Accessibility Diva

New Web Standards for the Government of Canada

2012-01-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

The Government of Canada has replaced its Common Look and Feel standard with new Standards on Web Accessibility and Web Usability. Their website provides guidance on implementing the new Web standards and demonstrates the Government of Canada's commitment to delivering websites that are more accessible and usable.

New free add-ins boost accessibility for Office 2010

2011-12-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

Microsoft wants to make sure customers of all abilities can use Microsoft Office to get their work done. Last spring we released beta versions of two Office add-ins that make working with Office docs easier for people with hearing and print disabilities. We received lots of helpful feedback from people in the accessibility community, and made significant changes and improvements to them.

Today, we're happy to announce that STAMP and Save as DAISY Word 2010 are out of beta and ready for everyone to use!

Subtitling Add-In for Microsoft PowerPoint (STAMP) lets you add closed captions to the video and audio files in PowerPoint presentations, which means people with hearing disabilities can more fully experience and understand them.

Save as DAISY for Office 2010 builds upon our partnership with the DAISY Consortium. This add-in lets Microsoft Word users convert Word Open XML files to the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) format. Don't worry if you can't remember what the acronyms stand for. What matters is that Save as Daisy powers digital talking books and compatible software, and braille readers for those with print disabilities.

This version supports Office 2003, 2007 and 2010, and works in all the languages Office currently supports around the world.

Read more and downloads at: Office Blogs

Best Android Apps and Options for Persons with Disabilities

2011-11-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

With the swiftness with which technology has drastically changed over the years, it can be easy to get so caught up in all the hype and excitement of how the latest gadgets have transformed how we live. For techies and the younger generation, getting up to speed and adapting to the change in our lifestyles is a breeze. But, for some others, catching up is somewhat akin to a chore, and so they are, quite sadly and unintentionally, left in the dust.Not to worry, though. Android and app developers are becoming more and more sensitive to the special accessibility needs of our friends with disabilities. Apps and mobile operating systems are now designed with these users’ ease of use and convenience in mind.Read more about this at Android Authority, including options for the visually impaired, options for the hearing impaired and options for the mobility impaired.

Advanced Academics makes online learning accessible to students with disabilities

2011-11-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

OKLAHOMA CITY: Advanced Academics, a nationally recognized online learning provider, announced today that it has modified more than 100 courses to become compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, making them accessible to hearing and visually impaired students. The organization plans to release 50 additional courses compliant with Section 508 by the end of January 2012. The revised courses have been approved as section 508 compliant by the Digital Learning Department of the Washington state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“We are proud that Advanced Academics is leading the effort to offer online courses compliant with Section 508,” said Jeffrey A. Elliott, President, Advanced Academics . “This project was an enormous undertaking that involved people from across our organization. Making our online courses available to hearing and visually impaired students supports Advanced Academics’ mission to help all students graduate from high school and succeed in life.”

Accommodations for hearing impaired students include the addition of closed captioning to audiovisual course content. Transcripts of audiovisual content are also available, allowing hearing impaired students to read information contained in videos and audio clips.

More at: Global Accessibility News

Designing Accessible Web Forms On-Line Course starts November 14th, 2011

2011-11-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

• Course Dates: November 14th to December 6th (3.5 weeks)

• Times: Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:00-4:00pm Central Time (Chicago Local Time)

• Location: Online using Elluminate web conferencing software

• Instructor: Jon Gunderson, University of Illinois

• Cost: $295 for general public ($245 for WOW members, educators, and government employees)

• Registration Link: http://webprotraining.org/accessible-forms-course

• More information at: http://formsonline.cita.illinois.edu/

Problems of Accessible Web Forms

A recent survey of over 26,000 web pages found from 188 university websites found that less than 50% of the web pages that have form controls use proper labeling for accessibility. Creating web forms that are accessible to people with disabilities requires understanding of the labeling features of HTML markup and how browsers interpret labeling markup for assistive technologies like screen readers. The course will start by using simulations to help participants understand the issues people with disabilities face when using the web. Participants will learn the basics of labeling form controls, how to indicate required controls and provide feedback on invalid responses in a way that is usable to people with disabilities. Examples of more complex labeling of form controls for dates, phone numbers, validation codes and high density surveys will be included in the course. Participants will learn CSS techniques to layout form controls without using tables and how to highlight the active form control using CSS pseudo elements. The last part of the course will provide a preview of the form labeling capabilities of the new Accessibility Rich Internet Accessibility (ARIA) specifications which provide new capabilities to label form controls and provide accessible feedback on form validation as required by the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.

Who Should Participate in the Course?

This course is designed for web developers interested in learning about the disability access issues faced by people with disabilities in using the web and how web forms can be designed to be accessible to people with disabilities. Participants should be familiar with HTML coding and the form elements. Knowledge of basic CSS techniques and javascripting will be helpful, but not a required part of the course.

Take a few minutes to encourage web accessibility. You can make a difference. - W3C Blog

2010-01-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Shawn Henry blogs about what to do when you try and use a web site that is inaccessible. To help make this easier and hopefully more effective, WAI just published:
Contacting Organizations about Inaccessible Websites. It walks through steps, provides lots of tips, and includes sample e-mails. Read more at:
Take a few minutes to encourage web accessibility. You can make a difference. - W3C Blog

Develop a Web site accessible by visually impaired users and comply with the law

2008-02-21T08:51:00.000-08:00

Joe Goss at Tech Republic has a good post today on why you should make sure your web sites are accessible to people with disabilities.

At a large public university, I recently assisted a project team in testing a Web-based application we made available to several hundred thousand alumni. Application usability was a key success criterion for the project. Recognizing that numerous alumni might be blind, or color blind, or have some other visual impairment, we worked to make the application comply with the Federal standard for accessibility, Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. This law “requires that Federal agencies’ electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public.”

Demographics

If you do not work for a Federal agency, the law probably does not apply to your organization. That being said, I firmly believe that equal access to Internet resources is a moral issue that we developers should strive to address. In the U.S. alone, countless people are affected by visual impairment.

The American Foundation for the Blind estimates there are approximately 10 million visually impaired people in the U.S., of which approximately 1.3 million are legally blind. Citing statistics from a 1999 U.S. Bureau of the Census report, the Foundation indicates just over 1.5 million visually impaired people in the U.S. have access to the Internet.

Projecting from a report on the Internet World Stats Website, which states the usage of the Internet in the U.S. has doubled since 1999, we can reasonably conclude that approximately three million visually impaired people in the U.S. have access to the Internet.

Globally, that number is probably many times higher, based at least upon projections from the All About Market Research organization. They indicate Internet usage worldwide has quintupled since 1999. It is easy to see that by making your Website accessible, you may open doors for many more visitors.

Take a test

Would a blind person find your organization’s Website easy to use? Take a simple test. Go to your organization’s home page, close your eyes and try to navigate the Website. Since you no longer can see the visual cues that simplify navigation, your interaction with the Website becomes a frustrating experience. You may wonder how someone with a visual impairment explores your Website. Happily, there many simple accommodations you can make to improve accessibility.

Joe has a lot of great resources listed, and he also wants you to take a poll.

Nonprofit Launched to Bring Free Accessibility Worldwide

2008-01-31T17:23:00.001-08:00

The AIR Foundation committed to ‘accessibility is a right’

Orlando, Florida – January 31, 2008 – The AIR Foundation, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. was announced today at a press conference held during the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2008 National Conference at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The mission of the foundation is to promote universal accessibility so that every blind and low-vision person in the world has access to digital information over the Internet and Worldwide Web.

The foundation’s executive director, Art Schreiber, also announced that the organization’s first offering will be free usage of a Web 2.0 accessible screen reader. The product is provided through an exclusive license in perpetuity granted to The AIR Foundation from Serotek Corporation, the leading provider of Internet and digital information accessibility software and services. The screen reader is called SA To Go and is powered by Serotek’s award-winning System Access software which provides immediate text to speech, magnified visual, and Braille access to digital information presented through the Web or other means, while the user is directly connected to the Internet. The software does not remain resident on the user’s computer when the connection to the Internet is interrupted or terminated. Users can obtain access to the free software by calling 877-369-0101 or visiting www.AccessibilityIsaRight.org.

“The basic tenet of The AIR Foundation is that accessibility is a fundamental human right, regardless of financial or geographic constraints” said Art Schreiber, executive director of The AIR Foundation, “by allowing the blind and visually impaired to have equal access to computer and Internet information through the free use of an advanced screen reader like SA To Go, we have already taken great strides toward our mission.”

The AIR Foundation will solicit funds and contract development of product enhancements including availability in other languages. The organization’s first priority is to make SA To Go available in Mandarin Chinese.

“SA To Go is highly intuitive and requires minimal training to use,” said Serotek CEO, Mike Calvo, “the user not only has access to information displayed on Web pages, but to Web-based applications such as Internet telephone service, and to applications resident on the host computer. The user can also access PDF files, fill out forms, and otherwise interact with information with the same facility as a sighted person.”

The AIR Foundation will operate through the generosity of organizations donating their time, expertise, and funds. It invites other nonprofits, assistive technology vendors, mainstream hardware and software companies and anyone interested in promoting accessibility as every person’s right, to align with the AIR team.

The AIR Foundation

The AIR Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advocate, teach, and deliver information accessibility tools. We focus on the accessibility needs of blind and low-vision people. Our mantra is “accessibility is a right” and we work with corporations and agencies worldwide to deliver free accessibility to all. For more information, call 877-369-0101 or visit www.AccessibilityIsaRight.org.

WCAG 2.0 Last Call Working Draft

2007-12-23T15:05:00.001-08:00

A Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) second Last Call Working Draft and updated supporting documents were published 11 December 2007. This Last Call is provided for public review of the document with all resolutions from previous comments incorporated. See:

Please send comments by 1 February 2008.

Technology Accessibility in Higher Education: Facilitating Learning for All Students -- A Day for Exploring the Possibilities

2007-09-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

On Fri., Oct. 12, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., the Disability Resource Center and the Access Computing Team (ACT) at Southern Connecticut State University will hold a conference on "Technology Accessibility in Higher Education: Facilitating Learning for All Students -- A Day for Exploring the Possibilities."

I will be participating in the Roundtable discussion: "Building Access into the Implementation of Campus Technology" from 10:45 - 11:45 am, but I will be there all day - the rest of the sessions all sound interesting and I'm sure I will learn a lot.

The registration deadline is October 5, 2007. A conference brochure and online registration form are available at: http://www.southernct.edu/drc/upcomingevents/

New Initiative Brings Together Connecticut Employers and Able Job-Seekers with Disabilities

2007-08-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

The State of Connecticut has launched a new web site called Connect-Ability a special initiative for people with disabilities seeking employment for the first time or who want a new challenge, and employers seeking valuable, qualified workers.

Sharing items from Google Reader

2007-07-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

I finally figured it out (reading the Help helps), so now even if I'm not posting, you can still read articles about Accessibility over on the right, under webkat88's shared items.

New blog at Blogger

2007-06-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've been blogging at msmvps.com for a few years but I'm giving Blogger a try to see if it's any easier. Seems to be integrated with Google Reader somehow, which is how I ended up here. We'll see how it goes.