Web Accessibility: A Best Practices Roadmap created by Accessibility Working Group presented by Kyle Shachmut, Vittorio Bucchieri, Curtis Wilcox

Accessibility Working Group Mildene Bradley Administrative Technology Services (Security & Accessibility) 617 496 1465 Vittorio Bucchieri Teaching & Learning Technologies vittorio_bucchieri@harvard.edu Michele Clopper University Disability Services 617 495 1859 Richard Clinch Harvard Web Publishing 617 384 6579  Amy Deschenes Harvard Libraries 617 496 2619 Luke Juergens Administrative Technology Services (Campus Services) 617 496 5111 Scott Kearney Administrative Technology Services (FAS) 617 384 7201 Stephen Kobialka Harvard Kennedy School stephen_kobialka@harvard.edu Mike Lawrence HUIT Architecture & Engineering mike_lawrence@harvard.edu Richard Ohlsten Administrative Systems (CAADS) 617 495 1026 Kyle Shachmut HarvardX kyle_shachmut@harvard.edu Janet Taylor Library Technology Services 617 495 3724 Curtis Wilcox FAS Instructional Media Services / Assistive Technology Center (ATC) ccwilcox@fas.harvard.edu accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Expectations What will the best practices roadmap provide you? Reasons why Accessibility matters. Examples of free and Harvard-licensed tools. Additional accessibility tools and resources provided by Harvard. How or where to acquire these tools. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

What is accessibility? Digital accessibility means making electronic content available to and usable by everyone, including and especially people with disabilities. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Why strive for accessibility? Improves usability of digital content for everyone, including people with disabilities. Improves overall user experience. Enhances clarity for non-native English speakers. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Benefits of accessible content Reduces development effort when accessibility is considered from the start. Reduces cost when problems are addressed before users encounter accessibility barriers. Increases search engine optimization & content findability. Demonstrates inclusiveness. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

WCAG 2.0 guidelines at Harvard University HUIT Policy: Applications, whether developed in house or purchased from a vendor, should conform to WCAG 2.0, Level AA guidelines. Checklist: The guidelines fall into three buckets: Level A, AA, AAA. There are 38 guidelines included in the AA standard. Organization: There are four (4) principles under which the guidelines are organized. The acronym for these principles is POUR. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

WCAG 2.0 Principles Perceivable: All content is accessible, no matter how it is accessed. Operable: All functionality is available, no matter how it is accessed. Understandable: Content is in plain language & well- organized. Robust: Content can be used via any device. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

WCAG 2.0 - Conformance Requirements To conform, an entire site must meet all criteria for a given level Requirement Guidelines Information A 25 For Level A conformance (the minimum level of conformance), the Web page satisfies all the Level A Success Criteria, or a conforming alternate version is provided. AA 13 For Level AA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A and Level AA Success Criteria, or a Level AA conforming alternate version is provided. AAA 23 For Level AAA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A, Level AA and Level AAA Success Criteria, or a Level AAA conforming alternate version is provided. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

WCAG 2.0 – Requirements: Examples Guideline Information A 1.2.2 Captions (pre-recorded): Captions provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media, except when it is a media alternative for text & clearly labeled as such. AA 1.2.4 Captions (live): Captions are provided for all live audio content in synchronized media. AAA 1.2.6 Sign Language (pre-recorded): Sign language interpretation is provided for all pre-recorded audio content in synchronized media. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Media accessibility tools Assistive media technology examples Technology Features Users Closed Captions (CC) Time-synched with the media Deaf, hearing-impaired, and learning disorders Transcripts Not time-synched with media Subtitles Language translation and descriptions Non English speakers Audio Description (AD) Spoken information about key visual elements Low-vision or blind viewers accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Video captioning, transcription, and subtitling Used by Harvard 3Play Media, Harvard’s preferred vendor, provides premium closed captioning, transcription, subtitling and audio description services. Other vendors providing similar video services REV CaptionSync CADET developed by WGBH/NCAM, is a free tool making it possible for anyone creating videos to add and edit closed captions. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Free tools: Wave toolbar1 The Wave toolbar from the WebAIM organization allows users to test individual web pages for accessibility. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Free tools: Color Contrast Analyzer Color Contrast Analyzer from The Paciello Group tests the legibility of text and the contrast of visual elements. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Free tools: Google Accessibility Developer tools This Chrome extension adds to the Chrome Developer Tools an Accessibility audit as well as an Accessibility sidebar pane in the Elements tab. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Free tools: Web Developer toolbar This browser extension from Chris Pederick works with Chrome, Firefox and Opera and adds a variety of developer view and display tools, including: link details, tab index, table depth, and more. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Free tools: Summary Online testing tools provide free resources that can be used to ensure that digital content meets established accessibility standards. Technology Features Users Wave toolbar Tests individual web pages Content Creators and Developers Color Contrast Analyzer Tests the legibility of text and the contrast of visual elements Content Creators Google Accessibility Developer tools Accessibility audit Developers Web Developer toolbar Code editing and verification accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Harvard-licensed tools: Features Overview Test single pages or crawl entire sites. Report and track progress over time by individuals and teams. Generate detailed reports with recommendations and code examples. Provide training modules. Facilitate testing: Automated Manual Assistive technology. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Harvard-licensed tools: Acquisition / Use The Accessibility Working Group evaluated several tools and then selected two accessibility testing tools: Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) Siteimprove Both tools are licensed for enterprise use for Harvard faculty or staff  request an account through Service Now. Training resources are available through AMP and Siteimprove websites. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Harvard-licensed tools: Siteimprove 2 Siteimprove is best-used for public-facing websites and automatically generates reports on a weekly basis. Siteimprove Benefits User Interface designed for ease of use. Accessibility testing. QA testing (broken links, misspellings) & SEO. Chrome browser extension for testing non-public web pages. Training: Guides, FAQs, and videos. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Siteimprove: Demonstration Dashboard & Reports accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Harvard-licensed tools: AMP AMP from SSB Bart Group is designed for use with complex, transactional websites and applications. Can schedule tests and reports. AMP Benefits Works with Harvard-Key protected websites. Includes browser plug-in for testing web pages that reside behind a firewall or on a local device. Plug-in results can be included in reports. Training: A wide range of courses. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

AMP: Accessibility Management Platform AMP Workflows and Use Cases Access Assistant toolbar for assessing and remediating content accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

AMP: Accessibility Management Platform - Assessing Content AMP Workflows and Use Cases Assess via toolbar “scan module” actions or by crawling an entire (public) site accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

AMP: Accessibility Management Platform - Fixing Content AMP Workflows and Use Cases Identifies errors & offers explanations with code examples to fix the problem accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

Next steps – for everyone . . . Try one of the free accessibility tools on your web page. To monitor and maintain the accessibility of your entire website, request a Siteimprove or AMP account through the Accessibility account request form, which creates a Service Now request. Learn more at the Online Accessibility website: watch training videos, find coding techniques, and locate additional digital accessibility resources. If you need assistance or answers to questions, please contact our Accessibility team members. accessibility.huit.harvard.edu