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Understanding Web Accessibility
http://infosysblogs.com/microsoft/2008/04/understanding_web_accessibilit.html
Starting this week, I will be addressing the area of Web Accessibility - organized in four separate blog entries. This week we will look at the big picture, the meaning of Web Accessibility and its relevance for promoting Equal Opportunity. In the weeks to come, we will look at follow-up topics like *The legal framework that dictates the implementation of Web Accessibility (Overview) *Interdependent systems and components of Web Accessibility and *Harmful myths about Web Accessibility. What is Web Accessibility? 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 Tue, 13 May 2008 23:56:01 GMT.
Enabling Web Accessibility
http://www.osnews.com/story/19656/Enabling_Web_Accessibility
aDesigner is "a disability simulator that helps designers ensure that their content and applications are accessible and usable by the visually impaired". The new version adds support for OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Flash content; presentation simulation function for ODF documents." Ever since the first graphic designers started to try to bend HTML to their will, people have complained that many web sites subvert the standards that early web architects designed to make navigating easier for the visually impaired. Read more for more discussion
Contributed on Tue, 13 May 2008 23:54:31 GMT.
Website accessibility issues unpicked in Better connected 2008 supplement from Socitm Insight
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/18329
Socitm Insight has published a special report on website accessibility following evidence from its annual Better Connected report that local authorities have continuing difficulties in delivering websites that work well for disabled people - even though they perform better than other sectors on this aspect of web development. Findings include: * Testing for 'technical accessibility' to WCAG standards is an appropriate part of Better connected's assessment of local authority websites, but usability testing for people with disabilities is also important * As well as 37 sites achieving WCAG 1.0 level A this year, 86 other council sites estimated to be 'basically technically accessible'. * Survey of those achieving Level A conformance indicates benchmark of good practice in managing technical accessibility. * Reporting of Better connected results to be developed to encourage better understanding of council sites' accessibility performance and scope for improvement.
Contributed on Tue, 13 May 2008 23:53:08 GMT.
Blind users still struggle with 'maddening' computing obstacles
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleI...
Put your graphical user interface to this test: Adjust the contrast on your display until the screen is completely black. Now, perform basic e-mail, word processing and Web-browsing tasks. What? Having a problem? Welcome to the world of the 1.3 million Americans who are blind. For them, the world of personal computers, office automation and the Internet offers mixed blessings. That world wasn't designed for them, but with the right assistive technology, they can take part in it. When everything works well, they have access to an ocean of information vastly greater than anything previously available. But pitfalls and maddening frustrations are a constant reality.
Contributed on Tue, 13 May 2008 23:51:14 GMT.
Website accessibility still misunderstood
http://www.digital-rant.co.uk/2008/04/18/website-accessibility-still-misunderstood/
I've just read an excellent article about blind users still struggling with computer obstacles. Now I can only comment from a web perspective but it seems to me people are still missing the point when it comes to accessibility. Firstly accessibility doesn't just apply to blind or partially sighted people there are many other groups that it can advantage from those who are physically disabled right though to dyslexics and even the elderly. Creating an accessible website is seen as a chore and perceived as difficult to do when the reality is that when developing using web standards and best practices you are nearly there. Adding other accessibility tools to a site may take a little extra time but think about the huge untapped market that you are opening your website up to! There are 8.6 million registered people with disabilities in the UK alone. An excellent article by WebCredible shows how much an accessibility can increase the reach of a website.
Contributed on Tue, 13 May 2008 23:49:13 GMT.
Guide to obtaining publications in alternative formats
http://techdis.ac.uk/index.php?p=9_12_2
The guide is for anyone who needs to source text books in an alternative format for a reading impaired learner. This is potentially a complicated area. Disability law protects disabled learners by requiring the educational institution to make appropriate provision. Copyright law protects publishers from inappropriate copying of textbooks. Between these two sets of rights are the staff who have to provide alternative formats in a timely manner to disabled learners. In most cases the optimum accessibility solution is to obtain the textbook in electronic format. This allows immediate personalisation of text size, colours and contrast. In addition, electronic text is usually an important intermediate stage for the production of non-text formats such as audio or braille. This guidance is specifically designed for library staff, learner support staff and subject tutors and lecturers supporting disabled learners. It should help anyone trying to get digital versions of textbooks to: * understand the processes involved. * recognise additional in-house work that may be required once the digital version has been obtained. * maximise the likelihood of a successful outcome. * evaluate your own institutional processes. * assess alternative interventions.
Contributed on Tue, 13 May 2008 23:47:38 GMT.
Cal State San Bernardino's webmaster has zeal for helping disabled students
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_bevans14.3746277.html
When Evans Kahuthu decided to look for a college to attend, he chose California for the weather and San Bernardino for the forest touted in tourist advertisements. In his native Nakuru, Kenya, the temperature hovers between 60 and 80 degrees all year, and lush trees decorate the landscape. Eight years after coming to San Bernardino, the 28-year-old has found a home away from home and made a name for himself through his advocacy for disabled students. Kahuthu, Cal State San Bernardino's webmaster, recently received an award for his work to make the California State system's Web sites and textbooks accessible to students with disabilities. He is one of four in the university system honored for efforts to implement the Accessible Technology Initiative, a push to make Web sites comply with federal guidelines related to access for those with disabilities. He also has trained faculty, staff and students on making Web sites accessible to all. He tapped into a grant to create Cal State's Center for Alternate Media database, which allows students with print disabilities to access textbooks and other materials online. Kahuthu said there are 500 to 800 students with disabilities at Cal State San Bernardino, a fraction of the more than 17,000 who attend the campus. "The number should not be an excuse not to make your Web site accessible" to those with a disability, he said. "It can happen to you tomorrow. It can happen to anyone."
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:13:48 GMT.
The search for access
http://media.www.dailyvanguard.com/media/storage/paper941/news/2008/04/10/News/T...
Some students with disabilities say historically inadequate access to classrooms, textbooks and technology hinders their experiences on campus. Jim Jackson is a Portland State student with degenerative eye disease, a condition that progressively worsens his eyesight as time goes by. Because of his condition, he needs to use special technology and adapted textbooks in order to keep up with his class work--technology that is often scarce around campus, he said, and books that require extra steps to order. With a slim scope of accessible technology and the extra effort required to order textbooks, Jackson said he feels that students with disabilities are outsiders to a university that prides itself on being diverse and accepting. "You hear that PSU values diversity so much, but why is it that disabled students aren't a part of that focus?" Jackson said. "Obviously I can't get the same experience as other students, but come on." Jackson said that even finding a textbook requires finding an audio edition of the text from the Library of Congress, and ordering it via the Disability Resource Center. Students may also request a classroom text be adapted to a digital format by the DRC. Sometimes, Jackson said, after reserving an adapted textbook, he must wait weeks into the term to receive it.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:11:47 GMT.
Free text reader to help print-disabled students
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53411;_hbguid=046a187d-19a3-4d68-a83...
Thanks to Bookshare.org and Don Johnston, qualified students will be able to access thousands of books and periodicals free of charge. Students with print or reading disabilities will have a new resource to help them access thousands of books, magazines, and other texts electronically: Bookshare, a nonprofit online community, and Don Johnston Incorporated, a supplemental instruction provider, recently announced a partnership that will give print-disabled students a free text reader to access electronic books from the Bookshare.org library. The free text reader, called the Read:OutLoud Bookshare.org Edition Text Reader, will serve an estimated 1 to 3 percent of the total K-12 student population, the two partners said, specifically, those who receive special education services and who are unable to read standard print materials owing to physical limitations. "Our goal is to serve at least 100,000 students over the next few years with this software," said Jim Fruchterman, chief executive officer of Benetech, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based nonprofit organization that operates Bookshare.org. At the start of the 2008-09 school year, qualified students will be able to use Don Johnston's Read:OutLoud Bookshare.org Edition text reader to access more than 36,000 books, magazines, and newspapers in the Bookshare.org library free of charge.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:09:38 GMT.
Accessibility I: How To Create Games For A Diverse Audience
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200803/N08.0326.1508.18708.htm
Escapism, the ability to forget about the ordinary or unpleasant realities of life in favor of a preferable experience, is considered one of the chief reasons gamers indulge in their hobby. The longing to encounter things unobtainable in real life is hard to ignore once your imagination has been unleashed for the first time. In the virtual realm, we can be who we want despite real-world limitations. We can defy the laws of physics and ignore the technological confines of our greater culture. We can create new universes, new worlds and new life. We can make the rules and mold societies to follow our philosophies. In the world of video games, nothing is impossible. Escaping for even a minimal amount of time through a digital experience can engage our imagination, elevate our moods and chase away the mundane realities of everyday life. Sounds good, right? The practice of escapism intuitively becomes even more important to an individual who is disabled by society or their surroundings. Whether the individual has a physical, auditory or cognitive impairment, the video-game experience in theory should act as a great equalizer. In the world of video games, anything is possible if the capacity to engage in these experiences is not denied to us. What if a physical limitation leaves a gamer unable to use a standard console controller? What if the lack of subtitles prohibits the entire deaf community from experiencing a blockbuster title? The bottom line is that the majority of video-game hardware, software and peripherals are unnecessarily inaccessible to many gamers with disabilities. Through simple lack of awareness or an intentional marginalization of their demographic, gamers with disabilities routinely take the backseat in the game-development process. There is no denying that the vast range and degrees of disabilities makes the situation complicated, however, there are simple steps developers can take to improve the accessibility of their titles. By studying the basics of accessibility and usability, fostering an awareness of common disabilities and how they affect gameplay, and giving gamers with disabilities a voice through participation in game testing, the current situation can be vastly improved.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:07:19 GMT.
Accessibility II: How to Create Games For A Diverse Audience
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200803/N08.0327.1622.48962.htm
With an audience as diverse as the accessibility community, where do game developers start making these changes? As always, the best place to start is by understanding your audience. The phrase "disabled gamer" may seem to be an all-encompassing term, but in reality it fails to be helpfully descriptive on even a basic level. According to Cornell University's Online Resource for U.S. Disability Statistics, in 2005 more than 12 percent of U.S. citizens reported having some form of disability. The variety and degree of these disabilities makes it admittedly almost impossible to design a game accessible to everyone. However, it helps to break the term "disability" into manageable chunks. On a superficial level, disabilities are broken down into five categories: visual, auditory, speech, mobility and cognitive impairments. Some disabilities can be compounded on top of each other, another factor that makes it difficult to design games accessible for all individuals. A feature by Brannon Zahand, "Making Video Games Accessible: Business Justifications and Design Considerations," provides a great foundation for understanding the wide spectrum of disabilities as they relate to video games.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:05:38 GMT.
British CIOs adjust to laws covering disabled workers
http://webwereld.nl/articles/50439/british-cios-adjust-to-laws-covering-disabled...
People with disabilities have so far lost out on many of the benefits that technology has brought. But changes are on the way. Technology is supposed to make it easier for everyone to live and work, but for the 10 million people with disabilities in the UK, many of whom find it difficult to use a conventional keyboard and screen, life is much harder than it need be. Everyday business activities such as accessing information or using email are complicated or impossible for those with physical or sensory impairments, because websites and in-house systems cannot be adjusted to cater for their needs. On the face of it these adjustments seem simple enough: the ability to make text bigger, change colors, have onscreen text read aloud or to plug in special hardware and software. In fact many alterations that people with disabilities need can be achieved just by changing Windows settings. However, many organizations have struggled to make their IT accessible. Until recently only organizations with a high proportion of users with disabilities, such as government departments and banks, took much account of the fact that their customers and employees might not be able to use a screen and keyboard unaided.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:02:48 GMT.
People with disability in Canada can be positive contributors
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-03/26/content_6567233.htm
Over six years ago, a young deaf Canadian man, full of enthusiasm and passion, created the website Whistlerforthedisabled.com all by himself to be a resource for people with disabilities. It has become the leading website of its kind in North America. On it Hugh Tollett has collected information on accessible facilities for people with disabilities. He still continues to work hard on improving his website. His perseverance, friendliness and sincerity impress those who meet this determined young man. When explaining the primary goal of building the website, his assistant said Tollett wanted to give visitors, both able-bodied and disabled as many opportunities as possible to participate in the invigorating mountain lifestyle of Whistler.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:01:08 GMT.
Game Accessibility.com
http://www.game-accessibility.com/
This website is part of the Game Accessibility project, a research project that focuses on the accessibility of electronic games for gamers with disabilities. This website aims to inform gamers with disabilities about the availability of accessible games, and functions at the same time as an academic resource for developers, publishers and researchers in order to stimulate accessibility in games.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:59:45 GMT.
Middle-Aged Users' Declining Web Performance
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/middle-aged-users.html
Between the ages of 25 and 60, people's ability to use websites declines by 0.8% per year, mostly because they spend more time per page, but also because of navigation difficulties. Based on extensive research, we've developed special Web usability guidelines for young children, teenagers, and senior citizens. Each of these age groups have specific characteristics that designers must understand to attract young or old users to their sites. But what about people in the middle? We don't even have a real name for them, I usually just call people between 25 and 60 years old "mainstream users." This is by far the most important age group.
Contributed on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:58:07 GMT.
How Sloppy Website Design Hinders Online Success
http://www.creativesearchmedia.com/mw/sloppy-website-design-012369
Do you ever wonder why your Website is nowhere to be found on Google, Yahoo! or MSN? If the answer is Yes then you must read on. Your problem could be the way your website design firm designed your site. Although many website design firms tout their design, marketing and search engine marketing expertise one look at the code behind their clients' sites tells a very different story: Messy, bloated HTML, 404 errors, re-directs, too many graphics, content hiding behind forms; lack of alt attributes and on, and on. In other words, the website's are not "built to code" and that results in the problems for online businesses including accessibility.
Contributed on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:26:06 GMT.
Accessible online learning: supporting disabled students
http://janekseale.blogspot.com/2008/03/accessible-online-learning-supporting.html
This year I am delighted to be acting as a consultant for the Open University helping them to develop a new Masters unit called "Accessible online learning: supporting disabled students". The unit will be offered as part of the Masters in Online and Distance Education and is divided into three main parts. The first part of the course is concerned with the learning experiences of students with disabilities. The second part of the course is concerned with the more technical aspects of accessibility. The final part of the course is concerned with current debates and discussions about disability and accessibility in educational contexts. I am particularly excited that my 2006 book "E-learning and Disability in Higher Education: Accessibility Research and Practice" will be a core text for the course. Simon Ball from TechDis is also working with the OU Team to integrate TechDis staff development materials into the course.
Contributed on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:24:22 GMT.
osCommerce and Accessibility
http://www.oscommercetemplates.net/2008/03/oscommerce-and-accessibility/
It has been a legal requirement for UK websites to be accessible since 1999. All websites are expected to make 'reasonable adjustments' to ensure their websites accommodate all users, regardless of ability or disability. It's estimated that at any one moment, 20% of online users are disabled in some way. This may be a temporary disability, such as a broken wrist, or a permanent disability, such as visual impairment. Just because someone is registered as blind, it doesn't mean they can't still see but perhaps needs to rely on a screen reader to help them with text on a website. If your website is not developed to respect this possibility then you are stopping this visitor from using your site, potentially losing a customer and every friend and family member that customer knows. Not to mention, they can make a claim against you and you could be liable to pay out compensation and be forced by a court of law to either remove or change your website.
Contributed on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:23:19 GMT.
New bionic eye implant to help the blind
http://www.thelocal.de/10603/20080310/
German scientists have developed a bionic eye implant that will soon be tested on blind patients. The prosthesis is a combination of high-tech glasses and an implant meant for patients with the hereditary disease Retinitis Pigmentosa, Germany's RWTH Aachen University announced on Monday. "The implant will make recognition of outlines, black-white differentiation and faint vision possible," said project head Professor Wilfried Mokwa in a statement. Retinitis Pigmentosa is characterized by the degeneration of the retina, including symptoms like tunnel vision, loss of colour and contrast recognition and loss of night vision. The implant transmits an image to a a digital signal processor called a "retina encoder," which creates the corresponding pattern of stimulation for electrodes placed onto the retina that reproduce the image. Mokwa said the implant may be tailored for other variations of blindness and other eye diseases in the future.
Contributed on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:21:03 GMT.
Super-Regulator' Sharpens Focus On Accessibility
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=165
From the E-Access Bulletin: The UK government set up Ofcom in 2003 to be a 'super-regulator' for the nation's communications industries, merging five former regulatory bodies across the television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications sectors. Part of the body's role includes ensuring equal access to communications technology for people with disabilities, and in its first five years of operation it has carried out various projects relating to access to television, telecommunications and radio by all users. People with disabilities have been involved for example in work by Ofcom's Consumer panel, an advisory body representing consumer interests; its broadcasting Content Board, which looks beyond consumer issues to the broader 'public interest'; and its Advisory Committee on Older and Disabled People. Now, however, the pace of change in all its areas of activity including the convergence of internet services with television; the rise of digital radio; and the switchover to digital TV have prompted the regulator to give renewed priority to ensuring that all citizens are able to benefit from modern communications services. This year Ofcom is duly launching a new dedicated workstream focusing on access and inclusion, including usability, across all its areas of work. One of the people working on this is new Consumer Policy Manager Katie Hanson.
Contributed on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:19:18 GMT.
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