Adaptive Technologies for the Visually Impaired: The Role of Technical Communicators    

This column examines emerging technologies of interest to technical communicators to help them identify those that are worthy of further investigation. It is intended neither as an endorsement of any technology or product, nor as a recommendation to purchase.

Ray, Deborah S. and Eric J. Ray. Technical Communication Online (1998). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual

Adaptive Technologies for the Visually Impaired: The Role of Technical Communicators

Try your ordinary web browsing and e-mail with an translucent piece of plastic draped over your monitor, with your monitor partially obstructed, or with your monitor turned off. With each of these changes, you’ll have a significantly different experience. For example, if you have plastic draped over your monitor, you’ll likely have a hard time reading words, interpreting graphics, or distinguishing colors. If your monitor is partially obstructed, you’ll likely have a difficult time navigating pages, reading columnar formats, or associating graphics with text. And, of course, if your monitor is off, you’ll have an entirely different set of challenges in accessing and using information. Each scenario offers a different view of the information onscreen, poses different challenges, and, most important, each is significantly different from unimpaired viewing.

Ray, Deborah S. and Eric J. Ray. TECHWR-L (1998). Design>Accessibility

Adaptive Technology Resource Centre

The Adaptive Technology Resource Centre advances information technology that is accessible to all; through research, development, education, proactive design consultation and direct service.

ATRC. Organizations>Accessibility>Web Design

Adaptive Technology Resource Centre: Technical Glossary

Comprehensive list of adaptive technology devices with detailed descriptions and examples of how they are used. Covers Alternative Keyboards, Alternative Mouse Systems, Braille Embosser and Text to Braille Conversion, Refreshable Braille Displays, Screen Magnifiers, Screen Readers and Talking Browsers, Text-to-Speech Systems, Animated Signing Characters (Signing Avatars) to name but a few.

Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (2004). Resources>Accessibility>Technology>Glossary

L'aderenza agli Standard di Screen Reader e Browser Vocali

Uno studio comparativo di 5 prodotti evidenzia come Jaws di Freedom Scientific e Home Page Reader di IBM siano gli strumenti che meglio interpretano le linee guida per l'accessibilità web.

D'Amour, Jean-Marie and Catherine Ro. FucinaWeb (2002). (Italian) Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Web Browsers

Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Techniques

Some sites would hardly exist at all if they took down their PDF files (PDF stands for 'Portable Document Format'). This format is an incredibly useful format for some situations, providing a method to post content on the Web that will print exactly as the author intended it to. Creating PDF files is faster and easier than creating HTML files in many cases. This increases its allure for Web developers.

WebAIM (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat

Adopting the Universal Design Approach Instead of the Stigma That Creates Poorly Accessible Enviroments

Universal Design can be thought of as a contemporary philosophical movement that addresses trends in the growth of the aging population and diversification of user abilities around the world. Stakeholders rely on designers, planners and managers as decision makers leading the drive to create non-segregated environments that help users and eliminate the stigma of disability. However, it seems necessary that everyone involved in the design process becomes aware and willing to bring about change. Therefore, the preparation of design students as well as users to understand the scope of Universal Design must be based on strategies that counteract the continuation of the stigma of disability in the mindset of designers and others who can bring about the changes required to create a more inclusive world.

Guimaraes, Marcelo. uiGarden (2008). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability

Advanced Techniques for Creating Accessible Adobe® PDF Files  

A step-by-step guide that covers more advanced techniques for optimizing Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files so that they can be made accessible to users with disabilities such as blindness or low vision.

Adobe (2004). Books>Web Design>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat

Affrontare l'Accessibilità

Questo libro risponde a due domande. La prima è "Perchè dovrei rendere più accessibile il mio sito?" E se non avete un sito web, questo libro non è per voi. La seconda domanda è "Come posso rendere il mio sito più accessibile?" Se non siete convinti della vostra prima risposta, non sarete di certo interessati alla seconda.

Pilgrim, Mark. Dive Into Accessibility (2002). (Italian) Books>Web Design>Accessibility

AHA: Audio HTML Access  

This report discusses the 'AHA' system for presenting HTML in audio for blind users and others who wish to access the WWW non-visually. AHA is a framework and set of suggestions for HTML presentation based on an initial experiment. Further experimentation and further revisions will be performed with the system.

James, Frankie. Stanford University (1998). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Audio

AJAX Accessibility for Websites

Discover the accessibility problems caused by AJAX and how it can be used to enhance web accessibility.

Simard, Brigitte. Webcredible (2008). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

AJAX and Screenreaders: When Can it Work?

We've all heard a great deal of buzz about AJAX in the last few months, and with this talk has come a legion of articles, tips, presentations and practical APIs designed to explore the possibilities and try to arrive at best-practice techniques. But, for all of the excitement and hype, still very little has been said on the subject of AJAX and accessibility.

Edwards, James. SitePoint (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Aktionsbündnis für Barrierefreie Informationstechnik

Im Aktionsbündnis für barrierefreie Informationstechnik (AbI) haben sich Behindertenverbände und Experten zusammengeschlossen, um die Umsetzung von Barrierefreiheit in der Informationstechnik zu unterstützen.

FTB. (German) Design>Web Design>Accessibility

All the Access Money Can Buy

Just when you think online multimedia will never be truly accessible, someone proves you wrong. In BMW Films, Clark sees a tantalizing glimpse of a better web.

Clark, Joe. List Apart, A (2000). Design>Accessibility>Web Design>Multimedia

Alt and Beyond: Making Web Graphics Accessible

Many developers still view graphics and accessibility as being on opposing ends of the web development scale. The truth is that including graphics in your documents does not mean your page has to be any less accessible. In fact, as we will see later in this article, graphics can be used to enhance the accessibility of a page. There are, however, a few key techniques that you can employ to ensure that you don't have to construct alternative 'Text-Only' documents. The web truly is the last frontier where we can treat all people equally with 'one size fits all' web documents. There is just a little bit extra we need to do to achieve this.

Roberts, Tim. evolt (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Alternative Interfaces for Accessibility

The key difference between user interfaces for sighted users and blind users is not that between graphics and text; it's the difference between 2-D and 1-D. Optimal usability for users with disabilities requires new approaches and new user interfaces.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Design>Accessibility>Usability>Universal Usability

Amex Woes Highlight Common PDF Accessibility Problem

American Express has come under criticism, and potential legal action, for the lack of accessibility of its credit card website. A blind customer of American Express credit cards found that Amex's change in the presentation of its online credit card statements from HTML to PDF format effectively prevented him from accessing his financial information online.

Rourke, Chris. User Vision (2007). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat

Another Way of Looking at Accessibility

Lorraine Ireland writes about her experiences of learning about web accessibility, having been in the business of selling adaptive technology for a number of years.

Ireland, Lorraine. Accessify (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

The Applicability of the ADA to the Internet

As the Internet has increased in prominence in all sectors of society, interested individuals have begun to question whether or not the Internet should be included in the regulations set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Right now there is no explicit reference to the Internet in any of the language of the act.

Bohman, Paul. WebAIM (2000). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Policies and Procedures

Applied Theory: Working Toward an Accessible Web Site

With the passage of Section 508 and the efforts of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), interest in Web site accessibility continues to increase. Web designers and Web content developers are finding that knowledge in Web accessibility is becoming essential to be marketable to government contracts and private industry since accessibility is becoming a best practice, and in some cases a legal requirement, in Web development. This article is written for those who already have a general knowledge about the reasons for, and the techniques of, designing accessible Web sites. In this article, I will share the steps that I have taken to work toward transforming a Web site that I manage to one that is accessible according to the W3C recommendations.

McConnell, Kim. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508

Applying Color Theory to Digital Displays

For backgrounds behind text, use solid, contrasting colors, and avoid the use of textures and patterns, which can make letterforms difficult to distinguish or even illegible. Choose combinations of text color and background color with care. Value contrast between body text and its background color should be a minimum of about eighty percent.

Gabriel-Petit, Pabini. UXmatters (2007). Design>User Interface>Accessibility>Color

Arrangements of Examination and Awarding Bodies for Disabled Candidates, Including Applications of Technology

This report is the result of research conducted into the arrangements that can be implemented by awarding bodies on behalf of disabled candidates in the UK. Findings are based on the procedures and advice made available by a selection of awarding bodies. Applications of technology in this area are of particular importance to the work of TechDis in enhancing access to learning, teaching and assessment.

Harrison, Sue. TechDis (2003). Academic>Accessibility>Technology

Assistive Listening Systems: Crucial For Skilled Listeners With a Hearing Loss  

Technical communicators are skilled listeners. Whether interviewing subject matter experts or working on teams, good communication is essential. But if you have a hearing loss, assistive listening systems (ALSs) can help.

Vinegar, Judy A. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>TC>Accessibility>Audio