Transcript Slide 1

ENG 568 08/FA
Ashley Flitter
Dana Livesay
RSI Sufferers Webpage
Click Here 100 Times
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(permission obtained from Cartoonstock.com)
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Overview
Definitions
Why is
Accessibility
Important?
What
works
Disabled
The Law
Lawsuits
Cool stuff to check
your site and
References
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Accessible adj. Merriam Webster Online
Capable of being reached
Capable of being seen or used
Capable of being understood or
appreciated
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What does it Mean?
• Web accessibility means that people with
disabilities can use the Web. Specifically, it
means that people with disabilities can
perceive, understand, navigate, contribute to,
and interact with the Web.
• Web accessibility also benefits others,
including older people with changing abilities
due to aging.
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World Wide Consortium (W3C) and Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Definition
• 1997 - World Wide Consortium launched the
WAI – all accessibility philosophy.
• Leaders in comprehensive resources and
guidelines.
• Accessibility should be an integral part of the
design philosophy of web developers.
• Able to be navigated and read by everyone
regardless of being able-bodied, or the type of
computer technology available.
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Started Here…
• Section 504 of the
U.S. Rehabilitation
Act of 1973
• Disability rights are a
form of civil rights
• Covered by 14th
Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution
• The Americans with
Disabilities Act of
1990
• Extends
requirements of
Rehabilitation Act to
all public and
commercial
facilities, not just
those that received
federal funding.
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Americans with Disabilities
Telecommunication Act of 1996
1998 Amendment
• Department of Justice states
that ADA covers
government entities on the
Internet, as well as providers
whose services are deemed
to be “ public
accommodation.”
Manufacturers must ensure
products be designed and
fabricated as
• "readily available“ to
persons with disabilities.
• Federal websites must be
accessible to employees and
the public without causing
an “undue burden” to the
site owner.
• Accessibility standards
developed by Architectural
and Transportation Barriers
Board for the Web and other
areas of information
technology.
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Electronic and Information Technology
Accessibility Proposed Standards
1998 amendment to Section 508 of the U.S.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 published standards for
Web Pages in December 2000.
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No one I know is Disabled
• Half of all Americans 65 and older has a disability,
with one-third of U. S. families affected because a
member has a disability.
• That’s a population of 54 million people with:
– Low, limited, or no Vision
– Color blind
– Deaf or hearing impaired
– Physical, mobility issues
– Neurological problems (Parkinson’s, MS, seizures)
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Why even “able-bodied” People Can’t
Access the Web:
• May not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse,
• Have a small screen or slow Internet connection,
• Might have an older version of a browser, or worse –
an operating system other than Windows or Mac,
• Perhaps they can’t read, speak, or understand the
language in which an online document’s written.
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Recent Lawsuits
Sued
By
Action
• 1996 TARGET: site not
accessible to blind shoppers
• 1999-America Online:
failed to alter its
inaccessible software to
allow compatibility with
screen readers.
• 2000 - Bank of America:
difficulty with use of ATM’s
• National Federation of the
Blind. 1998, $600,000.00
• NFB on behalf of blind
student. Suit dropped when
AOL 8.0 released; also put
accessibility policy on site.
• BOA installed over 2500
talking ATM’s and made
screens compatible with
screen readers.
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Leading Expert on Web Usability
• Jakob Nielson, Ph.D., is world renowned as
the Usability King, respected author, User
Advocate and principal of the Nielson Norman
Group.
• Authors a comprehensive newsletter on
accessibility and usability.
• Dr. Nielsen invented several usability methods,
including heuristic evaluation . Dr. Nielson
holds 79 United States patents, mainly on ways
of making the Internet easier to use.
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Other Advocates and Lawsuits
•
•
•
•
•
Microsoft Accessibility Training
National Federation for the Blind
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Section 508.gov
What Does MNSU DO?
• Lawsuits - Social Policy Initiative
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Cool Ways to Check your Site
Screen
Reader
Cynthia
Says
WAVE
DASHER
Color
Contrast
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Tips for
MAKING YOUR SITE ACCESSIBLE
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Document Structure
• Developers should determine how they want
their documents to be structured before they
determine how they will be presented.
• Developers should not use structural elements
to create presentation effects (i.e. html)
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Using Text Equivalents
• Supplement images and other non-textual
elements with text where possible.
• Test your textual supplements by reading your
page out loud. If you can “read” your images
and other multi-media elements, then you have
used textual supplements appropriately.
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Browser Compatibility
• Place in-line text descriptions of images
immediately after the image.
• Create “D-links”, or links that contain longer
text descriptions of images, on the same page
or in a separate file for easy access.
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Provide Alternative Pages
• Provide access to pages that use accessible
characteristics if you cannot create accessible
main pages. These pages should be updated as
often as the inaccessible pages.
• Provide links at the top or bottom of each of
the pages so that the user can move between
them easily.
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Alternative Pages Continued
• Design alternative pages for users that do not
have access to a mouse or other pointer device.
• Create image map links and keyboard
shortcuts.
• Makes links accessible through tabbing order.
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Navigation and Comprehension
• Create a consistent page presentation through
navigation structure.
• Use clear and simple language.
• Use accurate headings and link descriptions.
• Do not use automatic page refresh settings
unless you can also provide a static page
equivalent.
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Testing Through User Scenarios
• Rather than doing full usability studies, you
can test the accessibility of your site by :
– Testing your pages with a text-only browser.
– Use multiple graphic browsers.
– Use new and old versions of the same browsers.
– Use other tools that may be used by disabled users,
such as a self-voicing browser, a screen reader, or
an alternative keyboard.
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Questions?
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