Accessibility
Tools and Technologies
IN-AccessIT: New Evaluation Tool (sent 06/29/06):
Dear Indiana AccessIT Colleagues,
We wanted to take a moment to let you know about a new web accessibility evaluation tool. Created at the University of Illinois, the Functional Accessibility Evaluator (FAE) was designed for managers and webmasters alike. It produces informative and easy to read reports of single web pages, all web pages in the same domain, or even all pages linked from the same page. Once the evaluator is run, the results are paired with links to ¡°best practices¡±, which provide ways to improve any problems found.
More information and a link to use the tool can be found at:
http://fae.cita.uiuc.edu/index.php?section=home&page=about
According to its creator, ¡°FAE is designed for functional accessibility and gives developers clear techniques for implementing section 508 and WCAG requirements.¡± We hope you find this site a useful addition to your accessibility toolkit.
IN-AccessIT: Big Ten Plus IT Accessibility Interest Group 2006 Workshop (sent 05/19/06):
We would like to make you aware of this upcoming workshop which covers many of the topics our listserv members have told us are important:
Big Ten Plus IT Accessibility Interest Group 2006 Workshop
Hosted by the Web Accessibility Center at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio on June 19 th and 20 th .
Goal: This year's conference is convened in order for Big Ten Plus institutions IT stakeholders to share their experiences in offering resources and services to people with disabilities and to identify areas that would benefit from inter-institutional collaboration.
Workshop Objectives
• Strategic Planning: Allocation of resources, hiring of staff with specialized skills, organization of training, dissemination of information, collaboration within and between institutions.
• Marketing Access: Tactics in presentation and message in dissemination of information on accessibility.
• Standards: Creation of common technology standards and development best practices.
• Purchasing: Development of purchasing and deployment policies and requirements.
• Consortiums: Influencing third-party vendors and sharing strategies for remediation of systems via inter-institutional consortiums.
For complete information, go to: http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/collaborate/cic/2006/index.php
We hope you are able to take advantage of this opportunity.
IN-Access IT: Attractive Accessible Pages (sent on 1/09/06):
Dear Colleagues,
The argument that accessible web pages are unattractive or too simplistic to appeal to the general public has sometimes been made to justify ignoring accessibility guidelines. While examples of aesthetically unpleasing pages certainly exist, there are also plenty of beautifully designed accessible pages on the internet. The National Library for the Blind maintains an electronic library of web sites that they consider accessible for people with visual impairments. While it is a wonderful resource for this specific population of users, it also provides all of us with inspiring ways to produce pages that are both compliant and stimulating.
To see their complete online portal to accessible websites, please go to
http://www.nlb-online.info/searchpage.asp
Many of the university web sites listed under the ¡°Education¡± category have links to their accessibility policies. Although the majority of them are located in the UK and thus apply WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) instead of the US specific Section 508 guidelines, the way they state their official commitment to accessibility warrants mention. A few of them are:
The University of Manchester - http://www.manchester.ac.uk/
The University of Birmingham - http://www.bham.ac.uk/default.asp
The University of Exeter - http://www.ex.ac.uk/
IN-AccessIT: Online Survey Tools (sent on 11/29/05):
Dear Colleagues,
In today's information-driven world, we often use surveys to better understand people's interests and needs and to evaluate the services we provide. Just like other technologies, online survey tools can present numerous accessibility obstacles.
If you currently conduct surveys online or are considering doing so in the future, you might want to evaluate whether or not they are compliant with the Accessibility Guidelines outlined in Section 508. We have found a resource that may be helpful in your decision making.
E. Marie Robertson, a web project manager at Berkeley , put together a report on survey tools, their accessibility level, and their other key features. She published an extensive list of her findings on her web page, categorizing the survey tools she researched by their Section 508 compliance level
Robertson's ¡°Report on Online Survey Tools and Accessibility¡± can be found at: http://ls.berkeley.edu/marie/surveys/ .
IN-AccessIT: Audio Conference on Accessible IT (sent on 11/01/05):
We thought you might be interested in participating in a couple of upcoming audio conferences about Accessible Information Technology --- specifically, accessible web sites and web-based communication tools such as chat rooms, bulletin boards, and online meeting tools.
These audio conferences are being offered free at six sites in Indiana by Indiana AccessIT and ADA-Indiana, or you can register for them at your own site for a small charge.
Dates are November 15th and December 13th from 2:00 ? 3:30 pm EST.
See the details below for more information.
Special Two-Part Series on Accessible Information Technology
Indiana AccessIT and ADA-Indiana are offering a two-part audio conference series on Accessible Information Technology in November and December. The series will be offered for free at six Indiana locations.
The series will be of interest to webmasters, web developers, Information Technology Managers in education, in private and public sectors, and other interested community members.
Part One ? November 15th: Pro's and Con's of Web Accessibility Validation Tools
This first session will explore tools available to validate and check websites for accessibility. The speaker will discuss the pro's and con's of using the various tools as well as "tips" for evaluating the accessibility of web sites. Speaker: Terry Thompson, Do-IT Program and AccessIT, University of Washington
Part Two - December 13th: Accessible Web-based Communication tools
This second session will focus on web-based communication tools such chat rooms, bulletin boards, and online meeting tools. The session will explore what the barriers are and how to determine whether or not a tool is accessible as well as demonstrate some accessible options. Speaker: Steve Jacobs, IDEAL Group, Inc.
Both audio conferences will occur from 2:00 - 3:30 pm EST.
SIX SITE LOCATIONS:
BLOOMINGTON: Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Bldg L 2853 East Tenth Street
EVANSVILLE: University of Southern Indiana Campus Science Center, Room 1212 (SC 1212)
INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Government Center, Conference Room 5 402 W. Washington Street
INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services 4701 North Keystone Avenue, Suite 222
W. LAFAYETTE: Purdue University - West Lafayette Campus Stewart Center, Room 318
WESTVILLE: Purdue University - North Central Campus LSF Building 60
For more information about this two-part series on Accessible Information Technology, visit www.adaindiana.org, or call Matt Norris at 800-825-4733 or send e-mail to adainfo@indiana.edu.
If you are interested in participating in these audio conferences but cannot attend at one of the free locations sponsored by ADA-Indiana and Indiana AccessIT, there is a non-profit discount available to education, government, and service agencies. Visit www.ada-audio.org or call 800-949-4232 to register.
IN-AccessIT: Accessible PDF Training (sent on 10/24/05):
Dear Colleagues,
At a recent conference presentation we were asked a great many questions regarding the accessibility of PDF files. In order to ensure consistent formatting, many organizations post large documents on their web pages in PDF format. Ensuring that these documents are accessible is just as important as designing the accessible web pages that host them.
We recently found out that there is an upcoming training series on this very topic --- a four-part live Web Conference that will provide participants with the many skills and techniques needed to ensure that PDF files are available to the largest number of users possible.
Sign up soon because the first session in the series is November 1st.
To get more information and register, please go to the Web Course home page.
IN-AccessIT: Companies Jump on the Accessibility Bandwagon (sent on 9/29/04):
Dear Colleagues,
The purpose of this message is to inform you of the increasing efforts private companies are making to create accessible and adaptive products that answer to the diverse needs of potential customers. We present just a few examples of the growing number of products meant to target potential users with disabilities:
• Sprint's relay services
• VisuAide's accessible PDA's
• Cingular's accessible cell phones
While Indiana AccessIT does not endorse any of these companies or their products, our intent in sharing this information is to point out a significant trend?that many major companies are recognizing the importance of accessibility as well as the buying power of individuals with disabilities AND paying attention to Section 508 standards! Read on for more details about the products¡¦.
1) SPRINT: Last February, Sprint unveiled www.sprintrelay.com which provides access to all telecommunications relay services offered for customers who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have a communication disability. These services include: Internet Relay , Video Relay Service , and other Sprint Relay Services .
2) VISU-AIDE: On Assistive Technology Day, September 29 th , VisuAide will showcase their new technology, Maestro, which is the first mainstream handheld accessible PDA for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Maestro is an HP iPAQ Pocket PC ¢ç made accessible by VisuAide using a text-to-speech technology adapted application and a tactile keyboard membrane over the PDA touch screen. Users can also add other VisuAide applications, such as the Trekker GPS system. For more information about VisuAide products see:
http://www.visuaide.com/maestro_en.html
3) CINGULAR: On September 16, 2004 , Cingular Wireless announced the launch of TALKS¢â, a speech-enabled application designed to address the needs of users who can't read the screen of a mobile phone. TALKS ¢â converts menus, instructions and content displayed on the mobile phone screen into speech for output to the phone's internal speaker or through an optional wired or Bluetooth headset. These audible cues allow users to access advanced communications services such as text messaging, caller ID, email and phone directories. This application also responds to spoken commands with voice recognition technology.
For more information about TALKS ¢â visit:
http://ap.indystar.com/dynamic/stories/C/CELLULAR_VISION_IMPAIRED
IN-AccessIT: Online IT Accessibility Checklist for Educational Entities (sent on 7/27/04):
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the development and availability of a free internet resource for educational institutions to improve the accessibility of their electronic and information technology.
The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) and the Ten Regional
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (http://www.adata.org) have recently completed an Online IT Accessibility Checklist for Educational Institutions.
This new checklist was developed to provide educational entities with a means to track their progress on goals related to improving the accessibility of their information technology for students, instructors, and staff with disabilities and to supply an interactive tool with which users can learn about the process of creating an accessible technology environment. This checklist addresses a wide range of accessibility issues and offers easy access to additional information about each item.
Check out the Accessibility Checklist online at:
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/it-checklist/
IN-AccessIT: MAGpie (sent on 4/22/04):
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to send you information about making multimedia accessible. Please also forward this message to other colleagues you think might find it useful.
The National Center for Accessible Media has developed a tool called the Media Access Generator (MAGpie) for creating captions and audio descriptions for rich media, such as video and audio clips on the Web.
MAGpie 2.01, which was released last March, is a free application for creating closed captions and audio descriptions with various forms of interactive multimedia. It can be used with QuickTime, Real, or Windows Media Player to aid accessibility for deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, and low vision Web users.
To learn more about this tool or to download it, please go to: http://ncam.wgbh.org/webaccess/magpie/
IN-AccessIT:
New Accessibility Solution for Macintosh (sent on 4/1/04):
Dear Colleagues,
It was announced at the annual CSUN Accessibility Conference
held in Los Angeles that Apple has developed a new Spoken
Interface for Mac OS X users with visual impairments.
Spoken Interface provides a combination of speech, audible
cues, and keyboard navigation to help users with visual
impairments navigate Mac OS X with ease. It is designed
to help customers meet the guidelines expressed in Section
508.
In addition to speaking the contents of a document, the
spoken interface also speaks a description of all the
activities taking place on the computer, including which
applications are running, how many windows are open, and
much more. Users can control the computer using only the
keyboard.
Spoken
Interface is currently being released as a preview version,
which is available for evaluation by selected users by
filling out a form on the Spoken Interface Web site given
below. However, when Apple releases its next major revision
to Mac OS X, Spoken Interface will automatically be included.
It will be built directly into the operating system so
that users won¡¯t have to install or download anything
separately.
For more information, please visit: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/
