#22300
PDF Can Comply With Section 508. Now It's Your Move
A blind person cannot read from a screen any more than from a printed page. Technologies nonetheless exist that allow blind and other disabled users impressively full-featured access to documents. To be accessible, however, the document contents must be available to these so-called 'assistive' technologies.
Johnson, Duff. PlanetPDF (2003). Articles>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat>Section 508
#29872
PDFs and Section 508: Compliance, Accessibility, and Usability 
This paper addresses limitations and problematic issues of usability and accessibility involved in the creation and use of Adobe Acrobat PDF files for people with visual impairments who use screen readers as an assistive device. In some cases, due to technological limitations, PDF documents can present information incorrectly to such persons. A document which is accessibility compliant may then not be fully usable by individuals with visual impairments. The lack of specific guidelines for accessible PDF documents complicates the issue, though a series of W3C PDF Checkpoints provides some guidance. Problematic issues discussed include footnotes, special characters and formats, acronyms and abbreviations, and tables.
Dolin, Samantha and Jane L. Willig. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat>Section 508
#29680
The presenter describes a long series of technological assistive devices she has used to overcome a double disability--—blindness and deafness—--over the past 30 years in pursuing a highly successful career in technical communication. She also demonstrates the equipment and shows how it makes it possible for her to do her job.
Hogg, Maureen. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>TC>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#22966
Review: A Review of Free, Online Accessibility Tools
This article reviews eight, free, online web accessibility tools and examines the general characteristics of accessibility tools. The review provides a comparison between tools, and offers suggestions as to which tool would be appropriate for each of the following audiences: web designers, web developers and web evaluators.
Blair, Peter. WebAIM (2004). Articles>Reviews>Accessibility>Software
#22953
Safe Web Colours For Colour-Deficient Vision
Colour is increasingly used these days to help convey information. When one in twelve men have some measurable degree of colour vision deficiency, the use of certain colours in certain ways can cause difficulty when navigating web pages or software, and even total illegibility in some cases. The key issue is to know when you are using colours which some people will not be able to differentiate - because that (for them) removes the benefit of using colour for visual cues. Colour scientists have long known which colours are confused by colour blind people, but this tends to be expressed in a way difficult for designers to utilise.
BT Group (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Color
#30472
Screen Readers and 'display:none'
When an element is hidden with display: none, the browser doesn't generate a box for the element; the element is not visible on the screen, and the layout of the page isn't effected by the element. As screen readers are supposed to read the screen, it makes sense that they do not announce content that is hidden with display: none.
Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2007). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>CSS
#29881
Secondary Disabilities: The Vicious Circle
This progression round-table discussion explores the role of secondary disabilities that can magnify the effects of primary disabilities, triggering a downward spiral that leads to greater impairment, depression, and even total surrender--a classic vicious circle. The objective is to share personal experiences and look for ways to break the vicious circle early-- before the secondary disability compounds the effects of the primary disability. The strategy to combat this insidious syndrome is three-fold: (1) optimal medical treatment of the primary disability to minimize its effects, (2) maximum technological accommodations to compensate for the remaining deficit after medical options have been exhausted, and (3) psychological intervention to interrupt and reverse the secondary disability pattern before it creates the downward spiral--in essence, 'blasting a hole' in the vicious circle.
Voss, Ria and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Accessibility
#20705
Section 508 Web Accessibility Now a Federal Law!
Web design at Federal departments and agencies just got orders of magnitude more complex. In 1998, President Clinton signed into law Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The law, aimed at making government technology accessible to 120,000 disabled federal employees and 50 million other disabled Americans, went into effect June 21, 2001. Unlike the OSHA Ergonomic Program that was universally reviled by the Republican Administration and was immediately repealed upon President Bush taking office, Section 508 has been widely endorsed by President Bush and his Cabinet. This rule is here to stay. Commended by disability groups throughout the nation, Section 508 is an important step in making technology accessible to everyone. With hundreds of government agencies rethinking their technology investments, the effects of Section 508 will be felt throughout the public and private sectors. Section 508 marks the beginning of a new era in technology development. For the first time disabled employees and users of government-sponsored technology are in the driver's seat. And the controls they need are no small matter.
Mauro, Charles L. TaskZ (2001). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508
#21384
Section 508, Documentation and the US Software Market
This article outlines how you can ensure that your software documentation conforms to the new accessibility legislation in the US.
Unwalla, Mike. TechScribe (2003). Articles>Documentation>Accessibility>Section 508
#19945
Serving Special Needs in Technical Communication
Some 43 million Americans have disabilities, under the definitions provided in the American Disabilities Act. Only one fourth of working-age Americans with disabilities who are capable of fully productive employment have jobs. Grim statistical realities like these prompted the Society for Technical Communication to form a Special Needs Committee (SNC) to address the needs of its members (as well as its end users) who have disabilities. This article provides a brief history of the SNC, outlines its goals and objectives, and introduces some of its members. The SNC welcomes the development of a “sister” group within the American Translators Association (ATA), and would like to pool resources to help fellow professionals whose careers—and lives—have been derailed by disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Accessibility>TC
#32008
Setting and Retrieving Accesskeys with JavaScript and DOM
There are some things in the world of accessibility that appear, on the face of it, to be really wonderful ideas… until you scratch slightly below the service. What may seem feasible when putting together some guidelines on accessibility might not ultimately translate well to a real-world application. Hands up who can remember the last time they felt compelled to use a longdesc attribute? And what about the accesskey attribute? Oh, you have used them you say. OK, let’s back up a little and find out what went wrong here.
Lloyd, Ian. Vitamin (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>JavaScript
#23001
Setting Learner Goals and Objectives
While pursuing my undergraduate degree in business education, I took an entire semester-long course on writing good learner goals and objectives. Though I won't pass on everything I learned, I do want to stress the importance of establishing goals and objectives for your learners (as well as for yourself) and provide some tips for establishing effective, measurable goals and objectives.
WebAIM (2001). Articles>Education>Accessibility
#26367
Starting from the basics of Active Accessibility, this article leads you through the development of a software testing application. You'll see how this testing application interacts with common controls and other UI elements, then processes the resulting WinEvents.
Klementiev, Dmitri. Microsoft (2000). Articles>Accessibility>Software>Microsoft Windows
#19239
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act was given Royal Assent on 11 May, and will begin to come into effect from 1 September 2002. The Act removes the previous exemption of education from the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), ensuring that discrimination against disabled students will be unlawful. Institutions will incur additional responsibilities in 2003, with the final sections of legislation coming into effect in 2005. The legislation will apply to the UK, with the exception, at the moment, of Northern Ireland. As the Act is an amendment to the existing Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), it only protects people defined as disabled according to that legislation. This definition is based on an individual's ability to carry out 'normal day-to-day' activities, and so may exclude some students who are usually considered disabled by the support systems within their institutions. Under the new law all publicly-funded further and higher education institutions, schools with post-16 provision, and local authorities when they provide further, adult or continuing education or training will have responsibilities.
Corlett, Sophie. TechDis (2001). Articles>Accessibility>Legal>United Kingdom
#19240
Speechlet is a system which allows blind students of the Java programming language to use existing course material. Most Java courses use program examples that generate graphic output. The main reason for this is that students enjoy writing programs that produce interesting and exciting outputs. However, a blind student is unable to see the output of their program and is unable to even gauge that their program has worked. Speechlet was therefore produced to allow a blind student to move the mouse pointer over the screen and hear a spoken description of what is there. This paper discusses the reasons for the development of Speechlet, followed by a description of its operation and finally a discussion of its use in practise.
Mullier, D.J. TechDis (2003). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Software
#29687
Stuckness and Low Vision: How Technology and Socratic Classroom Dialog Changed My Life
The author shares some stories from her own life that may be useful in helping Web page designers and product developers better understand issues surrounding low vision, hearing loss, and mobility restrictions using her 'art of accommodation.' In this article, she discusses this art as it applies to seven areas: (1) reading structural cues and wayfinding, (2) multimedia, (3) graphics, (4) text design and visual threshold, (5) contrast, (6) glare and size of electronic displays, and (7) mobility.
Reece, Gloria A. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Education>Accessibility>Web Design
#22931
During the past few months, two new initiatives have been launched which could significantly affect everyone involved in website accessibility: EuroAccessibility and UKDeAN.
Kessler, Dennis. Accessify (2003). Articles>Accessibility>Standards>Europe
#18738
Un blog essencialment d'opinió de temes generals i d'informació de l'actualitat de Tarragona i de Catalunya, a més d'oferir un seguit d'enllaços ciutadans i de serveis i utilitats per als blocs i webs.
Nosolousabilidad.com (2002). (Spanish) Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Collaboration
#21694
Assistive technology (AT) can open up the world for an individual who has a disability. Assistive technology can ensure that individuals with a wide range of abilities can have meaningful access, be productive citizens, and participate in education, activities of daily living, and recreation and leisure.
ALLTech (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Technology
#26368
Testing Assistive Technology for Compatibility with Microsoft Windows XP
This article prioritizes areas of the Microsoft Windows XP interface that can be tested to ensure compatibility between assistive technologies and Windows XP.
Microsoft (2002). Articles>Accessibility>Testing>Microsoft Windows
#19245
As the new disability legislation becomes law in the UK, Academic websites will be coming under close scrutiny from Disability Rights Organisations. Long established tools that have been used to test websites could, if used in the wrong way, be more of a liability than a benefit. The use of websites as medium for academia is now well established, with a plethora of materials being distributed over Intranets and Extranets. Furthermore, the pervasive Virtual Learning Environment is lending itself to opportunities for interactivity hitherto only possible in face-to-face teaching. But, as more and more material is distributed in this way there is a need for guidelines to ensure access for all.
Phipps, Lawrie, Neil Witt and Anne McDermott. TechDis (2002). Articles>Accessibility>Education>Online
#22752
UK Accessibility Investigation of 1,000 Web Sites - Results Released
An investigation of 1000 UK Web sites carried out on behalf of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) reveals unacceptably poor (in fact woeful) accessibility. At least 81% of sites failed to meet the minimum accessibility standard, and this figure is likely to be much higher.
Dodd, Jon. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#26370
This article describes how the new Microsoft Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange (SAMI) technology expands the ability to provide closed captioning to a wide range of multimedia products.
Microsoft (2003). Articles>Accessibility>Software>Microsoft Windows
#31837
Universal Design – The Time is Now
The time for universal design is now because, as the Designing for the 21st Century III Conference website states “This is an extraordinary moment. We are more diverse now in ability and age than ever before. It is time for design to catch up. There is an urgent need to exchange ideas about the design of places, things, information, policies and programs that demonstrate the power of design to shape a 21st century world that works for all of us.”
Tauke, Beth. uiGarden (2008). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#21695
Universal Design in Education: What Is It?
Universal design in education (UDE) means that physical, social, and learning environments are designed so that individuals with a wide range of abilities can have meaningful access and participation in general education. Universal design in education is built in and involves flexibility of materials, strategies, approaches, and technology. Universal design should guide developers, educators, users, and others in developing and implementing environments that support diverse users, regardless of their abilities.
ALLTech (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Education>Universal Usability
