meeting the challenges of developing accessible web content kevin s. floyd and julie santiago
DESCRIPTION
Web Accessibility Defined by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) as: – Access to the Web by everyone, regardless of disability For websites, accessibility ensures that disabled persons can “perceive, understand, navigate and interact” with the site as well as non-disabled personsTRANSCRIPT
Meeting the Challenges of Developing Accessible Web
ContentKevin S. Floyd and Julie Santiago
Higher Education Today
• Continues to attract all types of students• Availability of online education attracts the
“non-traditional” student• “Non-traditional” could include:– Working adults– Physically-challenged students
Web Accessibility
• Defined by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) as:– Access to the Web by everyone, regardless of
disability • For websites, accessibility ensures that
disabled persons can “perceive, understand, navigate and interact” with the site as well as non-disabled persons
Laws for Higher Education
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states:– no otherwise qualified individual with a
disability in the United States […], shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance
• In 1990, Section 504 was extended to all colleges and universities
Determining Accessibility of a Website
• Many tools are available to gauge the accessibility of a website
• http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/Overview.html
Types of Errors Identified
• From the W3C– Priority 1 Error– Priority 2 Error– Priority 3 Error
• Section 508 – more stringent than 504 but institutions who meet 508 requirements automatically meet 504 requirements
Higher Education Home Pages
U.S. Region Number of Public Institutions
Southwest 9West 11Northeast 11Midwest 13Southeast 14Alaska/Hawaii 2
Higher Education Home Pages
• Are colleges and universities meeting web accessibility challenges?
Summary of Compliance Value
Percentage of institutions with P1 compliance
46.67%
Average number of P1 errors 0.73
Percentage of institutions with P2 compliance
3.33%
Average number of P2 errors 2.85
Percentage of institutions with P3 compliance
3.33%
Average number of P3 errors 2.60
Percentage of institutions with Section 508 compliance 18.33%
Web Accessibility Standards
• WC3 accessibility guidelines are found here: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/
• Section 508 standards are found here: http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm#Subpart_b
Simple Techniques to Enhance Accessibility
• Structure vs. Presentation • Text equivalents • Alternative pages • Navigation • Validation
Simple Techniques to Enhance Accessibility
• Spelling and Grammar Checks• Browser Support • Technologies Reviewed for
Accessibility • Audio and Video • Visual Information and Motion
Accessibility Examples
• Good Layout Examplehttp://it.maconstate.edu/kfloyd/Merlot2008/page1.htm• Bad Layout Examplehttp://it.maconstate.edu/kfloyd/Merlot2008/page2.htm
