Accessibility MATTERS
- background information
Some background material on the subject
The following entries are initially intended to be notes/reminders for the current website designer/developer but they may be of interest to viewers new to the subject of accessible websites.
Internet Explorer - staill the most popular Internet browser - does NOT adhere to Internet standards
In 1995 a new era of accessibility for disabled people began. The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) was passed, stating that:
"It's unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public."
A website is regarded as a service and the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) and DRC (Disability Rights Commission) have been quick to apply pressure on to organisations to push this law into practice. Indeed, the DRC has now published a report on its formal investigation into 1000 websites2.
So, how do disabled people access the Internet?
Parliament UK
http://www.parliament.uk/site_information/accessibility.cfm
BBC and Accessibility http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/bbc/introduction.shtml
Where possible, we have endeavoured to adhere to HM Government Cabinet
Office Standards as expressed at
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/e-government/resources/handbook/html/2-4.asp
We intend this website to be fully accessible to users of access technology. It has been designed to use fully validated XHTML and CSS, and checked for compliance with Bobby.
A few sites concerning accessibility which may be of interest to viewers follow below:
How disabled users access the Internet
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/disabled-users-access-internet.shtml
IBM Home Page Reader
IBM Home Page Reader brings the world of the Internet
to users who are blind or have low vision. It is an award-winning, talking
Web browser that uses the power of speech to aid users in exploring the
World Wide Web. Originally created as an assistive technology for users
who are blind or have low vision, Home Page Reader's visual user interface
and easy-to-learn keyboard navigation make it a popular accessibility test
tool for Web developers. In fact, Home Page Reader was developed with testing
for usability and efficient navigation of websites in mind
http://www-3.ibm.com/able/solution_offerings/hpr.html
This is a site
which illustrates how differently the pages can look to people with
sight impairment or colour blindness
http://www.vischeck.com/examples
The Disablity Rights Commission website offers extensive facts on the
issues concerning accessibility
http://www.drc-gb.org/
Inaccessible
website demonstrations.
The viewer is permitted to view the site with a variety of disadvantages
-
simulating hand tremor
(so difficult
to use a mouse), poor vision, navigation difficulty using a screen reader,
and then the redesigned site giving good accessibility to all users
http://www.drc-gb.org/open4all/newsroom/website6.asp
The RNIB (Royal National Institute
for the Blind) have a good site which demonstates difficulties in web access
for those users with sight impairment at
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/code/public_rnib008789.hcsp
See some websites that have been audited for accessibility by the RNIB
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_accessiblewebsites.hcsp
Input
devices and software used to access web content
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/accessibility/04.htm
Microsoft accessibility pages
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/
Roger Hudson, October 2005
By some estimates over 80% of the disabilities experienced by people in our communities are invisible to the wider population; so it is not surprising most website developers and proprietors believe that very few, if any, people with disabilities use the Web.
NCAM
Browsealoud... Making Websites Talk
Browsealoud reads web pages aloud for people who find it difficult to read online. Reading large amounts of text on screen can be difficult for those with literacy and visual impairments.
7 million people in the UK have literacy problems, many of whom have downloaded Browsealoud already. By subscribing to Browsealoud for your website, you will greatly increase the number of people who can access the content on your site.
Podcasting
http://www.apodder.org/links.html
http://www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Software.html
Access Instructions for Users with Disabilities
NCAM is committed to ensuring that its site is accessible to all users. This Web site conforms to existing recommendations and standards and has been tested with various assistive technologies. If you encounter a problem accessing NCAM's site, or if you would like to provide feedback on NCAM's site, please contact us using the preceding links. To reach NCAM staff with questions about other issues, view our complete contact information.
Support for W3C Recommendations and Section 508 Standards
During the development process, our authors followed the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 to ensure that the site would be accessible. The site uses valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional and CSS 2.0, and it also meets the standards set in the Web-based applications section of the Section 508 standards.
Alt-text Tags and D-links
All images on this site are accompanied by a brief alt-text tag which identifies the image or its function. If you are using a graphic browser, alt-text tags are visible only if the browser's automatic image-loading feature is turned off.
In addition, some images include the longdesc attribute and a "D" link. Selecting this D-link will bring you to a textual description of the image. The description is typically two or three sentences long and may contain hyperlinks. At the end of the description is a "Return" link. Selecting this link will take you back to the original image.
Access Keys
Access keys are provided as a shortcut for users visiting major areas of the NCAM site. Access key strokes consist of ALT plus the access key on Windows machines and Control plus the access key on Macs. Windows users need to hit 'enter' to follow access key links, but the Mac access keys follow links automatically. Access keys are defined as follows:
Access key 1: Home page
Access key 2: Projects
Access key 3: Resources
Access key 4: Search (when on NCAM's home page, this access key sets the
focus in the search edit field)
Captioned and Described Movie Clips
NCAM captions and describes all movie clips on its site using MAGpie, our free caption and description software. For more information about accessible multimedia, and how you can create your own, please visit NCAM's Rich Media Accessibility website.
Hyperlinks
All text hyperlinks are written so that they make sense when read out of context.
Scripting
Parts of the NCAM site utilize JavaScript. In every instance, device-independent event handlers have been implemented so that use of the mouse is not required. Additionally, all content and functionality are available even if scripting has been disabled in the browser.
Tables
Some layout tables are used on this site. However, all content makes sense when the page is linearized. Where tables are used for the presentation of data, table cells are associated with headers to facilitate navigation with screen readers. Also, each data table has a summary which provides additional information about the table's contents.
Hullcc.gov.uk web master (01482)
speakeasy
readeasy
http://www.abilityhub.com/
Assistive Technology for people with a disability who
find operating a computer difficult, maybe even impossible. This website
will direct you to adaptive equipment and alternative methods available
for accessing computers
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Important document http://www.w3.org/WAI/
AoC NILTA
The voice of the Further Education sector
for ICT and e-learning in the UK http://aocnilta.co.uk/
Flashpaper 2 is accessible - technical note at Adobe
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_19531
Accessibility tutorials from Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/default.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windowsxp/demos.aspx
Access in no longer an option; access is an imperative!
Six Professionals with Disabilities Pursue Careers in Business and Government Enabled by the Use of Accessible Technology
An excellent video follows . . .
The following video features six professionals with disabilities pursuing
successful and satisfying careers in business and government using a wide
range of accessible technology. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates introduces
the video, stating "Creating technology that can work for everyone-including
people with disabilities-helps businesses attract and retain the best employees
from the widest possible pool of talent and keeps productivity high."
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/casestudy/videos.aspx
Among adult computer users in the United States:
- 1 in 4 has a vision difficulty
- 1 in 4 has a dexterity difficulty
- 1 in 5 has a hearing difficulty
Source: Study Commissioned by Microsoft Corporation and Conducted by Forrester Research, Inc., in 2004
Free Downloads
Free downloads on the accessibility of Microsoft products and other
accessibility issues:
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/download/default.aspx
Assistive Technology Kits
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/content/abilitynet/products/it-kits.htm
The AT kits are split into
2 areas. There are kits for Adults and kits for Schools. The schools AT
kits are then split down into Primary and Secondary education.
All kits aim to provide as wide a range of support as possible. Obviously, the larger the kit, the more specialist requirements you can meet, but we believe that with even our most basic Entry Level Kit, you can make practical changes to your systems which will impact on a wide range of people.
Microsoft are attempting to catch up with other browsers such as Firefox, Opera, Netscape . . . .
Microsoft admitting they have not adhered to WWW standards and are attempting
to rectify their failures!
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/08/22/712830.aspx
A sobering video introduction to the problems of (in)accessibility
Accessibility
video
http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG1A-Conformance
Bobby WebXACT is a free online service that lets you test single pages of web content for quality, accessibility, and privacy issues