web Accessibility simply 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. Web Accessibility addresses the entire breadth of disabilities that affect access to the Web - visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. It is easy for a non-disabled person to browse the Web. Point your mouse, see the screen, use the navigation and then concentrate of the area of the web page that contains the relevant content. But what about people with disabilities?

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:21:02 GMT.

Legislation makes Texas Web Designers do due diligence

http://www.devdream.com/articles/internet/internet-web-design/legislation-makes-...

The W3C consortium (World Wide Web Consortium), the agency that determines policy for web design and coding standards, recently held summits to discuss the issues of web accessibility persons with disabilities and non-English speaking users. The legislation that was passed will help millions of disabled Texans by improving website accessibility and functionality. This requires Texas Web Designers to do their due diligence when building new websites or redesigning existing sites, to ensure that the visually and hearing-impaired will be able to access and use these sites. Under House Bill 2819 (79th Regular Legislative Session), state agencies are required to ensure that persons with disabilities have the same access to electronic information resources as those who are not disabled. There is one provision. If an agency claims the expense for converting digital information into a format usable for persons with disabilities will create too great an expense for their agency, they can appeal to have this requirement voided. This could potentially put Texas Web Designers in jeopardy if it is thought they dissuaded a company from making such changes to save money. But what many do not know is that these changes are relatively inexpensive and can be done quite quickly and efficiently. In fact, Texas web designers seem to be ahead of the curve in code compliance and high-tech design. Many large corporations, even several Fortune 500 companies have settled in Texas, and they are hiring Texas Web Designers for their web projects.

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:20:04 GMT.

How to add value to User Interface codes?

http://mindtreeux.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-to-add-value-to-user-interface.html

Why User Interface is so important? User Interface is the focus point of User Experience. It is the plane on which user expects many good things to happen. User Interface in reality is the intersection of user's tasks, his social background, technology, his physiology and many other things, which may be very personal to users. Like user is only having 500 $ in his account and he has to search a gift that is less than 200 $. The importance of User interface code validations is rising up, as Accessibility guidelines are becoming strict, more over it is important to provide a good user experience to the users. Gains of user interface code validations: 1. Accessibility: Not all the users are average some users are special with eyesight disability, hearing disability etc. They mostly use screen reader or other aids to view the pages in websites. A validated user interface becomes more accessible for the users. If he code is not validated the screen reader reads it, but not in the same order in which the page should be read. Some of the content the screen reader will skip move between lines in haphazard fashion causing many problems for disabled users. A validated code is more accessible.

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:19:22 GMT.

Google Book Library for the print-disabled

IT Director.com http://www.it-director.com/blogs/Abrahams_Accessibility/2008/11/google_book_libr...

For several years Google have been digitising books, by scanning copies in libraries, and making them available on-line. The publishing industry was unhappy about this and they started a class action against Google which was intended to protect the copyright and revenue relating to the distribution of their books. The parties have come to an out-of-court settlement, which still needs to be approved by the courts. As with any settlement the details are complex and I will not go into them here. I want to highlight two areas: Firstly, because I am based in the UK, it needs to be noticed that the class action, and therefore the settlement, is based in the US. The implications for non-US publishers, libraries and citizens will need further clarification over time. Secondly, and more importantly for me with my accessibility hat on, there are some specific provisions for people with print disabilities. The settlement will allow Google to provide the material it offers users "in a manner that accommodates users with print disabilities so that such users have a substantially similar user experience as users without print disabilities." A user with a print disability under the agreement is one who is "unable to read or use standard printed material due to blindness, visual disability, physical limitations, organic dysfunction, or dyslexia."

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:18:16 GMT.

RSA: South Africa's portal for the disabled

Mathaba http://mathaba.net/news/?x=610377

It's not just physical spaces that pose obstacles to people with disabilities. Virtual spaces can be just as inaccessible. According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), there are approximately 4-million people with disabilities in South Africa. And while access to information, services and the ability to communicate effectively is a key need, existing devices and software that allow disabled people to interact via computers "are prohibitively expensive and have not been designed with the South African context in mind". The National Accessibility Portal (NAP), an initiative led by the CSIR's Meraka Institute, is working to change this, using assistive technology to enable people with disabilities to access and share information online in an affordable way. The NAP initiative was conceptualised and developed by the Meraka Institute in partnership with a representative group of disabled persons'organisations and the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons in the Presidency.

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:17:26 GMT.

Accessibility, Usability and SEO

http://labs.justsearching.co.uk/accessubility-usability-seo-16.html

Accessibility need not be considered as something of an addition to your website. Many of the changes made to improve accessibility will have benefits in terms of usability and search engine optimisation.

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:13:48 GMT.

Blind Readers Seek Guarantee Of Access Under EU Copyright Law

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1290

Exceptions to European Union copyright rules designed to allow people who are blind access to publications should be made legally binding, according to disability rights organisations. In July, the European Commission opened a public consultation exercise on whether a central piece of EU law on intellectual property needs to be updated to take account of technological advances. Under that law, the 2001 copyright directive, exceptions from IP rules are provided for people who are blind and visually-impaired so that they can obtain books in braille or large-print format or as audio recordings. But activists complain that because the exceptions are voluntary, they do not provide a guarantee of access to material. The European Blind Union (EBU) is preparing to submit a paper to the consultation exercise, which runs until the end of November, arguing that the exceptions should be declared mandatory.

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:13:02 GMT.

Website legal requirements

IT Wales.com http://www.itwales.com/Website_legal_requirements_997364.htm

In the fast-moving world of new media where advances in web technology are changing at a rapid pace, it's easy to forget the basic requirements of a website to ensure it is legal. A business website needs to comply with the law just like any other aspect of the business. Paula Dauncey, marketing manager from leading web development agency, Imaginet, takes us through the basic legal guidelines that every website should follow to avoid breaking the law.

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:12:09 GMT.

Recession Is Poor Excuse For Exclusion, Analyst Warns

http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=209

Organisations should not use the economic downturn as a reason not to carry out work to make their websites more accessible to people with disabilities, a leading analyst said this week. In fact there is extensive evidence that an economic downturn is a good time to increase such activity, with significant opportunities to increase market share, Ted Page of PWS web services told the Law Society of Scotland's 'Nothing But The Net' conference. "A study published by McKinsey in 2002 found one of the most significant differences between the most and least profitable firms over the economic cycle was with respect to their spending on marketing and advertising during the recession period," he said. "Far from battening down the hatches when the economy turned down, the best performers actually increased spending in these areas, not just relative to their competitors but also compared to their own spending in better economic times. There have been many similar studies that have come to broadly the same conclusions."

Contributed on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:10:58 GMT.