1. Web Accessibility What is it? Why is it important? Sharon Trerise Coordinator of Accessible IT Northeast ADA & IT Center Employment and Disability Institute www.edi.cornell.edu

2. Resources AccessIT (National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education) –www.washington.edu/accessitwww.washington.edu/accessit ITTATC (Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center) –www.ittatc.orgwww.ittatc.org WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) –www.webaim.orgwww.webaim.org

3. Topics What is an accessible web page? What does accessibility mean to a person with a disability? Why should you care?

4. Who defines accessibility? World Wide Web Consortium –Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 1 (current) & version 2 (draft) –14 Guidelines: Priority Levels 1, 2 & 3 (1: must do, 2: should do, 3: may do to improve accessibility) Federal Government –Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act - § 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications –16 Standards

5. Who defines accessibility? New York State –New York State's Official Policy/Standards "Accessibility of State Agency Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications" NYS Statewide Technology Policy P04-002 http://www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/p04-002/index.htm http://www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/p04-002/index.htm NYS Mandatory Technology Standard S04-001 http://www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/s04-001/index.htm http://www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/s04-001/index.htm

6. Who defines accessibility? Your college or department?

7. What does an accessible web page mean to a person with a disability? People who are blind or visually impaired People who are color blind People who are deaf or hearing impaired People with mobility impairments People with cognitive impairments

8. People who are blind Do not use a mouse May use a screen reader to listen to the content May use a refreshable Braille display All content must be accessible from the keyboard only Images, photos and graphics are unusable Colors are unusable Navigation may be difficult / confusing

9. Blindness: Simulation Using JAWS screen reader –Accessible web pageAccessible web page –Inaccessible web pageInaccessible web page

10. Blindness: Accessible Design Techniques Provide text description for all images & photos (“alt” attribute / alt text) Provide an option to skip navigationskip navigation Ensure keyboard accessibility Use meaningful links (“Class schedule” rather than “click here”)meaningful links Use proper HTML (header tags, etc.) *Ins F6header tags Don’t write scripts that require mouse usagemouse usage Do not rely on color alone to convey important information

11. WCAG 1.1: Text Equivalents (Priority 1) Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g. via “alt”, “longdesc” or in element content). Images Graphical representations of text Image map regions Animations Applets & programmatic objects Frames Scripts Images used as bullets Spacers Graphical buttons Sounds Audio files Audio tracks of video

12. WCAG 2.1: Use of Color (Priority 1) Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup WCAG 8.1: Scripts & applets (Priority 1) Make programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies

13. WCAG 3.5: Document Structure (Priority 2) Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification

14. People with Low Vision May use screen magnification software Images, photos and graphics may become unusable when enlarged Navigation may be difficult / confusing

15. Low Vision: Common causes Cataracts Glaucoma

16. Low Vision: Common causes Macular Degeneration Retinopathy

17. Low Vision: Simulation

18. Magnification –Accessible exampleAccessible example –Less accessible exampleLess accessible example IE v. 6.0 –Enlarge fontsEnlarge fonts

19. Low Vision: Accessible Design Techniques Limit or eliminate text within graphics Have plenty of contrast Use relative rather than absolute font sizes

20. WCAG 2.2: Color contrast (Priority 2 & 3) Ensure that foreground & background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black & white screen WCAG 3.4: Relative sizing (Priority 2) Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values

21. Color Blindness Approximately 8-10% of the male population and about 0.5% of the female population experience some form of color deficiency May change color settings in browser Cell phone, PDA and text browser users may not have color Reds & greens are often indistinguishable Other colors may be indistinguishable

22. Color Blindness: Simulation Map of Hurricane Isabel (with color)

23. Color Blindness: Simulation Map of Hurricane Isabel (with red/green colorblindness) Simulated using Vischek (http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckURL.php )http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckURL.php

25. Color Blindness: Accessible Design Techniques Do not use color alone to convey content –Use additional cues or information to convey content The flights listed below in RED have been cancelled. The flights in GREEN are departing on time. Delta 1342 United 320 American Airlines 787 Southwest 2390 The flights listed below that have been cancelled are indicated in RED and by an asterisk. The flights in GREEN are departing on time. Delta 1342* United 320 American Airlines 787 Southwest 2390*

26. WCAG 2.1: Use of Color (Priority 1) Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup

27. People with mobility impairments May use only the keyboard for navigation May tire quickly May not have fine motor control All content must be accessible from the keyboard Lengthy navigation may cause fatigue Small or moving links are difficult to select

28. Mobility Impairments: Assistive Technology Head wand Adaptive Keyboard Mouth stick

29. Mobility Impairment: Simulation Provide a way to skip over lengthy lists of navigation Inaccessible example Accessible example Ensure the page can be navigated using the keyboard only Inaccessible example

30. Mobility Impairments: Accessible Design Techniques Ensure that the page is keyboard accessible Do not require fine motor control (free of moving links or very small links) Provide a way to skip over long lists of links & other lengthy content (visible “skip to main content” link)

31. WCAG 6.3: Scripts & Applets (Priority 1) Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets and other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. –If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page. WCAG 6.4: Device Independence (Priority 2) For scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent.

32. WCAG 7.3: Moving Content (Priority 2) Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid movement in pages. Section 508, Standard (o): Skip navigation A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.

33. People who are deaf or hearing impaired Audio is unusable Video clips that include audio are unusable Audio clips are unusable

34. Deafness: Accessible Design Techniques Provide transcripts for all audio content Provide synchronized captions for all video content Many people benefit –Students in library w/o headset –People with learning disabilities –People for whom English is not their primary language –People in a noisy environment –Everyone (content is presented in >1 medium)

35. WCAG 1.4: (Priority 1) For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g. movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g. captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation

36. People with cognitive impairments Users may have difficulty focusing on or comprehending lengthy sections of text Complex layouts or inconsistent navigational schemes may be confusing May need content in >1 form Animated images may be distracting Complex layouts may lead to confusion Text-only content may be limiting

37. Cognitive Impairments: Example Complex layouts: –www.msnbc.comwww.msnbc.com –www.cnn.comwww.cnn.com

38. Cognitive Impairment: Accessible Design Techniques Simplify the layout as much as possible Provide clear and consistent site navigation Organize information into manageable “chunks” Logically organize your site and individual documents Use icons, illustrations, arrows, audio, video or other multimedia to enhance understanding

39. WCAG 14.1: Language (Priority 1) Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site’s content. WCAG 7.2: Use of Blinking (Priority 2) Until user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid causing content to blink

40. WCAG 12.3: Large block of text (Priority 2) Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate

41. Why make your web pages accessible? Who does your audience consist of? –Students (current and prospective) –Faculty –Staff –Alumni –Parents –Community –World EVERYONE

42. Disability as a Function of Age Source: U.S. Census Bureau Report on Americans with Disabilities: 1994-95, P70- 61 (August 1997) Based on Survey of Income and Program Participation, Oct. 1994-Jan. 1995

43. Why make web pages accessible? Our aging population –In 2010, the majority of the US population will be 45 years and older Brian Basset, Cartoonist and creator of syndicated cartoon Adam@Home http://www.microsoft.com/enable/aging/default.aspx

44. Web Accessibility: Designing for Everyone People using different web browsers People using different screen resolutions People using phone web services People using handheld display units People using car computing systems People using screen readers People who are deaf or hard of hearing People who can’t use a mouse People who are color blind People with differences in attention/perception