Saturday, 8 March 2008 - 11:30AM
Abstract:
Social media, interactive communities, and online marketing have ratcheted up the ways we use the web. What are the barriers experienced by people with disabilities trying to use web applications? From Facebook and YouTube to JK Rowlings and NetFlix, what level of accessibility is expected, achievable and reasonable? No one wants to give up the richer and faster experience facilitated by these new techniques, but should we really just accept that a certain number of people will be locked out? Sharron Rush of Knowbility moderates the panel and explores three critical aspects of this question. First, Susan L. Gerhart, a sofware engineer who has lost her vision, demonstrates common barriers. Lisa Pappas of SAS shows us how the industry is working collaboratively to address the problem. Finally Becky Gibson, a Web accessibility architect for IBM, demonstrates Accessible Rich Internet Applications being developed under the umbrella of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI-ARIA). Attendees will leave with a better understanding of the problem, will know how to participate in providing solutions, and will get code level examples of how to improve the accessibility of widgets and other rich Internet applications.Sharron Rush (Moderator) - Exec Dir, Knowbility.org
Susan Gerhart - IT, apodder.org
Becky Gibson - Web Accessibility Architect, IBM
Lisa Pappas - Accessibility Analyst, SAS
Rush gave the example of Galludet using YouTube to communicate.
Gerhart:
(She is a developer who is slowly losing her vision to myopic degeneration.)
Her blog: http://asyourworldchanges.wordpress.com
blindcooltech, acbradio, podzinger - podcasts for the blind
largest criticism of the web: the amount of extra effort that is required for a blind person to navigate the web.
- “Click here” problem of non-contextual links.
- Headers not hierarchical and descriptive.
- Sidebar/global stuff coming before content in the document flow
- NVDA (http://www.nvda-project.org/) - open source screen reader is what she uses. This is important because it makes it affordable for those who cannot get the purchase of a screenreader subsidized.
accessibleworld.com - location for blind people to communicate
blogtalkradio.com - her example of attempting to navigate and getting frustrating
Pappas:
- Accessibility translates directly into profitablilty
- There are several demographic factors that are converging. The population is aging and the number of ergonomic adaptations rise accordingly.
- While AJAX provides great interface appearance, but they make it difficult for the screenreader to be aware of screen updates. Keyboard controls are often erattic and incomplete.
WAI-ARIA now part of Firefox 3.
You must check for:
- full keyboard operation
- color option and colorblindness support
- screenreader support
Tools:
- Use validation tools with caution. They can give false positives and a false trust that the tool has confirmed the usability of the page/site.
- Firefox extensions: Firefox Accessibility Extension and Fangs
Get actual people with disabilities to do user testing.
- Color:
- [standard stuff…]
- Contrast of adjacent elements
- afb.org
- Consider allowing the change of serif/sans-serif as some people can read one or the other better.
- Demo: Color Contrast Analyser
- Business benefits of accessible web design:
- Increased usability
- Widens audience
- Raises public opinion
- Increases scalibility
- Reduces litigation risk
Gibson:
- She works on DOJO
- AJAX should not be used to steal focus/update salient content
- Full keyboard support
- Be aware of how your page changes in high-contrast mode
- Be aware of teh flow of your pages when font size increases.
- ARIA (Accessible Rich internet Applications)