Accessibility in the News
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Electronic State High School Offers Flexibility
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/education/12291989.htm
The State Board of Education wants to launch a virtual high school in 2006 that would offer Web-based classes and other electronic courses to all N.C. public school students. Courses would be aimed at a range of kids, from honors students seeking a challenge to those who are sick or pregnant and need flexible schedules. The board is expected to approve plans Thursday to study issues, such as how to combine existing classes, create standards, train teachers and find money. In time, officials hope the school will expand to serve students from college all the way down to today's increasingly tech savvy preschoolers. Students would get degrees from their local districts, not the virtual school. Electronic courses could also be of benefit to students with disabilities. However, care must be taken to ensure that the courses are accessible and do not isolate the students.
Contributed on Mon, 29 Aug 2005 17:55:30 GMT.
Keyboard Navigation and Internet Explorer
http://juicystudio.com/article/ie-keyboard-navigation.php
From Juicy Studio: Internet Explorer 6 has very poor support for in-page navigation. In-page navigation is an important accessibility requirement for several groups, including those with some types of mobility problems. This article investigates the problem with in-page links and Internet Explorer, with some possible solutions.
Contributed on Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:57:31 GMT.
Joe Clark
http://www.carsonworkshops.com/accessibility-standards/clark/01SEP2005.html
Creating accessible web sites is no longer an option, it's a necessity. During this one-day workshop, we'll teach you how to create accessible sites that work in the real world. Joe's advice will help you overcome those tricky areas that most developers get stuck on. He'll also let you in on many of the little secrets he's picked up over the years that will help you build accessible sites more quickly and easily.
Contributed on Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:55:09 GMT.
Mobile Speak Pocket - PDA Screenreader
http://www.accessify.com/2005/08/mobile-speak-pocket-pda-screenreader.asp
From the Accessify Weblog: Mobile Speak Pocket is a screen reader that provides you with access to all the functionality of the device, allowing you to discover the exciting world of Windows-based PDA's and Smartphones. Thus Mobile Speak Pocket users can now enjoy the complete access to windows mobile mainstream devices like a sighted person at mainstream prices. Mobile Speak Pocket is compatible with a variety of Pocket PCs and Smartphones. As Windows Mobile technology advances, the device can easily be upgraded. Mobile Speak Pocket works with a variety of keyboards, braille devices available on the market. The user has the complete flexibility to chose a PDA or a Smartphone and add Mobile Speak Pocket to it. Users can chose between a large variety of languages and voices. We give our customers the choice of different high quality speech synthesizers for each language. Different voices or languages can be combined.
Contributed on Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:53:52 GMT.
Facts and Opinions About PDF Accessibility
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/pdf_accessibility
PDF files on the web are sometimes annoying and very often unnecessary. But when they aren't either of those things, we need to make them accessible for the same reasons we make other web content accessible. Contrary to popular opinion - and also contrary to quasi-judicial claims in some places - PDF documents can be no less accessible than HTML. While this may be a shocking revelation, it is nonetheless true. This article will explain how PDF does and does not support accessibility.
Contributed on Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:53:08 GMT.
Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization: Overview
http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/Overview.html
The Web is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. The Web is used for receiving information as well as providing information and interacting with society. Therefore it is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. An accessible Web also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging.
Contributed on Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:52:07 GMT.
NCDAE Webcast - Electronic Accessibility in Library and Information Services
http://www.ncdae.org/webcast.cfm
The National Center on Disability and Access to Education is pleased to announce another in our series of webcasts. Join us Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 for the live audio webcast titled: "Electronic Accessibility in Library and Information Services". The broadcast will last approximately one hour and will feature nationally-recognized experts in accessibility and library sciences. The panel will discuss the state of electronic accessibility to libraries that are used in education with a focus on implications for distance education students. They will share current access data, policy and best practice, and opinions on the specific challenges that must be overcome to create accessible library experiences for individuals with disabilities. The broadcast will begin at 1PM Mountain Daylight Savings Time (12:00PM Pacific; 2:00PM Central; 3:00PM Eastern). You will be able to tune in to the broadcast free of charge beginning 10 minutes before the broadcast using either Windows Media Player or Quicktime. The broadcast will be simultaneously captioned for the Deaf and hard of hearing and archives will be available shortly after the conclusion of the broadcast.
Contributed on Wed, 24 Aug 2005 22:54:26 GMT.
Online Accommodations
http://chronicle.com/forums/colloquy/read.php?f=1&i=5394&t=5394
Join the online discussion: A former Capella University student has filed a lawsuit against the online institution, asserting that it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by using technology that does not accommodate his learning disabilities. What can distance-education providers do to make technology accessible to students with disabilities, including less-obvious ones like dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder? When assistive tools are not available, what allowances should institutions make for learning-disabled students?
Contributed on Wed, 24 Aug 2005 22:52:23 GMT.
Look, Ma, No Schoolbooks!
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68578,00.html
VAIL, Arizona - Students at Empire High School here started class this year with no textbooks - but it wasn't because of a funding crisis. Instead, the school issued iBooks - laptop computers by Apple Computer - to each of its 340 students, becoming one of the first U.S. public schools to shun printed textbooks. School officials believe the electronic materials will get students more engaged in learning. Empire High, which opened for the first time this year, was designed specifically to have a textbook-free environment. More Articles: Ariz. High School Swaps Books for Laptops and All digital school passes first test. Digital media can be of great value to students with disabilities by allowing them to convert and access materials in a format that best suits their needs.
Contributed on Wed, 24 Aug 2005 22:51:37 GMT.
MossRehab ResourceNet
http://www.mossresourcenet.org/
MossRehab has consistently been named one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S.News and World Report. MossRehab focuses on innovative research and outstanding clinical care. MossRehab is nationally recognized for its comprehensive medical rehabilitation programs. In addition, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research has designated MossRehab as a Model System of Care for traumatic brain injury. This resource website offers information on Accessible Travel, Disability Fact Sheets, General Resources, links to other useful sites and a variety of newsgroups and listservs.
Contributed on Wed, 24 Aug 2005 22:50:50 GMT.
Select Joins Direct Enquiries
http://www.onrec.com/content2/news.asp?ID=8689
National staffing services company, Select Appointments, has become the first recruitment company in the UK to be profiled on the web-based nationwide disabled access register, Direct Enquiries. Select's partnership with Direct Enquiries presents the opportunity to communicate detailed information to the website's users about access and other facilities across the national network of offices. In addition, as part of its accessibility programme Select has dedicated a section of select.co.uk to disability access, which also lists the facilities available at each office, including sign language, induction loops, and access for assistance dogs.
Contributed on Wed, 24 Aug 2005 22:50:10 GMT.
IBM Making Mozilla's Firefox Accessible
http://blog.carrolltech.org/archives/50
From the All About Access Blog: A recent press release announces an effort by IBM to make Mozilla's Firefox web browser more accessible. Firefox, long praised for its security, speed and extensibility has been condemned for its failure to work with access technology. IBM announces that it has added support for Microsoft Active Accessibility to version 1.5 of the Firefox browser. Theoretically, this should make Firefox as accessible as Internet Explorer. In addition to Microsoft Active Accessibility, IBM has added a feature they are calling Accessible DHTML Technology, which will give disabled users access to advanced web functionality created using client side technologies like Javascript and the Document Object Model. Such functionality has not only been inaccessible, but most often proved to be a hindrance to users of accessible technology. Read the press release here: IBM Contributes Open Source Code to Make FireFox Browser More Accessible. Another article and discussion from Geek.com is also available here: IBM to give code to Firefox.
Contributed on Thu, 18 Aug 2005 23:13:50 GMT.
Quiz 5.2.13: Speaking Form Labels
http://www.access-matters.com/2005/08/12/quiz-5213-speaking-form-labels/
From Access Matters: Handling form labels has been on one of my back burners for a long time. This week, both Shannon and Becky found an anomaly based on a suggestion in the WCAG 2.0 CSS guide, item 5.5. There, it shows several examples of coding form labels which are hidden from visual display. Actually, I think a well done design shouldn't have to hide labels, but that's for a different quiz. One of the examples uses display:none. As we know from many tests here, display:none hides material from screen readers as well as from the visual display. Well, hold on to your hats boys and girls. Some current screen readers do speak labels that are hidden with display:none. Gheesh, how inconsistent can we get?
Contributed on Thu, 18 Aug 2005 23:12:59 GMT.
Review: Don't click here for Content
http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article2543.asp
As an editor who is used to cutting and pasting little bits of information from other sites to show you, I was a bit confounded by the dynamic material on the www.dontclick.it site (yes, even the name is clever...). It won't stand still long enough to be copied, as the movement of the mouse is enough to interact with the content of the page. But that's the point. It's worth giving it a try, especially if you are not hoping to lift the site's own words to place in a review. And Alex, your host at www.don'tclick.it, is inviting people to link any other experiments that remove the click from the web interface to what he's built here. The history of computing and other features illustrate what can be done and also the shortcomings of whizzing content. Dealing with accessibility must be quite a prospect too... How does the ability (or not) to "click" affect the accessibility of this site?
Contributed on Thu, 18 Aug 2005 23:12:22 GMT.
Google Answers Complaints About Project to Scan Millions of Books, but Publishers Are Not Won Over
http://chronicle.com/free/2005/08/2005081201t.htm
Responding to concerns from several academic and commercial publishers, Google has made minor adjustments to its vast project to scan library books, and Google officials say they will not scan any copyrighted books until November, while publishers consider the new policies. Google officials say they will make sure they do not scan any book held by a library if the book's publisher asks that the book not be scanned. In the past, Google has said that it would scan entire library collections and remove book scans after the fact only if a publisher sought the removal of a book from Google's online index. Google's Library Project, announced in December, involves five major libraries that have agreed to let the search company scan some or all of their books and include the full texts in its search index. The company plans to allow users to see the complete texts of books that are in the public domain, but to show only short excerpts from books that are still under copyright. Additional articles can be found here: Google halts book-scanning project and here: Google pauses online books plan. Books as digital media can be of great value to students with disabilities - digital materials can be converted into a number of formats, enabling a student to access the material in a manner that best suits their needs.
Contributed on Thu, 18 Aug 2005 23:10:54 GMT.
Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR) and Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) Presents UN with Landmark Report on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050810/cgw020.html
The Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR) and Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) today presented the International Disability Rights Monitor (IDRM) Regional Report of Asia at the United Nations. The IDRM report provides vital data about disability rights as the United Nations continues to debate a proposed International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The Regional Report of Asia found that Japan and China are the most inclusive countries for people with disabilities, while India and Cambodia are the least inclusive. The report focused on seven countries: China, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Japan and the Philippines. "There are over 600 million people with disabilities across the globe, and it is vital that we properly document their status and condition," said CIR President Maria Reina. "This report begins the process of developing a clear and concise account of how the governments across Asia are responding to the needs of people with disabilities in their countries."
Contributed on Thu, 18 Aug 2005 23:09:51 GMT.
Phone Sites Fail Surfers With Disabilities
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4138320.stm
Seven out of 10 telecom company websites fail to meet a basic level of usability for users with disabilities, says a report into web accessibility. The study by charity AbilityNet is part of its periodic evaluation of the sites of the top 10 companies in a industry. Under the Disability Discrimination Act, companies must ensure that content is accessible to all users. An estimated 12.5 million people in the UK currently have disabilities which make it hard for them to view websites.
Contributed on Thu, 18 Aug 2005 23:09:11 GMT.
Coming To Campus: E-Books With Expiration Dates
http://news.zdnet.com/Coming+to+campus%3A+E-books+with+expiration+dates/2100-958...
When students at Princeton University, the University of Utah and eight other colleges start combing their school bookstore shelves for fall semester textbooks, they'll find a new alternative to the hard-covered tomes they're used to buying. Alongside the new and used versions of Dante's "Inferno" and "Essentials of Psychology" will be little cards offering 33 percent off if students decide to download a digital version of a text instead of buying a hard copy. Digital texts can be a boon to some students with disabilities, allowing them to format the material in a way that best suits their needs.
Contributed on Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:37:12 GMT.
Agencies Baulk At Accessibility Rules
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/0/085D9460015241B7CC25703600270DB4?OpenDocum...
New Zealand: Some government agencies are reluctant to adopt the new website accessibility guidelines due to take effect early next year, says the State Services Commission. At a meeting to discuss the new standards held last month, moderated by Edwin Bruce, the Commission's web standards manager, several contributors suggested agencies would be more positive about the changes if minor standards were defined as "good practice". This would allow them to be introduced into government websites gradually. Bruce and former SSC staffer Mark Harris, who is largely responsible for the new standards, are reluctant to agree to this. But Bruce says he is expecting requests for "exceptions or exemptions" and, depending on the reasons given, some could be allowed.
Contributed on Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:36:24 GMT.
Microsoft Accessibility Resource Centers Empower People with Disabilities
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050726/sftu075.html
REDMOND, Wash: This week marks the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark U.S. civil-rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination, ensures them equal access to public transportation and public buildings, and requires employers to provide a "reasonable level of accommodation" to help them do their jobs. In today's knowledge economy, reasonable accommodation often includes accessible and assistive technologies that make it easier, and in some cases possible, for people with disabilities to use computers and to customize their work environments.
Contributed on Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:35:25 GMT.
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