Web Accessibility a Universal Goal!

April 21, 2008 – 3:07 pm

Introduction:

Over the last decay, an increase number of research were conducted to determine ways Information Technology can assist in meeting to ensure . Findings to date suggest that by being more knowledgeable about , and developers are able to accommodate end users with .

As we enter the , it is no longer acceptable that people with limited or no vision are on their own when it comes to accessing the web, nor those with are on their own when it comes to use a hardware. To ignore

website accessibility raises moral, business, and legal issues. It is morally wrong to discriminate

against on the web simply through lack of thought, consideration, or awareness. Many designed without considering result in loss of revenue. Some countries, such as the US, UK, and Australia has introduced legislation that requires organizations to adhere to .

In June 1999, the (1999) has been used to fight for access rights in

Australia. The 2000 Olympic Site Games, jointly developed by Sydney of the (SOCOG) and IBM was found inaccessible to the , and SOCOG was fined A$ 20,000 [1].

The purpose of this paper is raising awareness among and developers, to achieve accessibility goal. The paper looks at the and the existing or methods used by disabled users to assist them in accessing the web.

Afterwards, the paper reviews guidelines for , and provides analysis for designing an accessible website. Furthermore, the paper highlights on the challenges and gaps in the area.

Literature Review:

Two years ago, a Conference was held in ‘London’ and attended by representatives of commerce, industry, government, and the IT Sector aiming to raise awareness of the potential benefits of assistive technology to disabled users. The outstanding number of speakers highlighted through number of cases how technology can transfer lives. ‘Sue Bassoon’ a Business Development Manager at IBM said: “IBM’s goal is to have a speech recognition system as good as the human ear by 2010” [2].

The objectives of this literature is two folds: (1) explain how a particular disability (e.g.

visual impairment, mobility restriction, hearing impairment) can impede the use of the web, and what can be done to accommodate ; and (2) show how and developers can construct accessible web sites to end users with disabilities, such as visual or hearing impairment.

(1)

The section begins with a descriptive part concerning disabled user functional limitation

and dependence on .

A- Vision Issues:

A web user who has no sight (totally blind) is likely to use the screen reader technology to reads a load the content of the web page. Other web users, with partial or poor sight need to be able to enlarge the text on web page using a screen magnifier.

B- Mobility Issues:

A web user may have as a result of an accident or disease such as:(loss of limb, Injury, or aging process). The technologies used by users with are:

- Sticky Keys: For users with one finger typing.

- Filter Keys: Ignores repeated strokes for people with hand tremors.

- Mouse Keys: Permits moving pointer with numeric keypad.

- Serial Key: Permits access to alternatives for mouse and keyboard functions such as Foot Mouse.

- Eye gaze: A video camera that racks eye movement as the user look at an on screen keyboard. It is customizable as how long a key must be looked at to be recorded. When system has identified the key looked at the symbol appears and the user look at next key.

C- Hearing Issues:

A web user may be deaf or experiencing problems with hearing due to the natural aging process. To assist those users the audio or video need to be translated to the ASL (American Sign Language) language of the deaf, in which certain signs represent words.

(2) Design for Accessibility

In the above section, the paper provided readers with a general knowledge about , disabled users, and the existing . This section is intended for and developers, because it provides them with tips and guidelines on ways to design a good and accessible website. There are two main aspects

to take into account:

I- Look and Feel

need to present a user friendly that addresses specific ability needs. The designer should be able to describe ways disabled users interact with a website, and how they move through the pages and how they achieve their goals. Below, are helpful tips that designers need to consider when designing an accessible website.

- &; Developers; should follow the four principles of visual organization in the process of designing a website which are: Proximity, Alignment, Consistency, and Contrast.

- &; Developers; must avoid using HTML tables to control the layout, instead use style sheets.

- &; Developers; should use legible fonts, and font size to allow disabled users to easily change them from the browser .

- Avoid poor color contrast in your design, and do not use color for meaningful description.

- Avoid the use of animation, and flash which may affect users with photosensitive epilepsy.

- Avoid using Frames because it can pose problems for technology used by some disabled users.

- Try not to use graphics for menu and button forms.

- Avoid hiding menu items (using DHTML or applets)

II- Content

should organize content in a way that can provide ease of use and simplicity. Below, are helpful tips that designers need to consider when designing an accessible website:

- Use a clear language, and write short sentences.

For example, a web page should provide with a short summary of what they can find. A Search is important because a blind person can’t scan the page, and will generally trust first result he/she receives.

- Add Accessible tags and attributes by using rich set of tags to enhance accessibility. For instance, an ALT tag is used to provide a text equivalent for images within a website. The

ALT text description is what the screen reader or talking browser will read to the .

- Use clear link descriptions, and include links that a user can click to skip repetitive regions of the page.

- Ensure the pages are usable when , applets, or style sheets are turned off or not

supported.

- All audio and video content should contain captions, transcription, and descriptive information.

Analysis:

It is estimated that 20% of the population has some kind of disability. The internet opens

a new window of opportunity and independence to disabled users from reading news to banking to conducting business. For example, by using the screen reader technology a blind user can listen to the latest newspaper published electronically. Similarly, a user with mobility problem who can not go out shopping to buy a newspaper, nor use a

keyboard or mouse independently, can rather use the eye tracking software that allow people to use a computer with nothing more than eye movement.

Nowadays, organizations are asking designers to make their web sites accessible and for

good reasons. First of all, the more people who can use a site, the more potential it can

generate. Online stores, in particular have a great deal to gain, since many people with

functional limitation problems, find it much easier to shop online. Most

are not personally opposed to the concept of making web sites accessible to people with

disabilities. In fact most accessibility errors on web sites are the result of ignorance. A large proportion of and developers have simply never thought about . A small proportion of (4%) do not understand the needs of users with disabilities; another (46%) understand some of the needs of users with disabilities. While only (26%) of designers understand most of the needs of users

with disabilities and can accommodate them [3].

The Challenges and Gaps of :

In this section, we highlight the challenges and the requirements posed by user needs, to

access the web. We argue the need for a new approach to address , and

include it in each and every web project life cycle.We recognize that the vast majority of disabled users face challenges when accessing the web. Why is this? Is it the lack of technical solutions to meet their needs – absolutely not! You will hear today that there are new technological solutions to address even most extreme form of disability. Is it cost?

Again it is not! Some technical solutions, cost nothing at all, and already exist in software. So, What then? Is it that web applications are being developed that present challenges to accessible design? Is it lack of knowledge and skills to meet their needs?

There does seem a general lack of awareness of web . and Developers, need to have a better approach to tackle the problem in each phase of the web development process. For example, during the requirement analysis phase a web developer must define the target audience of the site, and should take into account people with a combination of disabilities. In addition to this, during prototyping phase a web designer must have the knowledge to accommodate end users with , and also the skills to meet their expectations.

Moreover, testing the web site using different

technologies is critical for a successful web site, to ensure it meets the accessibility

standards and user requirements [4].

Therefore, in each phase of the web development process, accessibility plays an important role. Accessibility and Usability should be completely embedded in web design and development cycles from beginning to end.

The future looks bright for . It promises to educate and developers about , through training courses offered at universities.

Conclusion:

The Internet offers independence and . But, this independence and is limited to certain users. Many websites are not created with in mind.

Whether it is the Web Designer lack of knowledge or ignorance, they exclude a segment of users that in many ways benefit from the internet [5].

In short, designing accessible websites does not require an enormous effort or time. It simply, requires commitment, and accountability, to achieve a universal goal.

Reference:

[1] Duckworth D. (2003). in Australia. Retrieved June 18, 2005, from

http://www.tonneten.net/mt/blog/archieves/000024.htm

[2] Conference (2003). IT – The Universal Enabler, London. Retrieved May 28, 2005

from http://www.stcsig.org

[3] Survey (2003). Retrieved June 24, 2005 from

http://cita.rehab.uiuc.eduu/survey/2002-2003-web-practices.html

[4] Volpon A. (2002). The Life cycle ofWeb Accessibility. Retrieved June 24, 2005 from

http://www.evolt.org/article/The_Lifecycle_of_Web_Accessibility/20/50376/

[5] Bohman P. (2003). Introduction to . Retrieved June 24, 2005 from

http://www.webaim.org/intro

[6]Mertz D. (2000). Tips: Design for accessible Web sites. Retrieved June 22, 2005 from

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/web/library/w-mertz.htm

About The Author

Nidal A. Bousaleh holds his Master degree in Information Technology (Web Engineering) from Australia. He is an author of many articles related to Web Design and E-Business. One of the best is “ a Universal Goal” which highlights on the needs and wants of people with (Hardware &; Software needs) in order to access the World Wide Web. The paper provides guidelines for to follow for achieving .

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