Become an Accessibility Expert in 50 min

1. Become an Accessibility Expert in 50 min

2. What your will learn • Stuff to impress your Client & Boss with. • Surprise, it might be you! Who are covered in accessibility issues. • Wow, That’s allot of work.

3. Time to Impress How Serious is this? • About 1 in 4 computer users have a visual difficulty or impairment. • Also about 1 in 4 users have a dexterity difficulty or impairment. • 1 in 5 computer users have a hearing difficulty or impairment • 74.2 million computer users are LIKELY or VERY LIKELY to benefit from the use of accessible technology.

4. Rehabilitation Act (Sections 504 & 508) Section 255 of the Telecommunicat-ions Act of 1996 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Amended in 1997) The Law

5. Rehabilitation Act (Sections 504 & 508) • 1973 the act was created to give the disabled a even playing field. • Amended in 93 and again in 98 which affects us on the web. • http://www.section508.gov for more information not covered here on both 504 and 508

6. Rehabilitation Act Sections 504 The Nutshell:Section 504 prohibitions against discrimination apply to service availability, accessibility, delivery, employment, and the administrative activities and responsibilities of organizations receiving Federal financial assistance. A recipient of Federal financial assistance may not, on the basis of disability: • Deny qualified individuals the opportunity to participate in or benefit from federally funded programs, services, or other benefits. • Deny access to programs, services, benefits or opportunities to participate as a result of physical barriers. • Deny employment opportunities, including hiring, promotion, training, and fringe benefits, for which they are otherwise entitled or qualified....

7. Rehabilitation Act Sections 508 The Nutshell:Section 508 requires access to the Federal government's electronic and information technology. The law covers all types of electronic and information technology in the Federal sector and is not limited to assistive technologies used by people with disabilities. It applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use such technology. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees and the public to the extent it does not pose an "undue burden." • Software Applications and Operating Systems • Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications • Telecommunications Products • Video or Multimedia Products • Self Contained, Closed Products

8. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Title II & Title III apply to Web accessibility and postsecondary institutions. • Title II in particular Section VI: Communications Pertains to the Government (State/Local) • Title III Technical Assistance Manual. (Section 1.2 Public Accommodation ) deals with public accommodation of people with disabilities. • Question:Does the internet qualify as a place of public accommodation?

9. (ADA) Law Suites • National Federation of the Blind vs. AOL • Tyler v. City of Manhattan (857 F Supp 800 D.Kan. 1994) • Southwest Airlines Cases • Martin vs. MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) • Oversight Hearing on The Applicability of the ADA to Private Internet Sites (Feb 9th 2000)

10. Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Section 255) • “The Act requires manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment to ensure that the equipment is designed, developed, and fabricated to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, if readily achievable.” • “Telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment designed, developed and fabricated after the effective date of the section, including, but not limited to, telephones, pagers, fax machines, computers with modems, etc. “

11. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act • “Free appropriate public education“ for preK-12th grade. • Must have access to the General Curriculum of their peers • Very Similar to Section 504 & 508 except for schools.

12. Defining The Disabled and Impaired • Visual • Hearing • Motor • Cognitive • Age Related

13. The Workload • Assessing the situation • Setting standards • Get it done! • Wait there is more. Testing again.

14. Assessing the situationThe Site Audit • Define your test • What items will you test. • How long will it take. Typical Items to test • Home Page • At least 5 pages at 1 click in. • At least 5 pages at 2 clicks in. • All form pages • All Plug-in Pages • Site Map Page • Any part of the site which follows a “User interactive Process” (i.e. Registration process. Purchase process.)

15. What to do for each item • Verify the HTML for compliance • Verify the CSS for compliance • Test the HTML Schematic Structure. • Check page against a tool like Bobby, Wave, or CynthiaSays.com • Test with VisCheck for Color Blindness issues. • Test with Client Scripts turned off. • Test without images. • Manually verify all Definitive Tag Attributes. • Verify That the linguistics' are clear and precise to what they define. • Test Media for Hearing disability and Cognitive disability issues. • Check for Keyboard Accessibility Issues.

16. Your Best Tool is Live User Testing

17. Testing the HTML, CSS, And the Schematic Structure • We do this to make sure of compatibility with accessible technology readers. • HTML now well written will cause reader issues. • CSS not well written will not allow users to overwrite the site settings. (i.e. Font sizes) • Schematic should make sense. NO Formatting Text to look like a header. Use Header Tags! Do Not : <span class=“HeaderText”>This is my header.</span> DO: <h1 class=“HeaderText”>This is my Header</h1>

18. Testing the HTML, CSS, And the Schematic Structure A good Schematic Structure looks simular to Heading 1 <h1> Heading 2 <h2> Paragraph <p> Heading 2 <h2> Paragraph <p> Heading 3 <h3> Paragraph <p> Heading 3 <h3> Paragraph <p> Heading 4 <h4> Paragraph <p> Heading 3 <h3> Paragraph <p>

19. Definitive Tag Attributes: ALT LONGDESC SUMMARY CAPTION ABBR ACRONYM NAME TABLES Don’t us <th> tags with layout tables. Designate Row and Column Headers Using the <th> Tag Use Appropriate Headers for the Data Cells Use Proportional Sizing over Absolute Sizing Provide Titles for Data Tables Using the <caption> Tag Provide Summaries Using the Summary Attribute Manually Verify All Definitive Tag Attributes.

20. Testing Media • Provide synchronized captions for any audio that conveys content • Remove strobing content that flashes between 2 and 55 times per second • Give users control over time sensitive content • Ensure the content is keyboard accessible • Be consistent • Use the clearest, simplest language appropriate to the content • Provide plenty of contrast • Ensure screen reader accessibility or provide an accessible alternative • Provide text equivalents for all non-text elements that convey content or provide a function

21. Testing Keyboard Accessibility • Easily navigatable via tab key. • Easily navigatable with JavaScript turned off. • Allow content skipping. • Use tabindex attribute and keyboard shortcuts • Avoid absolute positioning.

22. Setting Standards • Standards books help consistent accessibility design. • Give a site template for multiple contributors • Allows less room for mistakes.

23. More Testing • Use Human Testing. • Random Audit Testing. • Scheduled post-project testing