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Make pages more accessible to people:
with
disabilities
using different browsers
using one of the emerging
handheld or voice-based computers
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), provide guidance on accessibility of Web sites.
The fourteen guidelines are general principles of accessible design. Each guideline is associated with one or more checkpoints describing how to apply that guideline to particular features of Web pages. For easy reference, the List of Checkpoints for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 sorts the checkpoints by priority.
WAI Fact Sheet
People with different kinds of disabilities can experience difficulty using the Web due to a combination of barriers in the information on Web pages, and barriers in the "user agents" (browsers, multimedia players, or assistive technologies such as screen readers or voice recognition).
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines deal specifically
with reduction of barriers on Web pages. For some people with disabilities,
barriers can mean:
lack of access to
information needed for educational programs
lack of access to
employment-related information or workplace intranets
lack of access to
information on civic activities or programs
inability to participate
in E-Commerce
Policies Relating to Web Accessibility
A starting point for locating relevant laws, regulations, policies, and government-related standards or guidelines which relate to Web accessibility; as well as information about efforts to initiate new policies.
Petition for the Accessibility of the Portuguese Internet
Business Benefits of Accessible Web Design
The Web Interoperability Pledge (WIP)
Promise to adhere to current HTML standards as promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Accessible By
Design
By Anitra Pavka
Digital Web Magazine, April 2002
"Web accessibility" is a hot topic today. You may also be familiar with other phrases like the W3C Web Accessibility Inititiative (WAI) or U.S. Section 508 guidelines. Many countries have Web accessibility guidelines that apply to their government sites. Now private companies are also realizing the benefits of creating accessible technology. The demand for accessible sites is growing, but Web workers, like you, are often unclear how to make sites more accessible. Designing an accessible site isn't necessarily harder, but it involves unique limitations that make you approach design from a different perspective.
Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative (FITAI)
Section 508 requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. The Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative is a Federal government interagency effort to offer information and technical assistance to assist in the successful implementation of Section 508.
Jim Thatcher's Section 508 Web Standards and WCAG Priority 1 Checkpoints A Side-by-side Comparison
visual, hearing, physical, cognitive
How bad is it?
Beyond
Accessibility: Treating Users with Disabilities as People
by Jakob Nielsen
Alertbox, November 11, 2001
With current Web design practices, users without disabilities experience three times higher usability than users who are blind or have low vision. Usability guidelines can substantially improve the matter by making websites and intranets support task performance for users with disabilities.
Assistive technology for blind and visually impaired people
with sensory and learning disabilities
screen reading &
screen magnification software
braille note takers,
embossers & displays
scanning & reading
software/hardware
Out of the
Dark
by Jeanette Prasifka
The Dallas Morning News, September 15, 1998
Internet opens doors for disabled, but new features may shut some out.
WeMedia's Talking Browser converts Web pages to text-only format and speaks them to the user.
JAWS for Windows - Screen Reader and MAGic Screen Magnification software
Blind or visually-impaired people browse the web, read or write e-mail messages, re-calculate spread sheets or access information in a data base. ... JAWS for Windows is now in use by more than 40,000 people worldwide and has been translated into Spanish,Danish, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish.
Colorfield Insight has a Photoshop plug-in that simulates colorblindness.
Innovative
Mouse Lets Visually Impaired 'Feel' The Web
by Jay Lyman
NewsFactor Network
,
April 13, 2001
Adaptive
Technology for the Internet:
Making Electronic Resources Accessible to All
by Barbara T. Mates
This work seeks to guide information providers in establishing accessible Websites and acquiring the hardware and software needed by people with disabilities. The book focuses on access to the Internet using large print, voice, and Braille.
GeoWoman.com - list of online communities for women
WITI (Women in Technology
International) offers a vertical portal site on the Internet for women who have
a high reliance on technology in both their careers and their businesses. This
is a vertically oriented, valuable market segment that features value over
volume. WITI offers a unique combination of content, technology and style to
deliver a valuable experience to site visitors and the electronic community.
http://community2.web.net/womensweb/community/orgs.cfm
http://www.fcae.nova.edu/icde/
http://www.wld.org/
http://www.oup-usa.org/acadref/ied.html
http://www.public-policy.org/~ncpa/pd/affirm/gender.html
Empowering Women
Through the Internet; Dutch Women Unite
by Karen Drost and Miriam Jorna
First Monday, October 2000
In The Netherlands, women are uniting to learn about computers and the Internet without the intervention of men or others who feel the need to show rather than to teach.
Calling All GirlGeeks!
Now there's a place for you on the Web!
Visit GirlGeeks.com today for everything
you need to succeed in your IT career, including jobs, mentors, access to
training, and inspiration from other GirlGeeks.
WNYwebgrrls: Women in Technology
Webgrrls provides a forum for women who are in or interested in technology, new media, and the Internet to network, exchange job and business leads, form strategic alliances, mentor and teach, intern and learn the skills to help women succeed in an increasingly technical workplace and world.
Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing
by Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher
The gender gap in computer use comes about because girls, unlike boys, don't feel a "magnetic attraction" to technology. We found that men and women tended to come at computing with different orientations and different goals. The men were motivated primarily by their interest in and enjoyment of technology; the women tended to be motivated by what it was good for, how it could be used to help people.
VCom3D's SigningAvatar
3-D animation tool that translates English into sign language and presents via an animated character, or avatar.
Translate email - six
languages. Use the free service to convert any
Web site to one of those languages (beware idioms).
The
Commerce Diplomats
by Jay Shen
WebTechniques, November 2000
Cross linguistic, cultural and national boundaries, resulting in increased international revenue and consistent brand image worldwide.
APIC (Africa Policy Information Center)
Accessible information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and international policies toward Africa that advance economic, political and social justice and the full spectrum of human rights.
International trade:
CABLE INDUSTRY TO PROMOTE MINORITY NET USE
E-Commerce Times, 11 May 2000
Cable companies are likely to benefit from a new initiative designed to promote the Internet to minority households in the U.S. and to provide the computer equipment, Internet connections, and training needed to get them online. The "Digital Bridge Alliance Project" could ultimately attract more users of broadband Internet service. A new study by Telecommunications Reports International shows only 2.3 million homes use broadband Internet service. Cable companies will be involved in the first phase of the project, which includes a television ad campaign.
Among the channels that will start running public service announcements June 1 are HBO, Lifetime, MTV, and Black Entertainment Television (BET). The public service announcements will use the tag line "Get connected. Our future depends on it." The project, which was announced by the National Association of Minorities in Communications, is seen as an answer to President Clinton's call for U.S. companies to help close the gap between the computer haves and the have-nots. Reports show the gap is not only wide, but continues to grow.
http://members.tripod.com/~reformasionita/
http://www.ceousa.org/
http://ethics.acusd.edu/diversity.html#Internet
Resources
Pres. Clinton's initiative to put Internet in poor and rural schools
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html
Third-World (underdeveloped and developing) countries don't have the phone lines or number of PCs.
Bobby - to check pages for accessibility
built-in voice or other access features
| Accessible Browser | BrailleSurf | Conversa Web |
| eReader | Home Page Reader | Lynx |
| MarcoPolo | MultiWeb | Opera |
| Panorama | pwWebSpeak | Enhancing Internet Access |
| Sensus | Sigtuna | Web-On-Call |
| BrookesTalk | Arachne |
Viewable With Any Browser campaign
tariff and customs regulations
pricing in foreign currencies
foreign language translation
order fulfillment, shipping, customer service
Text size: If text is too small, it is hard to make out. If it is too large, your eye has to jump around a lot to take it in. Between them is a range within which legibility is optimal.
government standards
National Center for Accessible Media's (NCAM) list of sites using the Web Access Symbol
Microsoft's Assistive Technology Catalog - help make computers accessible for people with disabilities.
organizations
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/ncam/
providing people with the technology, information and skills
needed to help them reach their full potential, whether they're interested in
getting a better education, seeking a better career, or building a better
neighborhood. It's about using technology in creative, yet effective ways to
improve the quality of life for everyone: our families, our communities and
ourselves.
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