1. Welcoming Everyone Online: Creating Accessible Online Resources For People with Disabilities (& everyone)

2. Our goals today Web accessibility: what is it, why does it matter?
What are the basics? What if I'm not a web designer?
OpenAIR contest: an opportunity for nonprofits to achieve web accessibility
Answer your questions

3. Facilitated by Knowbility
International non-profit, founded in 1998
Jayne Cravens, Knowbility OpenAIR Nonprofit Manager
International Consultant, TechSoup alumni, author of The LAST Virtual Volunteering Guidebook
Sharron Rush, co-founder, Executive Director
invited expert since 2006 for W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), co-chair Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG), author Maximum Accessibility (2002)

4. Intro to Disability Awareness for ACS NCIC
‘Accessible’ means…
People with disabilities …can acquire the same information …participate in the same activities …actively produce as well as consume online content
We often talk of accessibility in terms of adherence to standards. It is good to remember that accessibility is about inclusive design for real people with human needs
Knowbility, Inc. 12/16/2010

5. Universal design supports all people supports all technology
improves experience for all
“Good design IS accessible design” ~ Dr. John Slatin

6. Who decides what is accessible?
Standards developed in Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Create standards for all web technologies
Accessibility standardized across the globe.
WAI provides support for those new to accessibility

7. Why advocate for accessibility?
Legal
Humanitarian
Market
Technical
Human Rights/
Equity

8. Why implement accessibility?
People with disabilities want to donate, volunteer and otherwise support causes they care about. But if your web site isn’t accessible to them, you leave them out - and that means you leave out potential donors, volunteers, clients, ideas, talent and more.
Making your web site more accessible makes it more useful for EVERYONE (not only those with disabilities)
Would you rent a space that prohibited certain people from entering? Many view online accessibility the same way.

9. Disability is a market force
Nearly 20% of US population has disability
Numbers growing as population ages
Your organization is likely to have large representation – even if you don't know it.

10. Growing constituency Fortune: “$1 trillion annual market”
$200 B in discretionary spending
55 million Americans
750 million worldwide
More as population ages

11. US Federal Law Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act
ADA –notice of intention to extend the ADA to the web
Oct 2010, President signed 21st Century Accessible Technology bill

12. UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Explicitly references technology access as basic human right in modern world
Ratified by more than 100 nations
Additional accessibility laws in European Union, Canadian Government, Australia, Japan, others

13. It’s all about People
Delia, Paul, Ryan, Desiree and Wayne: People with disabilities appear in collage each has access needs and may use assistive technology

14. WAI Accessibility Perspectives: Keyboard Compatibility
Watch more from the WAI Accessibility Perspectives on their website --

15. Four Principles of accessible content

16. Common barriers and easy fixes
Link text
Text alternatives
PDF
Color & contrast
Media (videos, podcasts, etc.)

17. Link text Specify link target (where the link goes, what it does)
Text should make sense out of context (not “More” or “Click here”)
- OR -
Use aria-describedby to make an association available to assistive technology

18. Link description
Use “aria-described” attribute. Description in code informs user of what a button does when activated (closes window, check box, etc.)
Sighted user won't see it, screen reader user will hear it.
More information on using aria-describedby from W3C

19. Text alternative basics
Users with visual impairment require verbal description of any image. This is ‘alt text’.
Provide text alternative (alt attribute of img element) for meaningful images
Decorative image has empty alt attribute <alt=“”>
Linked image identifies target of linked images
Complex image (charts, graphs
WAI Tutorial alt text decision tree

20. Accessible documents and PDFs - same principles apply
Accessible PDFs must be tagged.
Allows assistive technologies to interact with content and make sense of it.
No automated solution for creating accessible PDFs.
Free tutorial from federal government

21. Color and contrast Some users have color blindness or trouble perceiving low contrast, while others have difficulty with high contrast.
Avoid use of color as ONLY method to denote state or requirement
Provide contrast of text against background of 4.5 to 1 or higher

22. Media - Provide video captions for the hearing impaired and audio descriptions for the visually impaired if you want to convey info to the widest audience.
Keyboard operable media player
Caption audio content of video and synchronize to onscreen actions (YouTube has free tools)
Describe key video content in audio description track or text transcript.
Note it's great for those that are not in a space to listen to audio on a video but still want the message
Knowbility blog has more info on how to do this, free tools, etc.

23. These are easy fixes Easy to learn, easy to do None cost money
Will take extra time to fix an existing web site/online materials, but no/little extra time when building a new page, site, file it's a change in approach)
Volunteers can help!
Learn more at WAI Easy Checks

24. More difficult online barriers
Address these with more significant redesign effort if you already have a web site - but it's worth it!
Minimal additional costs for accessibility integration is site from scratch
Let’s look at
Structure
Reading and focus order
Keyboard access

25. Structure - To help users orient themselves on web pages, the content and different areas need to be structured to help assistive technology identify them.
Use semantic structures as intended
Logical nested headings
Semantic meaning not visual presentation
List markup for related information
Explicit form ID and label
Identify row and column headings in data grids (tables)
Outline structure with HTML5 regions or ARIA landmarks

26. Reading and focus order Reading, tab and focus order should be the same as display order. Sequence in which items receive focus should reflect intent of the content.
Provide meaningful page titles to orient users among set of pages
Skip links as needed
Create logical tab order through links, form controls, and interactive elements

27. Visible Keyboard Operation
Keyboard focus should be visible (ex: highlighted text) and follow a logical order.
Allow functional elements to be reached and activated from keyboard (often tab and arrow keys)
Make keyboard focus as clearly visible as mouse hover

28. Going forward Be an advocate for accessibility
at your organization. Get buy-in/
mandate from senior management.
Use this presentation, OpenAIR Nonprofit curriculum, other resources (w3.org/WAI) to make the case.
Recruit web designers, including volunteers, who understand or will commit to learning and applying accessibility

29. Join OpenAIR – a contest for web designers
OpenAIR: Accessibility Internet Rally – your nonprofit, NGO, school, government agency, other mission-based organization can have a new, fully accessible website, designed with the help of some of the leading accessibility developers in the country.
$100 participation fee includes training, support.
Your nonprofit will be promoted by Knowbility for its participation.

30. OpenAIR: Benefits
Your organization is matched with team of web professionals.
Knowbility provides support to help you prepare to be a good “Client” to your team
Training
Assigned mentor
Regular check in sessions
You control all content, styles, images, etc
Maintenance and sustainability training provided once site launches

31. OpenAIR: Details
What: 6 week competition in which web professionals and an accessibility mentor team up to build new website for your org.
When: Register by November 30th. The competition kicks off in January and ends with awards ceremony in March during SXSW Interactive.
How: More information and company or team registration on air-rallies website.

32. Questions? Thank you! Sharron Rush Jayne Cravens srush@knowbility.org
@Knowbility on Twitter
Questions?