“Understanding the Standards”

Accessible Instructional Material and Technology

Workshop

Accessibility Summit

September 17-18, 2014

Nashville, TN

Today’s speaker:

Timothy Creagan

Senior Accessibility Specialist

U.S. Access Board

Today’s topics: I. Introduction: Policies, Standards & Guidelines

II. Barriers

III. Accessibility StandardsA. Section 508

B. WCAG 2.0

C. eBooks: I. EPUB

II. NIMAS

III. iBooks

IV. The “Refresh” of Sections 508 & 255

Introduction: Policy, Standards & Timelines – from the Planning Template:

• Adopt the general accessibility policy statement at system institutions

• Identify a functional standard for access (substantially equivalent ease of use in the same place and at the same time as other students)

• Identify a technical standard for access (W3C Accessibility Guidelines are a good benchmark)

Why is Accessibility Important?

• Barriers to use of ICT

• How to over come barriers

• Use of standards to improve access

II. Barriers to People with Disabilities

Have you ever struggled to see the characters on a screen?

Seeing:

• Phones• Illuminated displays• High contrast controls• Large buttons

• Computers• Zoom display• High contrast display• Screen reader

III. Background:

Accessibility Standards

Accessibility StandardsA. §508 of the Rehabilitation Act

B. WCAG 2.0 SC Level A & AA - web/online contentI. WCAG 2.0 as applied to Non-Web Information and

Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT) - accessible technology (other than websites)

C. Accessibility for E-Books:

I. EPub3

II. NIMAS

III. iBooks

IV. Miscellaneous: 1. Accessible E-Text

2. Open PDF

A. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

Overview

§508 General Requirements:Each Federal department and agency, as well as the U.S.

Postal Service, when procuring, maintaining, developing or using electronic and information technology, must ensure that:

• Federal employees with disabilities, and members of the public with disabilities seeking information or services, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by persons who are not individuals with disabilities, unless…

Standard: ….an “Undue Burden” would be imposed on the agency.

What Technology is Covered by §508? Includes, but is not limited to…

Computers Telecommunications

Websites

Kiosks

Printers

Software

Office Equipment

However, time has passed…….and Technology has changed.

Today, what a product DOES is more important that what a product is CALLED.

“Feature”/“Function” versus “Product name”

Question:How Can we use Section 508 to evaluate today’s technology?

For example, what features are included in §1194.23

Telecommunications products ?

• 2 way voice communication• Controls and keys• Hardware• Minimize Hearing aid interference• Text messaging(TTYs)• IVR (Interactive Voice Response, menus)

Today there are many more products available with many more features :

FOR EXAMPLE, “Telecommunications Products”:

•“Landline” phones, wireless phones, Smart phones: Voice communication

•TTYs, SMS, Blackberry, iPhone, Sidekick, Twitter: Text messaging

•SKYPE: Calls/ Video Conferencing

•Zoomtext or other software: Adjust size of text

•Web sites: Contain information about product features

Section 508 still applies; analyze the features of the technology:

• Subpart B Technical Standards - do any apply? • E.g. §§1194.23, 1194.21, 1194.22

• Subpart C Functional Performance Criteria – do any apply? • E.g. §1194.31(a) – (f)

• §1194.5 Equivalent Facilitation - the new technology or design [not necessarily in Section 508] results in substantially equivalent or greater access to and use of a product for people with disabilities – DOES THAT APPLY?

• E.g. voiceover for Apple iOS

• §1194.3 General Exceptions: Do any apply? • E.g. §1194.3 (e ) Fundamental Alteration

What about Technology that has features not addressed by §508?

EXAMPLE:

•Mobile Telecommunications• iPods and Podcasting -

Operate without buttons • Smart Phones with touch screens • [Voiceover]• [Talkback]

Making technology accessible:

• Captions

• Alternative formats: text for audio, alt tags for images

• Use of API (Application Programming Interface) to address compatibility between AT and IT software (make products interoperate)

• “Apps” or “Applications” on Smart phones

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§1194.5 Equivalent Facilitation

“Nothing in this part is intended to prevent the use of designs or technologies as alternatives to those prescribed in this part provided they result in substantially equivalent or greater access to and use of a product for people with disabilities.”

Using Equivalent Facilitation to achieve access by alternative means:

• Use WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)

• What is WCAG 2.0? • International standard for web documents

and web applications• W3C Standard (2008)• ISO Standard (2012): ISO/IEC JTC-1 40500:2012

• W3C/WAI: World Wide Web Consortium / Web Accessibility Initiative

• Developed through open and inclusive standards process

B. WCAG 2.0

Overview

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Why Use WCAG 2.0? • Technology Neutral

• Unlike 508 1194.22, not HTML specific

• Success Criteria: (aka “Requirements”)• Address existing 508 technical criteria (1194.21

and .22)• Address 508 functional performance criteria

• Hearing, Sight, Manual Dexterity, Speech• Partially address Cognition, Language, and Learning

(CLL) • Are Objectively Testable

Written to be evaluated as yes/no or true/false statements• Designed so as to not require significant subjective expert

judgment to evaluate.

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Is WCAG 2.0 being used now? FEDERAL AGENCIES:•Department of Transportation, Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Accessibility of Web Sites and Automated Kiosks at U.S. Airports, Final rule December 13, 2013•Department of Justice, Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities and Public Accommodations, ANPRM July 2010 (Proposed)

INTERNATIONALLY:•Canada •Australia •New Zealand•European Union (EU) (Mandate 376)

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WCAG 2.0: POUR ConceptThe 4 Principles•PerceivableContent is made available to the senses - sight, hearing, and/or touch•OperableInterface forms, controls, and navigation are operable•UnderstandableContent and interfaces are understandable•RobustContent can be used reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies

POUR’s Overlapping Tenets

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How the WCAG 2.0 docs relate…

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WCAG 2.0: 38 Success Criteria (Level A & Level AA)

Perceivable• 14 Level A and AA Success Criteria in TOTAL

• 9 at Level A• 5 at Level AA

Operable• 12 Level A and AA Success Criteria in TOTAL.

• 9 at Level A• 3 at Level AA

Understandable• 10 Level A and AA Success Criteria in TOTAL.

• 5 at Level A• 5 at Level AA

Robust• 2 Level A in TOTAL.

• 2 at Level A

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“How to Meet WCAG 2.0”

“How To Meet WCAG2.0” - daily resource document for the day-to-day Developer

•is a Database

•Quick Reference:• http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/

•Customizable

•Searchable

•A way to get to the Techniques and Failures

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Concluding thoughts about WCAG 2.0 :

•The Success Criteria are the Requirements• The Techniques are not required but provide

guidance

•WCAG 2.0 can be used – Equivalent Facilitation (§1194.5)

•Built-in Prioritization Path/Plan (for Development/Remediation/QA)

•WCAG 2.0 Support Documents are Regularly Updated

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W3C Resources: • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0:

URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

• Understanding WCAG 2.0:Stable URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/

• How to Meet WCAG 2.0: URL: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/

• Techniques for WCAG 2.0: Stable URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/

• Formal adoption in Canada, Australia, New Zealand URL: http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/

“Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies

(WCAG2ICT)” • URL: http://www.w3.org/tr/wcag2ict/

• describes how the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 [WCAG20] and its principles, guidelines, and success criteria can be applied to non-web Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), specifically to non-web documents and software. It provides informative guidance (guidance that is not normative and does not set requirements).

• This document is a Working Group Note, and is part of a series of technical and educational documents published by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and available from the WCAG 2.0 Overview.

How does each of 38 WCAG 2.0 Level A & AA Success Criteria(SC) apply in the context of non-web ICT, if it were applied to non-web ICT?

RESULT: Task Force found that the majority of success criteria from WCAG 2.0 can apply to non-web documents and software with no or only minimal changes.

• 26 SC apply directly as written and as described in the “Intent” sections from the updated Understanding WCAG 2.0 [UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20]. Thirteen of these twenty-six applied without any additional notes. The other thirteen applied as written but additional notes were also provided for assistance in applying them to either or both non-web documents and software. 38=26 + 12

• Remaining 12 success criteria: • 8 apply as written if certain Web-specific terms or phrases like “web

page(s)” are replaced with non-web terms or phrases like “non-web document(s) and software”.

• Remaining 4 SC: apply in situations when “a set of web pages”, or “multiple web pages” share some characteristic or behavior.

C. Accessibility for E-Books

Overview

What is an E-book?• “electronic book” or e-book, digital book, or e-edition) - a book-

length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on computers or other electronic devices.

• Content may have a printed version or not

• E-books are intended to be read on e-book readers (e.g. Kindle or Nook) but can be read on computers, tablets or smartphones.

• E-book reading is increasing in the US: by 2014 28% of adults had read an e-book, compared to 23% in 2013.

Making eBooks Accessible

1. Mature approaches

A. EPUB

B. Nimas

C. iBook

2. DevelopingA. eText

B. Open PDF

1. Currently in use for a wide variety of content

2. Used in academic setting or still in development

What is EPUB?• EPUB - format for digital books (eBooks),

• Widely adopted • Specifications significantly increase the format's capabilities

• Supports a wider range of publication requirements, including complex layouts, rich media and interactivity, and global typography features.

• Expectation: EPUB 3 will be utilized for a broad range of content, including: • books, magazines and educational, professional and scientific

publications.

EPUB standard: • A distribution and interchange format standard for digital

publications and documents. • EPUB defines a means of representing, packaging and encoding

structured and semantically enhanced Web content — including HTML5, CSS, SVG, images, and other resources — for distribution in a single-file format.

• EPUB 3, the third major release of the standard, consists of a set of four specifications, each defining an important component of an overall EPUB Publication.

• For more information, see: http://www.idpf.org/epub/30/spec/epub30-overview.html

What is the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard

(NIMAS)?• A technical standard used by publishers to produce source files (in

XML) that may be used to create multiple specialized formats for

students with print disabilities.

• Examples of the formats are: • Braille, large print, HTML, DAISY talking books using human voice or

text-to-speech, audio files derived from text-to-speech transformations

• For more information, see: http://aim.cast.org/learn/policy/federal/what_is_nimas#.VBDEZ9ju3xM

From the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials, U.S. Department of Education

What is iBook?• iBooks is an e-book application by Apple

Inc. for its iOS and OS X operating systems and devices.

• released for the iPhone and iPod Touch in mid-2010, as part of the iOS 4 update

• Install free from the Apple store

• supports e-book formats EPUB and PDF

• Features: adjust contrast, font size, text, brightness, individual word search

Miscellaneous E-Book standards

Overview

eText – an accessible, electronic course content delivery platform from the University of

Illinois:

• eText delivers textbooks and other classroom materials with multimedia, notes, and assignments embedded directly in context. Plain text format.

• Instructors can add original or existing materials easily, and students can save 40-75% versus traditional books

• See: https://etext.illinois.edu/

Open PDF• Allows users to view/modify PDF

documents and forms, barcodes generation, data extraction and signature validation.

• Based on a several open source software products, such as iText, JPedal, CryptoApplet among others.

• Read more: http://sourceforge.net/projects/openpdf/#ixzz3Cvtsxgj7

How do the standards provide guidance to selecting accessible

instructional materials?

• Look at the VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) to see what §508 standards apply

Apple iBook2 VPAT sample 1

1194.21 Software

Criteria:•(a) Keyboard operation

Supporting Features: “Partially supports”

Remarks & Explanation

The app runs on primarily touch based devices, but text-entry is available from the keyboard if you attach or connect a compatible external keyboard. Navigation of the app is not supported through the

keyboard.

Apple iBook2 VPAT sample 2

1194.21 SoftwareCriteria:•(c) on-screen focus

Supporting Features: “Supported”

Remarks & Explanation

• iBooks takes advantage of the built-in accessibility technologies, such as VoiceOver, within iOS.

Apple iBook2 VPAT sample 3

1194.21 SoftwareCriteria:•(g) applications not override user selected contrast and color selections

Supporting Features: “Supported”

Remarks & Explanation

iOS provides user-selected control of display characteristics that cannot be overridden by applications, including:

• Reverse video: White- On-Black or Black-On- White.

• Screen magnification

• Screen brightness

Apple iBook2 VPAT sample 4

1194.22 Web-based Internet

Criteria:•(a) text equivalent for every non-text element

Supporting Features: “Partially Supported”

Remarks & Explanation

iBooks supports this capability, however

compliance is dependent on content producers to deliver materials that include ”alt” text descriptions.

V. The Refresh of Section 508

The “Refresh” of Section 508:

The “Refresh” is an update of:

Section 508 standards for electronic and information technology (“E&IT”) (procured by Federal agencies)

Section 255 guidelines for telecommunications products

Why Refresh? • Statutory requirement:

• “The Access Board shall periodically review and, as appropriate, amend the standards to reflect technological advances or changes in electronic and information technology.” (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act)

• “The Board shall review and update the Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines periodically” (Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act)

• Changes in technology• 13 years since the first Section 508 standards • 15 years since the first Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines

• Clarify ambiguities in current standards and guidelines• What products are covered? • Improve testability

ICT Refresh Steps • TEITAC establishment: July 2006• TEITAC report: April 2008

• First ANPRM and draft text: March 2010• Public comments: March-June 2010 • Review comments

• Second ANPRM and draft text: Dec. 8, 2011• *Harmonization draft published* • Public Comments: Dec . 2011– March 2012• Review comments, revise text of proposed rule

Final Steps• Develop proposed rule (NPRM): Text, preamble & regulatory assessment

•** Submit to OMB for review **

•Publish NPRM in the Federal Register• Public comment period – 60 days• Analyze comments

•Develop final rule & regulatory assessment•Publish Final Rule in the Federal Register

Some trends in updating the 508 standards:

1. Organize technical provisions by functions, rather than product types –

“two way voice communication” NOT “telephones”

2. Reference external standards –

WCAG 2.0; ANSI C63.19-2011

3. Provide technical assistance within the document.

4. Define “covered electronic content”

To keep track of the “Refresh” process:

Sign up for progress updates here:

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USACCESS/subscriber/new?topic_id=USACCESS_3

Contact us:

Technical assistance:

•508@access-board.gov

•Creagan@access-board.gov

•(800) 872-2253 (voice)

•(800) 993-2822 (TTY)

Website:

•http://www.access-board.gov

V. Questions and Answers

Thank you!

www.access-board.gov