Transcript Making Electronic Communications Disability Accessible: Enhancing Usability for Everyone Sally Kuhlenschmidt Association of University Programs in Health Administration, Nashville, TN June 2003

Making Electronic
Communications
Disability Accessible:
Enhancing Usability for
Everyone
Sally Kuhlenschmidt
Association of University Programs in Health Administration, Nashville, TN
June 2003
Objectives
• To provide an overview of
implications of ADA for
electronic communications
• To provide guidance on making
your electronic communications
accessible & increasing
usability
Pertinent Laws
• ADA 1990
– 1996 DOJ ruled applies to
webpages
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973- if fed $$, can’t
exclude
Pertinent Laws
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1986
– requires federal electronic and
information technology
– to be accessible to people with
disabilities,
– including employees and members
of the public.
– Uses W3C guidelines
More Laws
• Section 255 of Telecommunications
Act 1996
– requires telecommunications products
and services to be accessible to
people with disabilities
Terms
• Disability
– Impairment that substantially
limits major life activities
– LD, ADHD, vision, motor, etc.
– 1 in 10 college students
Terms
• Accommodation
– Providing an equivalent experience
that isn’t an undue burden.
– You don’t get to decide what
“undue” is.
– We know what the courts are
“buying”
• Level 1 of W3C at least.
• Thoughtfulness– moving target.
– Build in or “retrofit”.
Terms
• Usability
– The effectiveness with which any
person can use your electronic
communications.
– Good design & universal.
– Considerable overlap with
accommodation
Electronic
Communications
• All required components of any
course or university service, e.g.,
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Audio, video, multimedia, text
Webpages whether yours or not
E-mail
Forms, e.g., chat, discussion boards
Satellite, ITV
Software, CD Roms, DVD, tapes,
Etc.
Why accommodate now?
• Technically, can wait until requested
• Problem: technology requires large
amounts of time to retrofit
• Better to start now building in the
basics (easiest) or retrofitting to save
stress later
• Better to consider when buying
software, etc.
• And it’s simply good design.
Examples
• Use videos or Javascript? Need
transcripts
• Using images? Need descriptors
on each one.
• Teachers: start now, or try to do
it during the term at a pace to
give the disabled student an
equivalent experience.
• Service Units: start now
List
• Your electronic communications that
are required/necessary for your
audience.
– Email
– Webpages or activities (e.g., chat)
• Not just your own webpages
• Prioritize– most essential.
• Alternatives
Principles of
Accommodation
• Accommodation depends on
– Specific person w/disability
– The task to be accomplished
– The available technology
• Knowing the range of
disabilities to consider, helps
– Sensory…motor…psychological
…combinations
Principles of
Accommodation
• Equivalency of experience.
– Can’t drop the requirement just
for the disabled person.
– Could substitute.
– Unlike public school, don’t have
to help disabled “be the best they
can be.”
Principles of
Accommodation
• Since technology changes,
including assistive technology,
Necessary accommodations will
change.
Be Thoughtful
Principles of
Accommodation
• Many accommodations are
conceptual, e.g.,
Laying out navigation for a blind
person
Describing an image
• Technology may be a solution,
not just a problem
Principles of
Accommodation
• It is easier to build in than to
retrofit. E.g., a lab
• When planning, have an
accommodation consideration
phase/checkbox
Principles of
Accommodation
• Consider maintenance of the
accommodation when planning
– 2 websites: Flash plus text only…
versus
– 1 text website
Principles of
Accommodation
• Consider the nature of the task
– A method may be adequate for a
short, simple, less critical task
(e.g., alt tag descriptor; TDD
phone for question from deaf)
– But not adequate for a longer,
more complex, more critical task
(e.g., text of an interactive video?
TDD for class discussion?)
Principles to Practice
Web Site Design
• Imagine how your page
– Sounds through a speech
synthesizer
– Feels like in Braille
– Looks like in super large font
• Imagine navigating it
– by voice
– or keyboard
Usability
• Classic design principles
– Central web page with overview
• Consistent structure
• List/headings
• Headlines as text, not images
– Cascading Style Sheets
• separates display from the
information
Usability: Color
Want High Contrast in colors
Black text on white
Color Blindness? Avoid
combinations
– red green,
– blue-yellow
Avoid color coding information
• Favor frames over tables
– Label frames with name/title
attributes
• Favor html over PDF, doc
• Image Maps: use Client Side
maps and text for hotspots
Provide Descriptions
• Images: ‘Alt’ tag or long description
• Links: meaningful
– not “link here” but “CNN newsroom”
• Tables: Headers
• Graphs and charts: summary text
• Audio/video content:
captions/transcripts
Web Site Design
• Avoid
– Scripts, applets, or plug-ins
• or provide alternates.
– Animated images
– Multi-column tables
• line by line reading must be sensible
• summarize
Distance Learning
• Chat rooms
– challenge to follow
• Reflect before doing
– Opportunity if designed for
accessibility
– Obstacle if not
• Blackboard/WebCT
Tutorial
National Center on Low
Incidence Disabilities: Creating
Accessible Websites http://vision.unco.edu/Accessibl
eDesign/
Checklist
W3C Guidelines
http://www.w3.org/TR/WAIWEBCONTENT/waipageauth.html#toc
Validate
• Accessibility
– http://cast.org/bobby/
• HTML usage
– http://validator.w3.org/
Homework
•
•
•
•
Go home
Remove your mouse
Navigate your website
Make modifications
Summary
• Plan for Accessibility
• Describe what you are doing
– in Person
– on a WebSite
• Follow-up with external checks
• Profit from accessible
communications
Bottom Line
• The technology shouldn’t get in
the way of any person
participating…that requires us
to be thoughtful.
More Information
• This presentation on the Web
http://www.wku.edu/
~kuhlenschmidt/access/
Thank you!