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Accessibility Jeff Crow School of Information The University of Texas at Austin Spring 2011

Learn about the importance of web accessibility and how it benefits people with disabilities. Discover common problems, solutions, and the current research and systems related to accessibility.

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Accessibility Jeff Crow School of Information The University of Texas at Austin Spring 2011

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  1. Accessibility Jeff Crow School of Information The University of Texas at Austin Spring 2011

  2. Definition What is accessibility? Examples The good and the bad Common Problems 98% of the Internet Solutions Current research & systems

  3. Usability is accessibility.

  4. What is accessibility? • In general... • Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is usable by as many people as possible. The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination based on disability. All public buildings, transportation and 'public accomodations' built after the law's passage must be made accessible.

  5. What is accessibility? On the web... "Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web.Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the Web, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities." -- World Wide Web Consortium

  6. Why is accessibility important? "Target paid $6 million to three blind plaintiffs who argued the use of Flash on the retailer's website, Target.com, made it inaccessible to screen readers and thus discriminated against the visually impaired." -- The Guardian

  7. Why is accessibility important? • Baby boomers are getting older.  • Living longer  • But still 'with it' mentally. A growing number of Americans will be computer literate but visually impaired. How would you find information if you lost your sight?

  8. Why is accessibility important? • Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1998 requires all Federal agencies to make their digital information accessible to people with disabilities. • UT has adopted Section 508. All web pages containing official university information must comply with the requirements (see the Web Accessibility Policy). • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) are produced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the people in charge of HTML and other web formats. • W3C is devising accessibility standards for new web functionality like Web 2.0 sites, which are notoriously inaccessible.

  9. Examples One "good", some bad

  10. Sighted browsing is a two-dimensional experience where context is easily conveyed in the rich language of size, color, position and graphics.

  11. top left center bottom right

  12. beginning middle end

  13. Page has sixty-three headings and two hundred thirty-six linksBBC dash Homepage dash Internet Explorer Accessibility LinksList of six itemsbulletThis page link Skip to contentalt plus two bulletThis page link Skip to bbc.co.uk navigationbulletThis page link Skip to bbc.co.uk searchbulletLink Display OptionsbulletLink Accessibility helpbulletLink Access keys helpalt plus zeroList endList of three itemsbulletLink MobilesbulletLink Make this my HomepagebulletLink Take the tourList endHeading level oneLinkGraphicBritish Broadcasting Corporation Tuesday two March two thousand ten Heading level two BBC SearchEdit SearchbuttonHeading level two Customise Your HomepageList of two itemsbulletThis page link Add more to this pageLink Further informationbulletLink Reset homepageList endHeading level two Top News StoryHeading level threeLinkGraphicFirefighter tackles a supermarket blaze in Concepcion Troops deployed amid Chile unrest Thousands of Chilean troops head to the devastated earthquake zone as reports emerge of survivors turning to looting.Link More from BBC NewsHeading level twoLink More Top StoriesLink Edit my news settingsLink Remove the news sectionThis page link Close the More Top Stories boxHeading level three Top StoriesList of three itemsone LinkGraphicMajor Salou Djibo Niger appoints interim governmenttwo LinkGraphicHillary Clinton US 'ready to help' on Falklandsthree LinkGraphicPresident Obama speaking in Prague, five April two thousand nine US plans 'dramatic' nuclear cutsList endList of five itemsbulletLink Irish town rapped for Israel snubbulletLink Reformist papers banned in IranbulletLink DR Congo officer accused of abusebulletLink Spanish dash Venezuelan row escalatesbulletLink Bosnian war leader arrested in UKList endHeading level threeLink More Top StoriesThis page link Add a Story to this feedThis page link Remove a story from this feedList of eight itemsbulletLink Irish town rapped for Israel snubbulletLink Reformist papers banned in IranbulletLink DR Congo officer accused of abusebulletbulletbulletbulletbulletList endHeading level threeLink More from BBC 

  14. Page has sixty-three headings and two hundred thirty-six linksBBC dash Homepage dash Internet Explorer Accessibility LinksList of six itemsbulletThis page link Skip to contentalt plus two bulletThis page link Skip to bbc.co.uk navigationbulletThis page link Skip to bbc.co.uk searchbulletLink Display OptionsbulletLink Accessibility helpbulletLink Access keys helpalt plus zeroList endList of three itemsbulletLink MobilesbulletLink Make this my HomepagebulletLink Take the tourList endHeading level oneLinkGraphicBritish Broadcasting Corporation Tuesday two March two thousand ten Heading level two BBC SearchEdit SearchbuttonHeading level two Customise Your HomepageList of two itemsbulletThis page link Add more to this pageLink Further informationbulletLink Reset homepageList endHeading level two Top News StoryHeading level threeLinkGraphicFirefighter tackles a supermarket blaze in Concepcion Troops deployed amid Chile unrest Thousands of Chilean troops head to the devastated earthquake zone as reports emerge of survivors turning to looting.Link More from BBC NewsHeading level twoLink More Top StoriesLink Edit my news settingsLink Remove the news sectionThis page link Close the More Top Stories boxHeading level three Top StoriesList of three itemsone LinkGraphicMajor Salou Djibo Niger appoints interim governmenttwo LinkGraphicHillary Clinton US 'ready to help' on Falklandsthree LinkGraphicPresident Obama speaking in Prague, five April two thousand nine US plans 'dramatic' nuclear cutsList endList of five itemsbulletLink Irish town rapped for Israel snubbulletLink Reformist papers banned in IranbulletLink DR Congo officer accused of abusebulletLink Spanish dash Venezuelan row escalatesbulletLink Bosnian war leader arrested in UKList endHeading level threeLink More Top StoriesThis page link Add a Story to this feedThis page link Remove a story from this feedList of eight itemsbulletLink Irish town rapped for Israel snubbulletLink Reformist papers banned in IranbulletLink DR Congo officer accused of abusebulletbulletbulletbulletbulletList endHeading level threeLink More from BBC 

  15. Common Problems Very common.

  16. Adobe Flash The prevalence of Flash web sites is a huge barrier to access for blind users. Sites that only use Flash are 100% inaccessible. The most recent version of Flash (released 2 years ago) is somewhat accessible, but many people have outdated versions.

  17. CAPTCHAs • These functions are inherently inaccessible. • Alternatives include using audio CAPTCHAs or simple questions ("what color is a banana?"). • However, neither of these is ideal: • Generated audio CAPTCHAs can be understood by computers (Google's was cracked 2 years ago). • Simple questions cannot be automatically generated, requiring more human effort.

  18. Solutions The future!

  19. Annotation One method is manually creating labels to identify different sections of a web page.

  20. Annotation navigation title article

  21. Annotation This is time consuming, and becomes useless whenever the page is redesigned. CNN was redesigned twice last year.

  22. 3D Sound

  23. Mobile accessibility

  24. How to make an accessible web page • Headings: Use <h1>-<h6> to structure information from most to least important. • ALT tags: Always, always, always describe images using ALT tags. • Use descriptive links: 'Click here' is meaningless by itself. • There is no substitute for testing with real, live users.

  25. Accessibility is complicated! • Accessibility is often associated only with visual impairment, but it covers much more: • Cognitive & developmental disabilities • Autism Spectrum Disorders • Brain injuries • Parkinson's disease • Alzheimers & dementia • Physical disabilities • Lack of dexterity (clicking a mouse) • Poor motor function (moving a mouse, typing) • Hearing impairment • Parkinson's disease

  26. Questions? jcrow@mail.utexas.edu http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~jcrow http://www.ischool.utexas.edu http://accessibility.yahoo.com http://www.knowbility.org

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