Web Accessibility John Rochford UMMS Shriver Center Director, INDEX Program Rich Caloggero WGBH National Center for Accessible Media MIT Adaptive Technology Information Center

Introductions names backgrounds related interests experiences related to people with disabilities using the web (or computers in general) experiences making websites accessible

Simple Definition Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web – More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium Web accessibility applies to design & content

Importance helps people with many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more provides equal access and opportunity to people with disabilities helps people with disabilities more actively participate in society is required by laws and policies in some cases benefits people without disabilities and seniors – Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium increases customer base / audience

Making the Web Accessible Assistive Technology: screen readers, single- switch devices, text-to-speech, etc. Web software has to be accessible. Examples: – web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) – media players (NCAM ccPlayer, etc.)NCAM ccPlayer – authoring tools (Dream Weaver, Flash, etc.) – content management systems (Drupal, etc.) – learning management systems (Blackboard, etc.)

Making Your Website Accessible Depends on many factors, such as the type of content, the size and complexity of the site, and the development tools and environment. Accessibility features are easily implemented if they are planned from the beginning of Web site development or redesign. Fixing inaccessible Web sites can require significant effort and costs. – Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium

Evaluating Website Accessibility Knowledgeable human evaluation is required to determine if a site is accessible. – People with disabilities Automated evaluation tools – Free, web-based, single-page AChecker, WebAIM’s WAVE, etc. ACheckerWebAIM’s WAVE – Free, browser plug-in, single-page WAVE, TPG Toolbar, FireEyes, etc. WAVETPG ToolbarFireEyes – Commercial Tools (Worldspace, etc.)Worldspace

How To Evaluate Websites Quick ways for nontechnical users to determine if a site is likely to be accessible: Is there alternative (alt) text for images?alternative (alt) text Is there an accessibility statement?accessibility statement Use a free, web-based tool to check – WebAIM’s WAVE (demo) WebAIM’s WAVE

U.S. Laws Section 508 requires that all Web site content be equally accessible to people with disabilities. This applies to Web applications, Web pages and all attached files. It applies to intranet as well as public-facing Web pages. Section 508 – Source: U.S. Health and Human ServicesU.S. Health and Human Services – Based upon Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ADA: No applicability (yet)

Standards United States – Federal Standard: Section508.govSection508.gov Established in standards are being updated now – State Standards: Varied World – WCAG 2.0 (As of December, 2008) WCAG 2.0 WCAG 1.0 published in May, 1999

WCAG 2 Principles Perceivable - Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. Operable - User interface components and navigation must be operable. Understandable - Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. Robust - Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. – Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium

Perceivable Provide text alternatives for non-text content. Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia. Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning. Make it easier for users to see and hear content. – Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium

Operable Make all functionality available from a keyboard. Give users enough time to read and use content. Do not use content that causes seizures. Help users navigate and find content. – Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium

Understandable Make text readable and understandable. Make content appear and operate in predictable ways. Help users avoid and correct mistakes. – Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium

Robust Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools. – Source: World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium

Using the Web How do people with disabilities use the web… How do people with disabilities use the web – without a keyboard? – without a mouse? – without speakers? – without a monitor? Job Access With Speech (JAWS) demo Job Access With Speech (JAWS)

Accessible Content Almost all accessible websites focus exclusively on design. Many pay no attention to semantic markup: – headings, lists, bold-versus-strong, etc. Examples of what they do not use: – plain language – multi-modal presentation – default large print (& scalable design)

Cognitive Web Accessibility Examples of cognitive disabilities: – learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, TBI, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, aging, etc. Examples of functional commonalities: – cannot understand non-simple, textual content – are easily distracted – are flummoxed by inconsistent interfaces – do not recover easily from errors

Cognitive Accessibility Resources W3C Cognitive Accessibility Task Force Clear Helper – Web Site Web Site – Blog Blog – Twitter Twitter Web AIM – Articles Articles – Cognitive Web Accessibility Checklist Cognitive Web Accessibility Checklist

Summary Accessible websites are important and necessary for people with disabilities Websites should be POUR: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust Following standards can be easy & inexpensive Making websites accessible makes them easy to use for everyone