These standards will serve us well in any technical communication job. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston The University of Minnesota has established website accessibility standards that we need to observe as staff/faculty/students. These standards will serve us well in any technical communication job.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston It is the responsibility of the Web page author to present information in a manner that ensures access by a diverse audience. See http://cap.umn.edu/ait/Web/index.html for a full discussion of the standards outlined here.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Introductory Screens Put some some text on the initial screen view of a Web page that describes the affiliation and purpose of the page.

Use a consistent look and navigational scheme for all pages of a site. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Design Consistency Use a consistent look and navigational scheme for all pages of a site. Provide a method that permits users to skip repetitive navigation controls and jump to the main content of a page.

STANDARD: Document Length COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Document Length Present large documents in smaller sub-units where natural and appropriate. Offer complete full-length versions for download.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Frames Avoid the use of frames. Title frames with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation. Use the HTML <noframes> element to point to an alternate page that does not use frames.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Browser-Specific HTML Tags Do not use HTML constructs (tags) that are specific to (and only supported by) one browser.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Cascading Style Sheets Organize documents so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Scripts Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are not supported or have been disabled. Provide equivalent information and/or functionality on an alternative accessible page when direct access cannot be achieved.

Do not use the "onChange" event-handler in a drop-down list. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Roll-Over Controls Do not use roll-over controls that load a new page or otherwise move the user from the current location. Do not use the "onChange" event-handler in a drop-down list. Include text descriptions and redundant links for pop-up information and menus.

Avoid the automatic refreshing of a page. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Screen Refresh Avoid the automatic refreshing of a page. Provide a method for disabling the automatic refreshing of a page.

A method for indicating that more time is needed. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Timed Responses Alert users when a timed response is required and provide one or more of the following options: A method for indicating that more time is needed. A method for the user to adjust the time interval. A non-time-dependent alternative.

Do not use font face, size, or color alone to convey information. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002 University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Font (face, size, color) Do not use font face, size, or color alone to convey information. Specify font sizes in relative rather than absolute units.

Do not use backgrounds or wallpaper to convey information. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Backgrounds and Wallpapers Do not use complex backgrounds or wallpaper that may interfere with the readability of overlying text. Do not use backgrounds or wallpaper to convey information.

Avoid blinking page elements and scrolling marquees. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Blinking Elements and Marquees Avoid blinking page elements and scrolling marquees. Blinking page elements and the refreshing of the screen to animate marquees shall do so at a frequency of less than twice a second (2 Hz) or greater than 55 times a second (55 Hz).

Avoid the use of acronyms and abbreviations in link text. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Acronyms and Abbreviations Precede the first occurrence of an acronym on a page with the full title to which the acronym refers. Avoid the use of acronyms and abbreviations in link text. Do not use acronyms and abbreviations in the alternative text for images or other non-text elements.

Provide appropriate alternative text for graphical bullets. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Bullets Provide appropriate alternative text for graphical bullets. Use simple alternative text for graphical bullets—an asterisk (*), a single letter (A) or single number(1). Unless required to convey information visually depicted by a bullet, avoid alternative text that describes the bullet (e.g., "This is a small black ball").

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: List Tags When bullets created using the <ul> list tag are important for comprehension of the document or numbered bullets created using the <ol> list tag are to be referenced elsewhere in the document, include additional markup that promotes accessibility.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Punctuation Titles, headings, list items, sentences, and ALT tags should end with suitable punctuation. Include closing punctuation on list items, even if the items are not grammatical sentences.

Avoid the use of multiple-column layouts for non-tabular information. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Multiple-Column Layout Avoid the use of multiple-column layouts for non-tabular information. Do not use the <PRE> tag (preformatted) to layout tabular information. Include row and column headers for data tables. Ensure that information in a multi-column format, whether static or dynamically generated, is accessible, or provide an alternative means of acquiring the information.

Include alternative text for all graphics. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: ALT Tags Include alternative text for all graphics.

COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Non-Link Graphics Make alternative text for images that convey information or otherwise contribute to the understanding of the page clear, concise, and informative. Where appropriate, use the alternative text for transparent graphics and other structural images to provide a description of subsequent information and controls on the page.

Provide accessible text descriptions for graphical tables and charts. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Tables and Charts Provide accessible text descriptions for graphical tables and charts.

Include alternative text for all animations. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Animations Include alternative text for all animations. Make alternative text for animations clear, concise, and informative. If an animation uses audio to convey information, provide a text equivalent of the audio portion.

Give preference to vertical lists of well-spaced text links. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Text Links Avoid the use of single-word links—make links shall be clear, descriptive, and able to stand alone. Give preference to vertical lists of well-spaced text links. Make links listed horizontally or in a multiple column layout visually distinct and separated by appropriate punctuation or graphics. Avoid enclosing text links in brackets, braces, parentheses, or other punctuation.

Include the E-mail address in the text of a mailto link. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Mailto Links Include the E-mail address in the text of a mailto link.

Use 36-pt by 36-pt or larger buttons and icons. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Graphical Links Include clear, concise and informative alternative text for all non-text controls. Use 36-pt by 36-pt or larger buttons and icons.

Avoid the use of server-side image maps. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Image Maps Include clear, concise and informative alternative text for each region of a client-side image map. Avoid the use of server-side image maps. Include alternative links for each active region of a server-side image map.

Indicate alternatives to completing online forms. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Forms Do not use font styles, sizes, colors or other non-textual elements as the only means of indicating required fields. Indicate alternatives to completing online forms.

Accompany audio presentations with text captioning. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Multimedia Accompany multimedia presentations with text and/or audio descriptions of visual content. Accompany audio presentations with text captioning. Synchronize the equivalent accessible alternatives for a multimedia presentation (e.g., text captioning and/or audio description) with the presentation. Provide a link to the plug-in or applet required for a multimedia presentation.

The information in an alternative accessible format. COMPOSITION 2334 UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Fall 2002  University of Minnesota, Crookston STANDARD: Downloads Include the following options for information presented in a proprietary file format: The information in an alternative accessible format. A link to the appropriate plug-in. A link to an accessibility plug-in or conversion site, if available. An alternative means of obtaining the information. When feasible, make information to be downloaded available in a variety of file types.

http://www.e-accessibility.com http://www.visugate.org Links http://www.e-accessibility.com http://www.visugate.org http://www.tate.org.uk/imap http://www.imsproject.org/accessibility/accessiblevers http://www.ifeelpixel.com/download