Overview of topics covered ..

• user needs
• how to create accessible content ...
• more help and explanations
• browsing tools
• authoring tools (incl. templates)
• evaluation and repair tools
• courseware
• giving access to inaccessible search engines
• learning more
• international standards
• student assessment and testing for students with special needs

Understanding Users' Different Needs

• understand the range of problems and necessary solutions for users
• see (or read the transcript of) a video that explains screen readers and what they do http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/ltde/access/ewers.htm
• or see (read or hear) how Braille readers, Jaws and ZoomText work.
• help users recognise their particular needs and the ways they can help themselves or be helped
• follow the guidelines from Microsoft that explain how to adjust their Windows and operating software systems

How to

For a comprehensive list of techniques and quick access to techniques, see the How-to page.

References (in context) to:

• explanations for particular techniques and why they are necessary
• standards that explain how to use the objects and code that controls them
• software tools that can be used to develop accessible resources (remember they can be used badly!)

Standards-compliant browsers

Note that the tools used to author or browse web pages can make a difference. Advise users to work with the best tools and to avoid those that are not standards compliant. Supporting non-compliant tools does not help the universal accessibility cause - do your bit!

Netscape Navigator: your attention is drawn to the fact that there are versiojns of this browser that are not standards compliant. Resources built so they are 'best viewed with Netscape', or worse, 'only viewed with Netscape', may be inaccessible to people who need the resource. You are advised to not follow this practice and to ensure that resources are standards compliant rather than Netscape compliant.

The corollary is to help people recognise the danger of promoting browsers that are not standards compliant. Try some of the light-weight, efficient browsers below - they may have features you want but have not experienced - eg they may read the web pages, or your mail, to you!

Browsers - Think differently and support accessibility!

There are many browsers available for free. The following are recommended because they try to support accessibility and so encourage developers to 'do the right thing':

Windows: Opera, Internet Explorer, Lynx

Macs: iCab, Wannabe, Internet Explorer, MacLynx

Unix/Lynux: Amaya, Internet Explorer, Lynx

Standards-compliant editors

Templates

These tools that are very often'home-made' and the authoring tools guidelines should be followed and the techniques employed.

Authoring/Editing tools

See the W3C Authoring Tools Confirmance Reviews - W3C has developed guidelines for authoring tools and is testing the conformance of some as a way of testing the guidleines. The W3C Working group is hopefully working with the tool developers to make the tools more accessible and more likely to produce accessible resources, in the process.

Try

• AMAYA http://www.w3.org/Amaya/ (editor/browser)
• DreamWeaver http://www.macromedia.com (editor)
• MAGpie http://ncam.wgbh.org/webaccess/magpie/ (media access generator)
• SoftQuad's software http://www.softquad.com/products/xmetal/content_xmetal.html (web page editor)
• online CSS generator at University of Toronto - http://nide.snow.utoronto.ca/css/ (cascading style sheet editor)
• and see reviews of tools at http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/reviews/, especially the reviews of FrontPage , Dreamweaver and HomeSite

Evaluation/Repair Tools

• A-Prompt from University of Toronto (pcs only) http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/
• W3C's HTML-Tidy Testing/Repair Tool - for downloading - http://www.w3.org/People/Raggett/tidy/
• The late Len Kasday's tool from Temple University (pcs only)- http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/

• HTMLTidy - this checks and corercts the use of code including taking direct formatting out of the body of the resource and making a style for it
• Bobby - also checks code but points the user to areas that need to be tested against the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - it requires expertise to make judgements about the accessibility tests
• UseableNet - used within Dreamweaver to make sure code is used properly or online to monitor accessibility in an on-going way
• Amaya - an editor/browser that corrects misuse of code
• the WAVE - http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/

How to test your pages ... the WAVE - good for seeing the reading order.... HPR is a product - speaking browser from IBM - voice only...

See test.html

Course management software (it can make resources inaccessible!)

If the resources are directly available, accessibility depends upon the resource, but often they are embedded within course management software that is either inaccessible, or renders the originally accessible resource in an inaccessible form. See notes on WebCT.

Search engines

In some cases, special pages can be constructed to help with problems - see eg the search entry pages constructed by Gregory J. Rosmaita that give access to some of the standard search engines that are otherwise inaccessible: http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/search.html

Learn More ...

Read the W3C HTML (WCAG), ATAG and XML Accessibility Guidelines

• for HTML - http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/
• For XML - http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/xmlgl
• for SVG accessibility features - http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG-access/

Free Online Tutorials to help you

• from the Sunrise Research Laboratory - learn to use correct HTML and CSS code http://www.SunriseResearch.com.au
• from the SNOW Project at University of Toronto http://snow.utoronto.ca

Online tests and the inclusion of students with special needs

see at least the UK standards wrt this.... (local)

Last updated: 8 March 2002