Kara Zirkle, IT Accessibility Coordinator, George Mason University. Accessing Higher Ground 2012

Transcription

1 Kara Zirkle, IT Accessibility Coordinator, George Mason University Accessing Higher Ground 2012

2 What will be covered: Why documents should be made accessible Types of documents How to create accessible documents Built-In technology to help test documents for accessibility Third Party Solutions DEMO Questions

3 Rehabilitation Act Law Applies to Mandates Section 504 Section 508 Federal, State and Local government, Educational agencies, Companies (Corporate Private), any facility receiving Federal funds Federal entities and States that have adopted similar regulations No otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his/ her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a public entity. Requires that any electronic and information technology (EIT) procured, developed, used or maintained by Federal agencies must be accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 was enacted to: 1) eliminate barriers in information technology, 2) make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and 3) encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.

4 ADA/VITA Law Applies to Mandates Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Virginia Information Technology Accessibility Standard (GOV ) Unlike section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which only covers programs receiving Federal financial assistance, title II extends to all the activities of State and local governments whether or not they receive Federal funds. All Commonwealth of Virginia Executive Branch agencies and institutions of higher learning. May not refuse to allow a person with a disability to participate in a service, program, or activity simply because the person has a disability. Must provide programs and services in an integrated setting, unless separate or different measures are necessary to ensure equal opportunity. Outlines the minimum accessibility requirements for procurement, development, or maintenance of electronic and information technology systems. The Standard also requires that Commonwealth of Virginia (COV) employees with disabilities and members of the public with disabilities have access to and use of information and data comparable to the access and use of Commonwealth employees and the public who do not have disabilities.

5 What is included in Section 508?. Electronic and Information Technology Software Applications and Operating Systems Web-Based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications Telecommunications Products (If it is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) or software then it may also include and/or ) Video and Multimedia Products (If implemented on the web will also require )

6 Self Contained and Closed Products (Ex: Copiers, Fax and Kiosks) Desktop and Portable Computers Functional Performance Criteria (Must be accessible with assistive technology) Information, Documentation and Support (Must also be accessible) **Section 508 only applies to visual, hearing and mobility impairments**

7 Why documents should be made accessible Cliché, but correct answer: Because it s the law!! ADA/Section 508 Helps Mason comply with Federal, State, and Local government standards (i.e., Penn State, Arizona State, Google Apps for Education) Penn State (settled Sept 2011) library s online database, Angel LMS, departmental websites, smart podiums, ATMs Arizona State (settled Jan. 2010) Kindle Reader pilot Google (initiated March 2011) Just recently DOJ under ADA created a settlement agreement with Fairfax County, VA to ensure accessibility of both physical and online material. Other reasons: Reaches a wider audience (i.e., captioning, older users, ESL) Search engines optimization favors accessible websites Mobile phone access

8 What does IT Accessibility Mean to you? Mason has policy and an ATI Committee put in place: ATI Office has worked with ITU Instructional Designers and are available to provide support and consultation to faculty who needs assistance with building accessible courses, administration who needs assistance with designing accessible sites and content and work closely with ODS who determines appropriate accommodations. Where does this apply? Online courses Face-to-Face Courses that use online resources For example: Blackboard and Piazza Websites For example: CommonSpot, Word Press, 3 rd Party Services Website Content For example: Documents, Videos, etc. Online and Desktop Applications Library Databases What role can you play to help increase accessibility?

9 Roles and Responsibilities: How are you involved with accessibility? Do you use Blackboard or another Learning Management System (LMS)? Do you use websites in class or for posting information? Do you create or post documents or videos online for class? Do you use technology (i.e., wikis, etc.) for your class assignments? Do you use visuals or play audio/video in the classroom that give important info pertaining to the class? Do you use webinars, or other classroom capture or conference technology or record your class for review?

10 Roles and Responsibilities: How are you involved with accessibility? When overseeing or working on projects do you integrate accessibility into the planning process? Do you train your staff on accessibility so it comes from a top-down approach? Do you influence or decide on technology purchases, if so have you considered accessibility? Do you oversee computer classroom settings, is it accessible? Do you develop Policies, procedures or guidelines for you offices or employees? If so, have you included accessibility? When creating committees, have you included someone from the ATI office to help with accessibility?

11 Roles and Responsibilities: How are you involved with accessibility? Do you influence or decide on technology purchases? Do you develop websites, applications or documents? Do you oversee computer classroom settings? Do you manage others who may work on the above mentioned? Do you work in multimedia or telecommunications? Do you use or help faculty use webinars, other classroom capture or conference technology?

12 If you answered Yes to any of these questions, you may be.. Posting, Distributing, Creating/Developing, Using, Maintaining Inaccessible Information. What can you do to make it accessible?

13 Design Considerations Visual Images should be optimized and include descriptive alt tags Description of the file you have uploaded Text description provides access to understanding what is being conveyed Brief, clear, and contextual Learning/Mobility/Visual/Other Alternative formats of materials for students who require them (e.g. optional print packet of extensive online reading materials, CD of audio clips) ODS provides students an accommodation to receive these materials in an accessible electronic format ATI works to cut, scan, and re-format! Hearing/ESL/Learning Caption video or transcribed audio

14 Overall Usability Text should be legible and re-sizeable 14 point font size is ideal Considerations Using a clear sans serif font such as Helvetica or Arial Document compatibility and accessibility Is the document in a format that can be opened on various machines, versions of software or mobile? If the format isn t accessible, is an alternative available? Use of color should add interest and indicate interface choices, but should not disadvantage those with color blindness White text on a black background is usually best

15 What will be covered: Why documents should be made accessible Types of documents How to create accessible documents Built-In technology to help test documents for accessibility Third Party Solutions DEMO Questions

16 Document Accessibility Increasing number of distance education courses Number of electronic documents posted on websites are not accessible E.g., PDFs scanned with no tags E.g., Word documents designed without styles E.g., forms are inaccessible

17 Creation of Documents Scanning of hard copies Converting Documents Creating Electronic Documents Microsoft Word Microsoft PowerPoint Adobe Acrobat

18 Accessible Text To qualify to receive material in alternative formats, students, staff and faculty must have a documented print related disability. (Referrals are made by our Office of Disability Services and our ADA Coordinator.) Learning disabilities related to reading Visual impairments Some mobility impairments Some other cognitive impairments

19 Scanning Documents Things you CAN do to help make it accessible. Scanning: Whether you have an electronic file or a hardcopy: Use software that came with your scanner to import document this will produce a TIFF file. Save file What NOT to do. Always use OCR Never assume that a copy is screen reader ready because it looks clean.

20 Converting Documents OCR software open your scanned document with: ABBYY Pro Adobe Acrobat Pro Read & Write Gold Save to desired format(s) PDF, Word, RTF,Text etc. Editing Some editing may be needed to assure accessibility Depending on final format needed -editing can be performed through OCR software or Word.

21 Electronic Documents Adobe Reader and Acrobat Professional Adobe LiveCycle Designer Microsoft Office Word PowerPoint

22 Microsoft Office 2010: Word and PowerPoint Add alt text to images and objects Specify column headers information in tables Use styles in long documents Use short titles in headings Ensure all heading styles are in the correct order and are unique Use hyperlink text that is meaningful Use simple table structure Ensure that the reading order of each slide is logical Increase visibility for colorblind viewers Avoid using blank cells for formatting Structure layout tables for easy navigation Avoid using repeated blank characters Avoid using floating objects Avoid image watermarks Include closed captions for video

23 What will be covered: Why documents should be made accessible Types of documents How to create accessible documents Built-In technology to help test documents for accessibility Third Party Solutions DEMO Questions

24 Built In Accessibility Mac Operating System Windows Operating System

25 Built In Accessibility: Mac To open the Built-In Accessibility open System Preferences. Here you can use Speech (Speech Recognition or Text to Speech), or you can open Universal Access to see features based upon disability.

26 Mac Speech Text to Speech, highlighted here, allows you to read documents, websites, etc. Speech Recognition allows you to talk into the computer and it will type for you.

27 Mac Universal Access Universal Access helps you determine your needs based upon your preference as seen here.

28 Built In Accessibility: PC Windows 7, Vista and XP m/en- US/windows/help/accessibil ity/getting-started Showing Windows 7 - Go to your Start panel, select Accessories and open Ease of Access folder.

29 Ease of Access Center You can also get to Ease of Access Center using the Control Panel Under the Ease of Access Folder you ll also see On-Screen Keyboard and Windows Speech Recognition This takes you through a wizard process helping you select what is needed. This is where you can use the voice recognition system to speak to the computer.

30 Adobe Reader Accessibility Features There are some helpful accessibility features in the free Adobe PDF reader. For example, any PDF file open in Adobe reader can be read aloud with the "Read Out Loud" option. Under the 'View' menu, select 'Read Out Loud', then 'Activate Read Outloud. The Read Out Loud feature of Adobe Reader can be accessed with Keyboard Commands, as listed below. Activate Read Out Loud: Shift + Ctrl + Y Read This Page Only: Shift + Ctrl + V Read To End of Document: Shift + Ctrl + B Pause/Resume: Shift + Ctrl + C Stop: Shift + Ctrl + E

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32 Adobe Acrobat Professional Features for making PDF files accessible for reading Ability to add text to scanned pages to improve accessibility Tools for creating accessible PDF forms Conversion of untagged to tagged PDF files Tools for editing reading order and document structure Security setting that allows screen readers to access text while preventing users from copying, printing, editing, and extracting text Action Wizard to make PDF Accessible

33 Where to find accessibility in Adobe X

34 Adobe LiveCycle Designer Accessibility Palettes Support for Screen Readers Adding Structural Navigation to Forms Tabbing Order for Accessible Forms Accessible Form Properties Accessibility of Imported Content Accessibility for Authors verview.html

35 How to include Accessibility in LiveCycle Designer Before starting any document, Right click, scroll to Palettes and select Accessibility. This will continue to show up throughout the document. When choosing a text box selection look to the far right of the screen to accessibility. Select Caption to tag the text box name.

36 Including Accessibility in LiveCycle You can check the tab/reading order and change it as needed. Livecycle allows designers to specify the embedding of accessibility information within files that are saved in PDF.

37 Microsoft Built-In Accessibility Checker When you go to file, you ll see on the left side a Check for Issues and when selecting that you ll find Check Accessibility

38 Mac Info Microsoft Office 2008 does not offer Alt Text for images Microsoft Office 2011 does offer Alt Text Click on the image, Control + Click on the image (equivalent of right clicking in PC). Then go to Format Picture and to Alt Text. us/word/category/0fd cb-4c7b-bc4d- 1725e279a4cd

39 Third Party Solutions Commonlook Office Plug-in installs directly into MS Office 2007 and 2010 Allows document creators to convert a scanned PDF document into a tagged, accessible PDF document Accessible Wizard for MS Office Plug-in installs directly into any MS Office app ( i.e., Word, PPT) Walks document creator through issues within document and how to make them accessible

40 Example of a Bad Document How to use the Built in Accessibility Checker to make sure your document is accessible. How to use Commonlook Office.

41 Questions Kara Zirkle, IT Accessibility Coordinator, phone: or George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MSN 6A11, Aquia Building, Room 238, Fairfax, VA Phone: Fax: Website: