Workshop 1 Basics of Web Accessibility - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 22
About This Presentation
Title:

Workshop 1 Basics of Web Accessibility

Description:

Disabilities are invisible online. If we are unaffected, we are unaware of any inconvenience ... UK Disability Rights Commission. Laws in Canada are not as specific ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:31
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 23
Provided by: kirste7
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Workshop 1 Basics of Web Accessibility


1
Workshop 1Basics of Web Accessibility
  • Web Content Accessibility Project
  • Funded by BCcampus
  • Natasha Boskic, Kirsten Bole, Nathan Hapke
  • University of British Columbia

2
Workshop schedule
  • Monday August 21Basics of Web Accessibility
  • Tuesday August 22Coding an Accessible Website
  • Wednesday August 23Accessible Multimedia
  • Thursday August 24Creating Usable Content
  • Friday August 25Disabilities Assistive
    Technology

3
The Plan
  • What is accessibility and why is it important?
  • E-learning and accessibility
  • Who is affected?
  • How are they affected?
  • How do I make my course more accessible?

4
(No Transcript)
5
Why does it matter?
  • We often make assumptions about our students and
    site visitors
  • Disabilities are invisible online
  • If we are unaffected, we are unaware of any
    inconvenience

6
Consequences in Education
  • Inaccessible sites can be slightly inconvenient
    or completely frustrating
  • Inaccessible academic sites can have serious
    impact on someones educational experience
  • Affects students access to course materials and
    ability to work and participate
  • Excluding students is not an option

7
Standards
  • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
  • Created by the Web Accessibility Initiative
    section of the W3C
  • 2.0 is under review

8
Laws
  • Section 508 (US)
  • UK Disability Rights Commission
  • Laws in Canada are not as specific
  • Canadian anti-discrimination laws strong

9
E-learning and accessibility
  • Good
  • Learning online bridges huge distances
  • Potential for small classes,more interaction
  • Opportunities for students who otherwise cant
    attend a physical campus
  • Not so good
  • Dependent on technology
  • Requires careful time management

10
Students with disabilities
  • Learning disabilities most common
  • Dyslexia, ADHD
  • Sight
  • Partial sight, blindness, colourblindness
  • Motor/physical
  • Limited control of mouse/keyboard
  • Hearing

11
Getting around
  • Sight learning issues
  • Screen readers
  • Screen magnifiers
  • Braille devices
  • Physical issues
  • Adaptive keyboards
  • Alternative pointing devices
  • Many students with disabilities navigate by
    keyboard only.

12
Our Focus Group students
  • Ted teacher with problems focusing memorizes
    programs rather than using visual cues
  • Robert nerve damage to right hand uses FrogPad
    instead of keyboard
  • Samuel hard-of-hearing ESL student prefers
    videos to text

13
Donovan
  • English major at UBC
  • Blind since birth
  • Uses a screenreader called JAWS to access the web

14
Making your course accessible
  • Many accessibility changes to your site
  • benefit all learners.
  • Be consistentKeep navigation the same on each
    page
  • Be redundantPresenting information in multiple
    ways helps all learners

15
What to consider text
  • Is the font big enough, with enough contrast?
  • Can the user change the font size in their
    browser?
  • Are there distracting colours or animations?
  • Is there alternative text for every important
    graphic? (Dont forget charts graphs!)

16
What to consider links
  • Screen readerscan take linksout of context
  • Do links makesense on theirown? (Dontuse
    click hereas link text!)

17
What to consider other elements
  • Forms, tables and frames should be labeled
  • Audio, video transcripts should be available
  • Flash and PDF often require extra effort
  • When in doubt, offer same information in plain
    text format as well

18
What do I use?
  • Do NOT use Words Export to HTML feature!
  • Beginners Course Genie will export a valid,
    accessible site from Word
  • Intermediate use a good WYSIWYG editor such as
    Dreamweaver
  • Expert hand-code XHTML and CSS

19
Checking for accessibility
  • Online checkers help find problem areas
  • http//webxact.watchfire.com
  • Good tool, but no substitute for human testing!

20
Its not difficult
  • Most code changes are fairly minor
  • Many changes benefit all students, not just those
    with disabilities
  • Many terrific resources available online

21
Go forth accessify
  • Try running your own site (or your favourite
    website) through a validator. How does it rate?
  • Download a trial version of JAWS. What does your
    website sound like?

22
Thank you for coming!
  • Join us tomorrow for Coding an Accessible Website
    - 12 pm PST
  • Natasha Boskic (natasha.boskic_at_ubc.ca)
  • Kirsten Bole (kirsten.bole_at_ubc.ca)
  • Nathan Hapke (nhapke_at_interchange.ubc.ca)
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com