Progress towards accessible analytics and data visualization

1. Progress towards accessible analytics and data visualization Ed Summers SAS Institute

2. McKinsey report on Big Data "The United States alone faces a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills, as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts to analyze big data and make decisions based on their findings."

3. Education initiatives • SAS mobile learning apps • SAS Curriculum Pathways • Institute for Advanced Analytics • SAS OnDemand for Academics • Accessible data visualization initiative

4. SAS mobile learning apps • Primarily for K-12 • Initially on iOS, expanding to other platforms • Enables effective use of technology in the classroom • Available at no cost

5. SAS Curriculum Pathways • Curriculum resources for grades 6-12 • Contains more than 1,100 interactive, online, standards-based resources • Covers all the core disciplines • Aligned with the Common Core State Standards • Used in more than 100,000 classrooms around the world • Available at no cost

6. Institute for Advanced Analytics • Established at NCSU in 2007 • Created the nation's first Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) degree • MSA is an intensive, full-time, 10-month learning experience • MSA job placement greater than 90% for five years • Serves as a model for similar programs across the U.S.

7. SAS OnDemand for Academics • Immediate access to enterprise-class SAS software at no cost • Used to teach data management or analytics in post-secondary education • Students gain marketable skills • 100% instructor-driven • Access apps from anywhere • Processing takes place on secure servers hosted at SAS

8. Instructor perspective • Set up SAS OnDemand for Academics account • Register as an instructor • Access instructor home page on SAS OnDemand for Academics Control Center • Create a course and upload data • Invite students to register for the course

9. Student perspective • Set up SAS OnDemand for Academics account • Access student home page on SAS OnDemand for Academics Control Center • Register for a course • Install client software, if necessary

10. SAS Enterprise Guide • Primary interface to SAS • IDE for SAS programming • Menu-driven and wizard-driven tasks for analyzing data and publishing results

11. Accessibility of SAS Enterprise Guide 6.1 • Available in SAS OnDemand for Academics in Fall 2013 • Adopts Windows color scheme • Supports a high contrast theme • Significant keyboard accessibility • Programming environment supports screen readers • Still a work in progress

12. SAS Web Editor • Web-based access to SAS programming environment • Zero-footprint • Supported on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari • Desktop access went production in February 2013 • iPad access is beta

13. Accessibility of SAS Web Editor • Supports browser zoom • Adopts browser color scheme • Significant keyboard accessibility • Significant support for screen readers • Recommended screen reader is JAWS 14 with Firefox

14. More information http://support.sas.com/ondemand/

15. Accessible data visualization initiative

16. Design goals • Affordable mainstream hardware • Born-accessible mainstream content • Cradle-to-grave digital delivery of content • First-hand access with perceptual precision • Support roles of consumer and producer

17. Example data visualizations • Bar chart • Line chart • Pie chart • Scatter plot • Maps

18. Delivery on iOS touchscreen devices • Built-in accessibility features • Support for refreshable braille displays • Support for kinesthetic feedback • Broadly adopted in K-12 schools • Broadly adopted in blind community

19. SAS accessibility gallery http://support.sas.com/misc/accessibility

20. Questions? accessibility@sas.com