Introduction to Accessibility

Editor's Notes

• #3: The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is the world’s largest nonprofit organization creating educational, workplace, and independent living products and services for people who are visually impaired. APH received a federal mandate in 1879 when the Congress of the United States passed the Act to Promote the Education of the Blind. This act designates APH as the official supplier of educational materials to all students in the U.S. who meet the definition of blindness and are working at less than college level. APH does produce many printed products including tests, textbooks, and regular books in braille and large print. We also produce recorded versions and computer file versions done in regular text or braille. However, it is much much more than that. We also design educational products in the form of toys and educational aides.
• #4: -Ensuring everyone has equal access to the resources they need to work, learn, and experience life. -Ensuring equal access to information. -Allow people to have independence in daily activities. Former bullet points on the slide: Inclusive Similar experience Independent living
• #5: “To people without sight The Reader’s Digest is like a wonderful friend who fills their hands with the treasures of instructive talk and world-wide news. For a few days each month, I am surrounded by…the full, surging life of the world.” —Helen Keller Accessibility allows people to be active participants in society instead of just wall flowers. Accessibility opens up the world to all, and in doing so it helps to make the world better for everyone. Equal access to information and life experiences, allows everyone to have a better understanding of the world around them. It allows people to better relate to one another. It allows them to make more informed decisions that benefit themselves and the world around them. It allows them to be more independent. All this helps to increase the chances for healthier individuals and a healthier society. The following post does a good job of highlighting the importance of Accessibility (further details after the link below): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexanderhauerslevjensen_tech4good-a11y-accessibility-activity-6563069172622868480-yjKP In the above linked post, the user described how they were able to use an app for those with visual accessibility needs to visit the grave of his father on his own. Example of issues one might experience with filling out inaccessible forms: https://youtu.be/-O5b529V96g?t=1593 Bullet points I previously had on this slide: Helps everyone Informed decisions Healthier individuals Healthier society Independent living
• #7: Legally Blind is a level of vision loss that has been legally defined to determine eligibility for benefits. In the United States, this refers to a medically diagnosed central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the best possible correction, and/or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. Random tags placed by some WYSIWYG interfaces, and CSS tags that don’t make sense. (i.e. SharePoint) Lack of alt text or other code that helps makes object identifiable. Unclear descriptions when things are read out. Things that hurt visual Accessibility include: Lack of alt text on images Bad style formatting in code Poor navigation Poor wording Poor contrast No audio indication
• #8: Things that can hurt hearing accessibility: Lack of visual indicators No subtitles Muffled audio Multiple videos with sound auto playing
• #9: Mobility issues can involve an inability of some elements to be accessed through simple keyboard shortcuts like tab, space bar, or enter. It can also be more physical mobility barriers like hard to access cross walk buttons, poorly marked cross walks, or no ramp or stair options. Things that can help with mobility accessibility: Limit number of steps Basic navigation keys Keyboard shortcuts Good physical design
• #11: Things that can help with comprehension: Use clear, concise language Consider your audience Provide informative resources Consider what grade level similar resources are written in Included translations
• #12: Apple 2 Image sourced from the Smithsonian History Explorer. Website located at: https://historyexplorer.si.edu/resource/apple-ii-personal-computer. Things that can impact Technological accessibility: Internet access quality Computer technology access Printer access Basically technological access deeply impacts how someone accesses and interacts with content.
• #14: Cost prohibitive? I spent around $1100 for my gaming desktop when I built it. If I upgrade the video card I am looking at spending another $500. Imagine spending that kind of dough but only getting a basic computer for word processing and internet surfing.
• #16: Keep accessibility in mind from the start There are a ton of organizations throughout the country who you can reach out to for questions and help. There are so many free tools out there, including some already installed on your pc. I.e. Magnifier and narrator, nvda. Invert screen colors Supporting users with accessibility issues is the same as supporting anyone else. Basically don’t over think it too much. Just take your time and customize your support to that person. If someone lost access to a network resource and needed to restart their pc to fix it, and asked for an explanation, I wouldn’t give them a full run down of all the DNS, IP and such issues that could have caused them to disconnect. That would just confuse them. Instead I would just say that there was a miscommunication between their pc and the network that caused it to drop connection, and a restart will just refresh that connection. Similarly if someone is visually impaired I am not going to give visual cues to explain how they need to get to something. I am going to give keyboard buttons, names, or other things that a screen reader will read off. Also don’t force help on them or try to do everything for them if it is steps they will need to be able to repeat later.
• #19: Free app Available on iOS and Android devices Connects individuals with visual accessibility needs with volunteers who can assist them. Over 2 million volunteers Microsoft uses it!
• #20: http://www.aph.org/nearby-explorer/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbxJHkFxPZc&index=4&list=PLUj6DcM1nN3Hu4j11RpBnOk30fhGKov4l APH received a grant from the city of Louisville. APH is working to make cities more accessible. Uses beacons placed throughout buildings combined with an app on your mobile device. Has already been set up in multiple locations.
• #22: Information on Code Jumper can be found at: https://codejumper.com/ Code Jumper was developed by Microsoft and is distributed by the American Printing House for the Blind. Teaches students about programming using tactile buttons, knobs, and more that they can easily interact with.
• #23: Microsoft Adaptive Controller and attachments can be found at https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller.
• #24: Contrast Checker: https://contrastchecker.com/ This website allows you to compare a foreground and background color to see how well they would contrast. UK Government Posters repository: https://github.com/UKHomeOffice/posters Has a bunch of posters made by the UK government, including the Accessibility posters featured in one of the later slides. Chrome Spectrum Addon: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/spectrum/ofclemegkcmilinpcimpjkfhjfgmhieb?hl=en This addon allows you to view any website in the way someone with various forms of color blindness would view it. Section 508 Compliance Official Page: https://www.section508.gov/
• #29: This slide features a screenshot of the Accessibility Cheat Sheet by Moritz Geissmann. It can be found at the following link: https://moritzgiessmann.de/accessibility-cheatsheet/.