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Sandra Earl

E-Access Blog » Blog Archive » Organisation in the Spotlight - W3C: Global St... - 0 views

www.headstar.com/eablive

accessibility elderly general WCAG 2.0

shared by Sandra Earl on 12 Oct 10 - Cached
  • One major new piece of work undertaken by WAI is the EC-funded WAI-AGE Project (http://www.w3.org/WAI/WAI-AGE/), a look at the implications of an ageing population for web access, given the older people are more likely to have disabilities and may also be less familiar with new technologies. “Demographics worldwide are dramatically changing at the moment,” says Andrew Arch, who works with Abou-Zahra on WAI-AGE. “The proportions of older to younger people are changing as well as the numbers. We’re living longer, and we haven’t got the support behind us. “Lots of things have got to change in governments and organisations - with an ageing workforce, you have to keep learning to stay accessible.”
  • The WAI-AGE project is partly aimed at finding out whether there are any significant new pieces of work needed to ensure web accessibility for an older population, Arch says. “We’ve looked at what research and user observation has gone on over the decade. There is a pretty big overlap between older people and others with disabilities - sight starts to decline, motor dexterity - and individually these overlap. But with older people there is often a lack of recognition that there is a disability there. For example some people might just say they can’t remember so well, rather than that they have a cognitive impairment. Or people won’t see failing eye-sight as a disability, it’s just ‘part of growing old’. But they are disabilities, and often multiple disabilities.”
  • Having gained a grasp of current research the project returned to guidelines such as WCAG 2.0 to see if any changes might be needed. “A large proportion of the needs of older people are met by the new guidelines, but other things might need to feed into the guidance we will issue on implementing the guidelines, for example guidance on how people prepare content for older people.,” said Arch. “Many older people have not grown up with computers, and may not realise their capabilities, for example that you can magnify text in your browser.”
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • This argument is a development of the age-old mantra from the accessibility sector that people with disabilities want to use the web in the same way as everybody else - “it is a human right recognised by the UN,” says Abou-Zahra. But he recognizes that businesses in particular will also  be interested in the additional business benefits, especially in the current financial climate.
  • “With commercial organisations the return on investment is often an important argument. Well, a few years ago, companies might have said ‘how many older people are online?’ but with demographics changing they know the answer. And with the current surge in mobile phone use there is another incentive, since accessible sites work better on mobile phones.”
  • Another change of style will be a greater separation between the core guidelines and references to specific technologies such as Javascript or browser types, Abou-Zahra says.
  • “WCAG 1.0 was too  technology-specific. Back then HTML was more dominant, and there was less use of multimedia, but today we have a flurry of technologies such as Ajax, so the first lesson we learned is don’t write for a specific technology. Also, in the days of WCAG 1.0 we had to exclude Javascript because it was not sufficiently standardised and  assistive technology could not handle it consistently, but now that has largely changed so you need to include it, to look at how any technology should be accessible. The requirements - such as tagging images with text - needs to apply to any technology you are using.
Vernon Fowler

HTML5 accessibility - 0 views

www.html5accessibility.com

accessibility html5 browser development resources screenreaders web webstandards for:@twitter reference

shared by Vernon Fowler on 24 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • Vernon Fowler on 24 Nov 12
     
    This site is a resource to provide information about which HTML5 user interface features are accessibility supported in browsers, making them usable by people who rely upon assistive technology (AT) to use the web.
Vernon Fowler

Responsive Design is Too Responsive? - 0 views

www.visionaustralia.org/...sive-design-is-too-responsive-

design responsive design responsive webdesign accessibility css3 media queries mediaqueries

shared by Vernon Fowler on 07 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • When you use browser zoom in Webkit browsers (Chrome and Safari), all elements on the page increase in size and start overlapping content. This is because WebKit browsers zoom to make the content bigger but the width of the browser remains unaffected, which means it doesn’t trigger responsive style sheet elements or address layout issues.
  • This is an accessibility issue as users with vision deficiencies use browser zoom to navigate websites. If they use Google Chrome they will have a lot of issues accessing content.
Vernon Fowler

A List Apart: Articles: Now You See Me - 0 views

www.alistapart.com/...now-you-see-me

css webdesign accessibility usability content javascript class

shared by Vernon Fowler on 28 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • visibility: hidden; Element is hidden from view, but is not removed from the normal flow (i.e., it still takes up the space it normally would) Content is ignored by screen readers display: none; Element is removed from the normal flow and hidden; the space it occupied is collapsed Content is ignored by screen readers height: 0; width: 0; overflow: hidden; Element is collapsed and contents are hidden Content is ignored by screen readers
  • if you want to ensure users have access to content (even if it isn’t displayed visually in the current interface), the final option (positioning content offscreen) is really the way to go.
  • Screen readers have access to the content
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • position: absolute; left: -999em;
  • but links may “focus” oddly and negative indent may not prove long enough to fully hide content
  • limited to text and inline elements
  • Content is removed from the normal flow and shifted off the left-hand edge; the space it occupied is collapsed
    • Vernon Fowler
      Vernon Fowler on 17 Mar 13
       
      This is usually my desired effect.
  • If you don’t want your hidden content to be read by a screen reader, those defaults may work for you
  • how profoundly your choice of hiding mechanism can influence the accessibility of your content to assistive technologies like screen readers
Sandra Earl

untitled - 0 views

www.iheni.com/e-shifts-on-desktop-and-mobile

mobile accessibility reading best practices standards

shared by Sandra Earl on 12 Oct 10 - Cached
  • The upsurge in VoiceOver could be explained in part by iPhone now providing VoiceOver support; all of a sudden there is a very real reason to switch to Mac if you can use a screen reader you are familiar with on both your desktop and mobile.
  • The upsurge in VoiceOver could be explained in part by iPhone now providing VoiceOver support; all of a sudden there is a very real reason to switch to Mac if you can use a screen reader you are familiar with on both your desktop and mobile.
  • It’s good to also see the free, open source NVDA on the up. They’ve worked hard to include WAI-ARIA support and are becoming a key tool for web developers when testing.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • We’re still faced with one massive problem with mobile access however and that’s the lack of an open, cross platform accessibility API that mobile screen readers can hook into. On desktop we have IAccessible2, MSAA and UI Automation (amongst others) but on mobile users are tied into one platform often only supporting one browser (such as iPhone, Blackberry RIM and others) so while desktop has opened up we find ourselves in a 1990’s type impasse with users left with little room to choose on mobile. Opera works well with VoiceOver but we have no way of telling if it works on the iPhone as it’s not supported. My hope is that with more users there’ll be more momentum behind breaking this stand off and opening up the market and ultimately giving users not only choice but portability between platforms.
  • It’s good to also see the free, open source NVDA on the up. They’ve worked hard to include WAI-ARIA support and are becoming a key tool for web developers when testing.
  • « Yay factor! Going global with standards and BBC Click on web accessibility Make video accessible, localised, mobile and searchable by captioning » Screen reader software usage shifts on desktop and mobile Nov 4th, 2009 by iheni WebAim released their 2009 Screen Reader Survey last week, a follow up from last years Screen Reader survey. Very good reading it makes too but of particular interest are results around screen reader choice on the desktop and increased screen reader access on mobile. For years it’s felt like screen reader users have mainly used IE on the desktop in combination with the major screen readers Jaws by Freedom Scientific and WindowEyes by GW Micro. It’s not that other platforms don’t support screen readers (we have Orca on Linux, VoiceOver on Mac) it’s just that IE seems to have dominated. As such what types of content and web technologies users can and can’t access has very much been driven by what the three software vendors Microsoft, Freedom Scientific and GW Micro have supported. This has made access to the open web a bit lopsided cutting down on choice for the end user, competition and by extension innovation. SVG is an example of a web technology that has possibly suffered by not being supported by IE and in turn by Jaws and WindowEyes. What’s interesting to see in this year’s survey is that Jaws and WindowEyes – while still the most used – have some stiff competition at snapping at their heels from open source, free screen readers (NVDA and  SAToGo ) and VoiceOver which is available with Mac: JAWS 75.2% Window Eyes 23.5% VoiceOver 14.6% System Access or System Access To Go 22.3% NVDA 25.6% While this year’s stats show little shift for Jaws and WindowEyes usage overall there is a significant leap forward for NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) and VoiceOver: Of the 1121 respondents, 74% use JAWS, 23% use Window-Eyes, 8% use NVDA, and 6% use VoiceOver. While several other screen readers were reported, these were the most prominently reported. The upsurge in VoiceOver could be explained in part by iPhone now providing VoiceOver support; all of a sudden there is a very real reason to switch to Mac if you can use a screen reader you are familiar with on both your desktop and mobile. This could also explain the increase of screen reader users on mobile reported this year with 53% of survey respondents with disabilities confirming they use a screen reader on a mobile device. This is up from 12% last year (although last year’s survey doesn’t distinguish disabled from non-disabled users). I wonder how much this is to do with the ‘iPhone Factor’ but also can’t help thinking that social networking has done for the mobile web what Kylie Minogue did for Agent Provocateur – everybody wants some. And for me at least 2009 feels like the year that we all sat up and paid attention to the potential of mobile for people with disabilities. We’re still faced with one massive problem with mobile access however and that’s the lack of an open, cross platform accessibility API that mobile screen readers can hook into. On desktop we have IAccessible2, MSAA and UI Automation (amongst others) but on mobile users are tied into one platform often only supporting one browser (such as iPhone, Blackberry RIM and others) so while desktop has opened up we find ourselves in a 1990’s type impasse with users left with little room to choose on mobile. Opera works well with VoiceOver but we have no way of telling if it works on the iPhone as it’s not supported. My hope is that with more users there’ll be more momentum behind breaking this stand off and opening up the market and ultimately giving users not only choice but portability between platforms.
  • We’re still faced with one massive problem with mobile access however and that’s the lack of an open, cross platform accessibility API that mobile screen readers can hook into.
  • Sandra Earl on 12 Oct 10
     
    "We're still faced with one massive problem with mobile access however and that's the lack of an open, cross platform accessibility API that mobile screen readers can hook into."
Sandra Earl

E-Access Blog » Blog Archive » Call For Research Into Elderly Access To Mobil... - 1 views

www.headstar.com/eablive

accessibility phone mobile cell elderly cognitive hardware

shared by Sandra Earl on 12 Oct 10 - Cached
  • “Many of the commonly-used techniques of requirements capture for mobile technologies are inappropriate for use with older people, for a variety of reasons,” it says. “These may be related to problems associated with age, cognitive complexity and motivation. The result is to restrict the potential of mobile technologies to provide support to older people.”
Sandra Earl

E-Access Blog » Blog Archive » Global Online Accessibility Resource Set For 2... - 0 views

www.headstar.com/eablive

accessibility resources standards assisstive technology general

shared by Sandra Earl on 12 Oct 10 - Cached
  • An online resource of open source, royalty-free assistive technology tools, accessible and usable at any time and across the world, is to be launched next year by a consortium of more than 30 US and European IT and disability organisations and leaders, the European Commission e-Inclusion conference heard this month.
Vernon Fowler

Inclusively Hidden | scottohara.me - 0 views

www.scottohara.me/...inclusively-hidden.html

accessibility inclusivedesign screenreaders

shared by Vernon Fowler on 02 Oct 18 - No Cached
  • sometimes content is for decorative purposes only, and it would be optimal to not announce this content to assistive technology.
  • don’t use aria-hidden on focusable content
  • Purposefully Hidden from Assistive Technology
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • using aria-hidden to hide content specifically from screen readers
  • Vernon Fowler on 02 Oct 18
     
    There are various techniques to visually hide content in our web interfaces, but are you aware of the different effects they have on the accessibility of that content? While it would be nice if there was a single, native, solution for hiding content, there are contextual benefits to the various techniques at our disposal. Since there have been many articles already written about these techniques, over the many years they've been in use, the focus of this article will be to highlight the ones that are most appropriate for modern web development. We won't just look at the code behind each of these techniques, instead we'll focus on why each technique has its place, using practical examples to demonstrate their purposes. But before we talk about how to hide content we should ask ourselves a question… Why are we hiding content?
Vernon Fowler

WCAG 2.1 is Coming-and Here's What You Should Know Right Now - Siteimprove - 0 views

siteimprove.com/...what-you-should-know-right-now

forms usability buttons inclusivedesign errors navigation accessibility mobile touch

shared by Vernon Fowler on 09 Apr 18 - No Cached
  • Expect the new WCAG standards to emphasize a mobile experience that matches what users might expect from a traditional browsing session. This will likely include making your site’s touch screen functions more compatible with assistive technology. 
  • The new standards are expected to raise that level to 400% to help users with low vision navigate sites more smoothly.
  • WCAG 2.1 will likely seek to place limits on where and when pop-ups and similar advertising can appear. 
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • For users with motor skill issues, clicking on incorrect links and buttons is a common problem. WCAG 2.1 will likely require improvements in navigation technology that makes it easier both to find the right link and to correct actions if the wrong link is clicked. 
  • Vernon Fowler on 09 Apr 18
     
    Considering how massively the online landscape has changed in the past decade, it's amazing that international standards for web accessibility haven't been updated since December of 2008. That's about to change. After soliciting and assessing recommendations from the public, the international Web Accessibility Initiative is set to announce version 2.1 of its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in the middle of this year. As that update draws nearer, there are a few key changes website owners may want to start planning for. (Keep in mind that all WCAG 2.1 changes are tentative.)
Vernon Fowler

HTML5 Accessibility Chops: When to use an ARIA role | The Paciello Group Blog - 0 views

www.paciellogroup.com/...chops-when-to-use-an-aria-role

accessibility html5 browser

shared by Vernon Fowler on 24 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • The situation for new HTML5 elements is different and likely to remain so for some time. It will be years before New HTML5 elements get robust accessibility support implemented across browsers and platforms. This is particularly so for non interactive elements such as the new HTML5 structural elements because  accessibility APIs in general do not have defined roles for many non interactive elements. In this case it is recommended to add the appropriate ARIA roles to elements that are meant to convey meaning but are effectively meaningless due to lack of implemented accessibility support. For example, adding role=navigation to a nav element fills the gaps in support for HTML5 semantics as ARIA  is more robustly  supported by most modern browsers and assistive technology:
  • <nav role=”navigation”>
  • Authors/developers can safely assume that any element that has been around since HTML 4.0 is already accessibility supported in browsers that support accessibility. So they do not need a default implicit role added.
Vernon Fowler

Accessible forms using WCAG 2.0 | Web Usability - 0 views

usability.com.au/...ccessible-forms-using-wcag-2-0

forms accessibility html

shared by Vernon Fowler on 10 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • The label element is not used for the following because labels for these elements are provided via the value attribute
  • This technique inserts new content into the DOM immediately following the element that was activated to trigger the script. The triggering element must be a link or a button, and the script must be called from its onclick event. These elements are natively focusable, and their onclick event is device independent. Focus remains on the activated element and the new content, inserted after it, becomes the next thing in both the tab order and screen-reader reading order. Note that this technique works for synchronous updates. For asynchronous updates (sometimes called AJAX), an additional technique is needed to inform the assistive technology that the asynchronous content has been inserted.
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