ODESSA
Open Desktop Software Support Association
Accessibility in the Virtual Workplace
Opportunities and Challenges
Overview
Overview
Moral and Legal Perspective
Challenges
Opportunities
Strategy for implementation
Conclusions
Objective
Our objective is help you understand how to overcoming barriers in the digital economy which requires appropriate policies, technological tools and education for accessible system design and implementation.
In other terms, Compliance can means job opportunities
Fact
Access to information and communication
is
a
Civil Right
Facts
48.9 million or 19.4% Americans are disable according to the US Presidents Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
Roughly 20%in global terms
21.1% of people with vision problems have Internet access issues
27.2% of people with hearing problems
22.5% of people with difficulty using hands
42.2% of people with a learning disability
ACTRA Study
International Accessibility Survey
UN study of 20 countries revealed that only 3 out of 100 International websites was accessible
Survey included heads of states, airlines, banks, newspapers, and retailers.
Central government, retailers, and banks offered the best accessibility around the world
British, Spanish and German central gov't faired best
http://www.informationweek.com/software/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196601676
Physical World Conditions
Physical adaptions include:
Bus Modifications
Curb-cut for wheelchair access
Wheelchair ramps
Modifications to doors
TTY terminals in lobby
Elevators with voice and/or Braille instructions
Guess what?
What is applicable in the physical it also applies to the virtual world
Moral and Legal Issues
Moral Obligation
Universal Design( Disable Design) sets out the parameters for the development and implementation of information systems which are flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the broadest range of users of computers and telecommunications equipment, regardless of age or disability.
What does this mean?
Everyone involved in the entire process from funder, designer, staff and the public all share a common moral obligation to provide access to the to the website which meets the needs of all the end users and is EFFECTIVE.
It is to everyone's benefit that no one is excluded
Father of the Internet
As Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide
Web aptly states:
The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone
regardless of disability is an essential aspect.
Fact
People with disabilities are being locked out of the digital economy because of a lack of will and ambivalence toward inclusive accessible design.
Blissful ignorance recent changes with WCAG 2.0(March/08) and ISO 9241
Legal Compliance in the US
ADA requirements for effective communication and the provision of auxiliary aids and services and reasonable accommodations apply to the computer and Internet environment.
Legal requirements opens doors of opportunities for consultants/design companies to assess and make websites compliant
Legal History
Signed into law in 1990, it ...
....prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, programs and services provided by state and local governments, goods and services provided by private companies, and in commercial facilities. (See the U.S. Department of Justice ADA Homepage at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.)
Legal Cases
Blind student files a case against Target Stores in the US, Class action suit, Amazon and high profile companies also facing this type of litigation
BBC report on UK businesses
Failure rate 4 out of 5 in 1000 companies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2VVxrWun6A
Accessibility and Government
BBC study and UK Government website accessiblity
61% fail to comply to W3 guidelines
Site failure to operate on different browsers
Failure to provide access to visual impaired viewers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4853000.stm
How are the disabled impacted?
The disabled are not bridging the digital divide in the following arenas:
Internet Services Providers,
Internet voting,
accessible system design,
Internet kiosks,
Smart cards,
Electronic textbooks,
Long-distance learning,
Consumer household appliances.
Who are facing Barriers
The impact is not limited to people with visual and mobility disabilities. People with specific learning disabilities are also finding that they can no longer access web pages audibly with screen readers. Even people with cognitive disabilities are becoming lost due to the absence of navigation elements at web sites
FOSS and Accessiblity
Legislation has created standards that will define what is meant by electronic and information technology and will set forth the technical and functional performance criteria for accessibility implementation.
It is a recognized good practice to consult with the disability community, especially those members most likely to request accommodations before launching Internet services
Implementation Strategy
Virtual World
As in the physical world legislation exists that require effective communication, regardless of whether they generally communicate through print media, audio media, or computerized media such as the Internet.
Entities that use the Internet for communications regarding their programs, goods, or services must be prepared to offer those communications through accessible means as well
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) 1999
Ensuring that Web technologies support accessibility
Developing guidelines for accessibility
Developing tools to evaluate and facilitate accessibility
Conducting education and outreach
Monitoring and engaging in research and development
1999 Guidelines for websites
A page that is not text, provide a text equivalent.
Every image on a page, carry an alternative or alt text
When using tables to display data, identify row and column headers. so a screen reader, can turn a table of information into understandable speech
Make sure that information is still understandable without colour.
W3 Initiative Web Guidelines
Retirement of the older 1999 guidelines with a 200,000 word document
Launch in Spring 2008, WCAG 2.0
Acknowledge new technologies
New Success Criteria for testing
See Quick Reference http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/Overview.php
How does it work?
WCAG uses success criteria to evaluate a website
A success criterion is a testable statement that will be either true or false when applied to specific Web content.
Four Main Guidelines
# 1 Perceivable
Information and user interface components must be perceivable by users
This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can't be invisible to all of their senses)
http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20070517/#fourprincs
Four Main Guidelines
# 2 Operable
User interface components must be operable by users
This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that the user can not perform)
Four Main Guidelines
# 3 Understandable
Information and operation of user interface must be understandable by users
This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface (the content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding)
Four Main Guidelines
# 4 Robust
Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies
This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance (as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible)
Defination
Accessibility
Good design incorporates
Voice,
Eye tracking
or keyboard input/output features
Situation
The Web 2.0 is creating more of a digital barriers to those individuals with disabilities
Each existing and new layer of the Internet is seeing more inaccessible design of Internet/Intranet web sites, Internet Service Provider portals, incompatible browsers, or inaccessible web-based platforms for on-line business
Threat/Opportunity
Exciting electronic and information technology features are emerging in the areas of information appliances, real-time conference participation, audio-streaming, telephone voice browsers, search engines, news groups, chat rooms and 3-D imaging.
OPPORTUNITY
Untapped Markets
IT consultants can contact with Business and Government to assess,, redesign, build and implement WCAG 2.0 compliant websites
Outreach to business community to build awareness of the untapped business potential for building bridges rather than walls to 20% of the population
New IT companies meeting the market niche for adaptative technologies
Whirlwind Wheelchair International
International projects in 45 countries providing wheelchair design and construction utilizing local resources
www.whirlwindwheelchair.org
Whirlwind RoughRider designs under the Creative Commons license
Open Prosthetics Project
Open Prosthetics
http://openprosthetics.org or www.tackledesign.com
North Carolina State University engineering project to create
low cost myoelectric arms below $500 per limb,
Versatile body powered hook and self adjusting suspension
system
Websites
Websites with graphics
Solutions
Removal of Navigational button or arrow to replaced to accommodate those who are visually impaired.
The US Department of Justice requires that websites must provide a text format rather than a graphical format assures accessibility to the Internet for individuals using screen readers.
E Government
Solutions
Retrofit government kiosks- licence renewal, voting, etc
Online transparency
UK created the Allcomms, a all party website to encourage debate on accessibility issues
http://www.apcomms.org.uk/
W3 Review
The W3 Accessibility sub committees review of:
HTML
Style Sheets,
Multimedia,
MathML,
DOM,
XML,
Graphics,
Mobile Access,
Internationalization.
Web site Checklist
Provide an Access Instruction Page for Visitors
Provide support for text browsers
Attach "Alt" tags to graphic images
Hyperlink photographs with descriptive text "D"
Caption all audio and video clips by using "CC" hyperlinks
Provide alternative mechanisms for on-line forms (such as email or voice/TTY phone numbers)
Avoid access barriers such as the posting of documents in PDF, table, newspaper or frame format or requiring visitors to download software. If posting in PDF, the HTML text or ASCII file must also be posted.
Strategy
Treat new virtual communities the same way new buildings comply with building code regulations to prior to access
Consult with the disability community, especially those members most likely to request accommodations
Entities when upgrades occur should select software programs and/or hardware equipment which are adaptable for people with disabilities
More Strategies
Create proactive policies
Cost-effective approach to purchasing adaptive technology
Adaptive technology training
Access guidelines for distance learning
Print materials translated into alternate formats such as electronic text and Braille
Evaluate your Website
Bobby-CAST, the Center for Applied Special Technology, http://www.jimthatcher.com/bobbyeval.htm
Web Accessibility Checker
http://checker.atrc.utoronto.ca/index.html
http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/download.html
WEBXACT
http://webxact.watchfire.com/
More Resources
IBM
www.Ibm.com/able/resources/firefox.html
Peter Korn, Accessibility Architect Sun Microsystems Inc
The World Denied: Web Accessibility the Movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRNdTIFkG1w&feature=related
Extensive Links
SNOW
http://snow.utoronto.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=159&Itemid=127
ACTRA
http://joeclark.org/access/webaccess/JVoluntAdmin.html
Tools
List of courseware accessiblity tools
http://snow.utoronto.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=160&Itemid=153
Website Evaluation and Repair Tools
http://snow.utoronto.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=162&Itemid=154
http://snow.utoronto.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=203&Itemid=156
Conclusion
A robust and strong digital economy requires the removal of barriers through the deployment of accessible design elements in our computer, information technology and communications. By directing our research and policy directives to address these problems, we will overcome the digital divide and ensure full participation in the global digital economy.
Contact Information
Glenn McKnight
Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities
http://www.fbsc.org
email [email protected]
ODESSA Project
Open Desktop Software Support Association