Making Electronic Communications

Disability Accessible: Enhancing Usability for

EveryoneSally 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 colorsBlack 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/AccessibleDesign/

Checklist

W3C Guidelines http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/wai-pageauth.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 Webhttp://www.wku.edu/

~kuhlenschmidt/access/

Thank you!