Web Accessibility

1
Web Accessibility What is it? Why is it
important?
Sharon Trerise Coordinator of Accessible
IT Northeast ADA IT Center
2
Who defines web accessibility?

• World Wide Web Consortium
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
  version 1 (current) version 2 (draft)
• 14 Guidelines Priority Levels 1, 2 3
  (Priority 1 must do, Priority 2 should do,
  Priority 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

3
Who defines web 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
  P04-002http//www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/p04-002/
  index.htm
• NYS Mandatory Technology Standard
  S04-001http//www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/s04-001/
  index.htm

4
Who defines web accessibility?

• Your university system
• Your individual college
• Your department

5
What does an accessible web design 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

6
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

7
Blindness Simulation

• Using JAWS screen reader
• Accessible web page
• Inaccessible web page

8
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
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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

10
WCAG 3.5 Document Structure (Priority 2)

• Use header elements to convey document structure
  and use them according to specification

11
People with Low Vision

• Images, photos and graphics may become unusable
  when enlarged
• Navigation may be difficult / confusing

• May use screen magnification software

12
Low Vision Common causes

• Cataracts
• Glaucoma

13
Low Vision Common causes

• Macular Degeneration
• Retinopathy

14
Low Vision Simulation
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Low Vision Simulation

• Magnification
• Accessible example
• Less accessible example
• IE v. 6.0
• Enlarge fonts

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WCAG 3.4 Relative sizing (Priority 2)

• Use relative rather than absolute units in markup
  language attribute values and style sheet
  property values

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

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Color Blindness

• Reds greens are often indistinguishable
• Other colors may be indistinguishable

• Approximately 8-10 of the male population and
  about 0.5 of the female population experience
  some form of color deficiency
• Cell phone, PDA and text browser users may not
  display color

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Color Blindness Simulation

• Map of Hurricane Isabel (with color)

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Color Blindness Simulation

• Map of Hurricane Isabel (with red/green
  colorblindness)

Simulated using Vischek (http//www.vischeck.com/v
ischeck/vischeckURL.php )
20
(No Transcript)
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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

The flights listed below in RED have been
cancelled. The flights in GREEN are departing on
time. Delta 1342United 320American Airlines
787Southwest 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
1342United 320American Airlines 787Southwest
2390
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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

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Mobility Impairments Assistive Technology

• Head wand
• Adaptive Keyboard

• Mouth stick

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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

25
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.

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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.

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People who are deaf or hearing impaired

• Video clips that include audio are unusable
• Audio clips are unusable

• Audio is unusable

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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
• 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 gt1 medium)

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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 gt1 form

• Animated images may be distracting
• Complex layouts may lead to confusion
• Text-only content may be limiting

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Cognitive Impairments Example

• Complex layouts
• www.msnbc.com
• www.cnn.com

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WCAG 14.1 Language (Priority 1)

• Use the clearest and simplest language
  appropriate for a sites content.

WCAG 7.2 Use of Blinking (Priority 2)

• Until user agents allow users to control
  blinking, avoid causing content to blink

32
WCAG 12.3 Large block of text (Priority 2)

• Divide large blocks of information into more
  manageable groups where natural and appropriate

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Why make your web pages accessible?

• Who does your audience consist of?
• Students (current and prospective)
• Faculty
• Staff
• Alumni
• Parents
• Community
• World

EVERYONE
34
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
35
Why make web pages accessible?

• Continuing Education and 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_at_Home
http//www.microsoft.com/enable/aging/default.aspx
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Benefits and Costs of Implementation

• Benefits of accessible web design
• Social
• Technical
• Financial
• Legal policy
• Costs
• Primarily up-front
• Ways to reduce costs

37
Social Benefits of accessible design

• People with disabilities can actively participate
  (equal opportunity)
• Improved access for other populations
• Older people
• Speakers of other languages
• People with low bandwidth connections (rural
  connection, internet congestion, connection
  technology, financial)
• People using older technology

38
Technical Benefits of accessible design

• Reduces site development maintenance time
• Reduces server load
• Enables content to be delivered accurately on
  different configurations
• Better prepared for future web technologies
• Meet recognized international standards (W3C WAI)

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Financial Benefits of accessible design

• Increased number of users and use
• Rank higher in search engines
• Usable in more situations (noisy environment)
• Increased usability (effective and efficient)
• Payback from positive social image for
  organization
• Decreased risk of legal action
• Decreased cost for alternative formatted materials

40
Legal policy benefits

• What broader accessibility policies apply?
• Considerations for future policy requirements
• More cost effective to build in accessibility now
  than retrofit later

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Cost considerations

• Initial investments
• Acquiring knowledge
• Establishing processes
• Increased development testing time

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Cost Considerations

• Personnel-related
• Training skills development
• Hiring expertise (testers, consultants)
• Incorporate accessibility into protocols
  procedures
• Evaluating accessibility of existing site

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Cost Considerations

• Potential Initial Capital Costs
• Purchasing evaluation tools
• Purchasing Assistive Technology for testing
• Upgrading technology tools that support
  accessibility

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Cost Considerations

• On-going Costs
• Some additional development time
• Ex. Captioning video
• Additional testing time
• Testing prototypes with Assistive Technology
• Reviewing for conformance with standards
• Quality assurance testing (alt text)

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Ways to Decrease Costs

• Incorporate accessibility from the beginning
• Easier
• Less expensive
• More effective
• Share accessibility resources across organization
• Make investments in necessary technology at the
  organizational level rather than for each
  individual project

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Benefits vs Costs
Costs
Benefits
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College Web Accessibility Policies

• California Community College system
• Section 508 standards
• Southwest Missouri State University
• SMSU Web Policy
• SMSU Web Access Action Plan
• Ohio State University
• Web Accessibility Policy and Minimum Web
  Accessibility Standards
• OSU Web Accessibility Center

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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 cant use a mouse
• People who are color blind
• People with differences in attention/perception

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Resources

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