Transcript Slide 1
Web Accessibility “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” — Tim Berners-Lee “For me, being online is everything. It's my hi-fi, my source of income, my supermarket, my telephone. It's my way in.” — Lynn Holdsworth, screen reader user, Web Developer and Programmer Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do. Web Accessibility What is Accessibility? • Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. • Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. • Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the Web, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. source: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do. Web Accessibility 5 Common Mistakes • No alternative content for inaccessible or unsupported features (i.e. noflash or noscript alternatives) • Images used in place of markup language • Missing ALT attributes on images • Text prompts for links lacking context (e.g. “click here”) • Tables or DIV elements that have little or no narrative thread Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do. Web Accessibility Assistive Technologies • screen readers • screen magnifiers • speech recognition software How can developers and designers account for the possible use of assistive technologies? Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do. Web Accessibility Legal and Ethical Issues • In the USA, Government websites are legally bound to meet a minimum of ADA compliance standards (section 255 guidelines and section 508 standards). • In higher education, organizations such as WaSP, the Web Standards Project, are attempting to raise awareness among instructors, administrators and web developers. Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do. Web Accessibility Questions of “Good” Design • What is “good” design? • Is “good” design purely aesthetic? • What are the lines of intersection between developers and designers? Answers to these questions aren’t simple. And at PhilaU, we fall short of 100% accessible design. Too often. But awareness is essential. Sometimes, we get close: see http://www.philau.edu/disabilityservices (but even then, issues of accessibility abound) Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do. Web Accessibility The future is now: Web 2.0 • • • • improved semantics push application widgets embedded scripting languages increased interactivity Will disabled users be barred from these benefits? Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do. Web Accessibility The Challenge • All designers and developers should strive for a level of accessibility that, at the very least, allows for those with a disability to have alternatives. Philadelphia University • www.PhilaU.edu Power to Do.