Contemporary Accessible Technologies and Web Standards Dr Scott Hollier
WHO IS MEDIA ACCESS AUSTRALIA Not-for-profit organisation addressing access issues in: TV Cinema DVD Education New Media Access issues include captioning, audio description, computerrelated and Internet-related access issues
WHO AM I? Professional: Project Manager for MAA W3C Advisory Committee representative Academic: PhD thesis examined ways to make computers and the Internet more accessible to people with disabilities Personal: Legally blind, first-hand knowledge of access issues
INTRODUCTION Brief history of access: benefits and barriers Contemporary technology accessibility: what you can use to support students New products and likely access trends W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 overview
BRIEF HISTORY OF ACCESS As the Internet emerged in education, it was viewed primarily as an information and communication resource For people with disabilities, the Internet was viewed as a gateway to independence and learning
WHERE WE ARE Today, both mainstream and people with disabilities view the Internet as an essential to employment due to: Choice of media type: text, audio and video with audio description Choice of device: netbook, tablet, smartphone Real-time AV communication: Skype Collaboration: Cloud computing and social media
ACCESS ISSUES Usage (ABS, 2011): 72% of people have Internet in the home 48% for people with disabilities Website accessibility: web and social media issues particularly significant to education
ACCESS ISSUES Captions and Audio description: very little online (although likely to improve with YouTube automated captions and International version of BBC iplayer) Cloud computing: some good hardware options (netbooks/iphone) but still access issues with online interface and cloudbased accessibility
USER EXPERIENCE Old accessibility model: People with disabilities need specialist assistive technology (AT) products OS contains many tools, but additional products often required for full featured access Specialist AT software: $1000-$2000
WHAT S CHANGING? New accessibility model: Today most computer OS, mobile phones, tablets include accessibility as a built-in, out of the box experience Other low-cost or free open-source programs also available
WINDOWS XP/VISTA/7 FEATURES Change the icon and text size Adjust cursor width and blink rate Mouse pointer size and movement Change the colour scheme to high contrast ToggleKeys Visual alerts On-screen keyboard (predictive in 7) Magnifier (full-screen in 7) Narrator (limited TTS)
AT SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS Free: NVDA screen reader: Major update released July 2011 OS, Firefox, Word, Outlook now comparable to JAWS Keystrokes similar to JAWS Full install and portable versions WebAnywhere: cloud-based web reader (wa.cs.washington.edu)
MAC FEATURES Improvements over Windows XP/Vista/7: Fully-featured screen reader VoiceOver Braille display support However VoiceOver doesn t work with the Office suite, works mostly with OpenOffice for Mac
MOBILE ACCESS iphone, ipod Touch and ipad: Great access: VoiceOver, zoom, captioned video, colour changes. However Can t use zoom and VoiceOver at the same time Not all apps support features ipad cumbersome: no USB or SD slot
MOBILE ACCESS Google Android Much cheaper than Apple Features and apps include voice navigation (Project Eyes-free), spoken web, e-mail and touch typing through free apps However Not usually set up out of the box, takes time and effort to set up and little support from Google Not really a viable option yet
MAA PROJECTS NVDA training wiki Collaborative work with NV Access, makers of NVDA Designed for itinerant teachers to share information Nvda.wikispaces.org
WEB DEVELOPMENT World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) formed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1994 Initially inaccessible as AT products couldn t read out graphics Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 published in 1999, became definitive standard for web accessibility 65 checkpoints across three Priority levels, A, AA, AAA
WCAG 2.0 Original WCAG very HTML-specific, became rapidly outdated In 2001, WCAG 2.0 working group formed Shift in focus: More on task achievement than code compliance Technology-neutral
WCAG 2.0 CONTROVERSY Development process went for seven long years: To Hell With WCAG 2 : a frustrated Joe Clark felt that 165 pages for the easy to understand manual was too obscure, vague, and a backwards step To Hell With Joe Clark by Martin Kliehm felt that WCAG 2.0 simplified the issues, provided achievable goals and better supported new web technologies
WCAG 2.0 OVERVIEW Released in December 2008 Three compliance levels: A, AA, AAA Federal government: A by end 2012, AA by end 2014 for.gov.au WA government A or AA by end 2013 Based on four POUR design principles: Perceivable (adjustable) Operable (finding what you want) Understandable (content) Robust (other technologies)
WCAG 2.0 OVERVIEW Perceivable: Provide text alternatives for non-text content. Provide captions and alternatives for audio and video content. Make content adaptable; and make it available to assistive technologies. Use sufficient contrast to make things easy to see and hear.
WCAG 2.0 OVERVIEW Operable: Make all functionality keyboard accessible. Give users enough time to read and use content. Do not use content that causes seizures. Help users navigate and find content.
WCAG 2.0 OVERVIEW Understandable: Make text readable and understandable. Make content appear and operate in predictable ways. Help users avoid and correct mistakes. Robust: Maximize compatibility with current and future technologies.
Further information E-mail: scott.hollier@mediaaccess.org.au Telephone: (08) 9311 8230 Website: www.mediaaccess.org.au Twitter: @mediaaccessaus Advice is free!