1

Testing Web site Accessibility

Review of disabilities, legislation & techniques

2

What we’ll coverWeb accessibility overviewAccessibility toolsBreak out sessionSummarise findingsAccessibility toolkit

3

Web Accessibility OverviewDisabilitiesLegislationICT Compliance

4

What is Web site Accessibility?Assistive technologies

TTS (text-to-speech) browsersText-only browsersVoice-enabled browsersKeyboard or mouse commandsBraille devicesScreen magnification

5

Why is it Important?More people accessing the webDisabled : 10% to 20%Average age of population in many countries is increasingCarry-over benefits for other usersLegal requirements

6

DisabilitiesLow VisionHearingMotor SkillsCognitive AbilitiesLow Grade Technology

7

Low VisionBackground colourContrastColour scheme can be over-riddenAvoid GraphicsItalicsUnderlineCAPITALISATION

8

HearingCaptionsTranscripts

9

Motor SkillsKey Tabs

<IMG SRC="banner.gif" ALT="Navigation banner" WIDTH="580" HEIGHT="21"BORDER="0" usemap="#bannermap“>

<MAP NAME="bannermap“> <AREA SHAPE="rect" HREF="internal.html" ALT="Employee information" COORDS="506,2 577,18" TABINDEX=“3“>

<AREA SHAPE="rect" HREF="news.html" ALT="News and events" COORDS="186,2 303,18" TABINDEX="1“>

<AREA SHAPE="rect" HREF="searches.html" ALT="Search" COORDS="311,2 475,18" TABINDEX="2"> </MAP>

10

Cognitive AbilitiesUse clear languageSimple NavigationWrite for the webUse non-text examples

11

Low Grade TechnologyBandwidthOld MachinesOld Browsers

12

LegislationHistoryWhat’s Affected?Responsibilities

13

Legislation HistoryDisability Discrimination Act of 1995Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 200101 September 2002‘Reasonable Adjustments’

Assistive TechnologiesAccessible Services

14

What’s Affected - Accessible ICT Departmental, Faculty, Institutional Web sitesIntranetsVLEs & MLEsInformation GatewaysResource portalsWeb-based applicationsany digital resource

15

Responsibilities – in theory‘Reasonable Adjustments’

16

Responsibilities – in practiceValidate using available toolsW3C Guideline compliantAccessibility Policy in place

17

Accessibility ToolsPreliminary ReviewConformance EvaluationAutomated Evaluation

18

Preliminary ReviewTurn off imagesTurn off soundChange font sizeSet screen resolutionChange display colourUse tab keys

19

Conformance EvaluationImages & animations Image mapsMultimedia/Scripts & appletsHypertext linksPage organisationFramesTables

20

Validation ToolsW3C Validation Service

HTML and CSS validation servicehttp://validator.w3.org

Bobby CASTAutomated Accessibility service

http://www.cast.org/bobby Lynx Checker

A tool that simulates a text-based web browserhttp://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html

VischeckA tool that simulates colour-blindness

http://vischeck.com/vischeckURL.php3

21

Break out sessionYour HE Website

Select 3 key pages (home, prospectus, other)

Preliminary ReviewConformance EvaluationAutomated Evaluation

22

Techniques to keep in mindProvide text equivalents for all non-text elementsProvide summaries of tablesOrganise content clearlyProvide alternative content for all plug-in elements

23

Accessibility PolicyWe are committed to ensuring accessibility of our Web sites for people with disabilities. New and updated Web content produced by us organization will conform to W3C/WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, Conformance Level A…

24

Web site help

25

Prioritise ComplianceHome page and high-traffic pagesAll new pagesMedium-traffic pages longer-term goal of overall compliance

26

Accessibility ToolkitResources handoutWeb site evaluation checklist

Preliminary reviewConformance evaluationAutomated evaluation

27

Thank youQuestions…?