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

• 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.