Introduction to Universal Electronic Accessibility and Jaws

PRESENTED BY ADINA MULLIKEN, MAY 2014

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Today’s Intended Outcomes» Explore concepts of Universal Design.

» Name two sets of web accessibility technical guidelines (WCAG 2.0 & Section 508).

» Gain understanding of accessibility related policy developments.

» Experience how some users with disabilities access information with JAWS.

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Universal Design (UD)» UD is a concept, or frame of mind. UD is not a set of

technical guidelines or legal requirements; we’ll get to those.

» Elements that are good for UD sometimes coincide with requirements to meet accessibility technical standards (WCAG 2.0 and Section 508)

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Definition of Universal Design (UD)

“Often, designers focus on the average user. In contrast, universal design (UD), according to the Center for Universal Design, ‘is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design’”- CAST

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Example of UD- PDFs » An accessible PDF is usable by a person who needs the

PDF read aloud by text to speech software, whether this is due to: a learning disability a cognitive disability blindness or low vision a busy commuter schedule that requires listening to PDFs

while driving or riding the bus

» PDF accessibility is also required by technical accessibility guidelines, which we will get to later

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Example of UD - videos» An accessible, captioned and audio described video

is usable by a person: Who is Deaf or hard of hearing Who is learning the language Who is in a noisy Learning Commons trying to watch a

video on a display Who is blind or low vision Who needs to turn away from the screen for a moment

» Clip of audio described, captioned video

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Web accessibility - good for everyone» “Web accessibility makes for a more progressive,

cleaner, and contemporary website.”- Cindy Barry, Information Technology Analyst

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Federal policy» Frequently Asked Questions About the June 29, 2010,

Dear Colleague Letter (DCL)

“ [The DCL] addresses key principles of Federal disability discrimination law: the obligation to provide an equal opportunity to individuals with disabilities to participate in, and receive the benefits of, the educational program”

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Federal policy, continued» When the requirements have been enforced through

complaint resolutions and settlement agreements, institutions of higher education have most often agreed to abide by WCAG 2.0 level AA.

» According to an ANPRM by the Dept. of Justice, regulations such as WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 are expected to be added under ADA.

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Technical Accessibility Guidelines» Section 508 Standards. § 1194.22 Web-based intranet

and internet information and applications.

» W3C-Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Includes Conformance Level A (lowest), AA,

and AAA (highest)

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Technical Guidelines in Practice» Syracuse University Libraries will comply with WCAG

2.0 as well as Section 508 wherever possible for web accessibility.

» WCAG 2.0 & Section 508 are not intended as checklists for beginners. Going by trainings provided would probably be more practical for many people.

» WebAIM offers user friendly guidance on WCAG 2.0 and Section 508.

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Resolution agreement example» University of Montana Accessibility Resolution Agree

ment

“By March 14, 2014, the University's library website shall be accessible in accordance with WCAG 2.0 Level AA standard, …. The …Library shall conduct monthly accessibility scans to ascertain whether any new posted content is inaccessible. The University shall notify content authors if corrections to pages are needed and of reasonable timelines for corrections to be made. The University shall note if corrective action has been taken during the next monthly scan.”

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JAWS» Screen reader used by people who are blind and

sometimes people with some cognitive disabilities

» Most widely used screen reader in U.S.

» Vendor, Freedom Scientific, offers free 40 min. mode

» Screen reader users navigate with a keyboard, not a mouse. Screen readers are typically used with the screen off.

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JAWS settings» Users can change many settings in JAWS

» Some settings that may be relevant for Library staff to be aware of: Punctuation

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A few things about using JAWS» You can use continuous “Say All” mode, or go more

slowly (line by line, word by word, etc.)

» Cntl= Be quiet JAWS!

» JAWS has numerous keystrokes.

» JAWS has several “cursors” which we will just touch upon

» There are different keystrokes for Internet, Word, Outlook, etc. We’ll use Internet keystrokes.

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Page Elements to which Jaws can go» Headings- H

» Links- visted or unvisited- V, U

» Checkboxes- X

» Bulleted Lists- L

» “Edit boxes” (search boxes)- E

» “Combo boxes” (drop down menus)- C

» Tables- T

» Many more!

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Demo Jaws in Ebsco» Use arrows and tabs to get around

» Open drop down- hear pronunciation of abbreviations

» Insert+ F7 lists links

» Insert + F6 lists headings

» Accessibility link- Ebsco has 3 short cut keys

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Further resources» Organizations that work on Universal Design

CAST The Center for Universal Design

National Center on Universal Design for Learning DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, Techn

ology)-University of Washington

» Introductory Resources and Policy on Web Accessibility - from ACRL Universal Accessibility Interest Group on ALA Connect

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Further resources, continued» Sources for free and commercial a

udio described videos