Implementation

If the devil is in the details, then Implementation is the “hot spot” of information technology.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

For people who are creating web information systems, the definitive resource is W3C:

The starting point is the Accessibility page for concepts and standards:

http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility

“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.

Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web

The Web is fundamentally designed to work for all people, whatever their hardware, software, language, culture, location, or physical or mental ability. When the Web meets this goal, it is accessible to people with a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive ability.

Thus the impact of disability is radically changed on the Web because the Web removes barriers to communication and interaction that many people face in the physical world. However, when websites, web technologies, or web tools are badly designed, they can create barriers that exclude people from using the Web.

The mission of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is to lead the Web to its full potential to be accessible, enabling people with disabilities to participate equally on the Web.”

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

and

http://www.w3.org/WAI/yourWAI

“Finding Your WAI ("way") to New Web Accessibility Resources

Presentations you can copy, business case resources, what to do when you come across an inaccessible website, and much much more are available on the WAI website for managers, policy makers, presenters, developers, designers, and people with disabilities.

Whether you already use WAI resources or you're new to web accessibility, we encourage you to look around and find more information that is useful to you. This page explains strategies for finding what you're looking for on the WAI website.”

General Principles: W3C Perspective

Perceivable (for instance by addressing text alternatives for images, captions for audio, adaptability of presentation, and color contrast);
Operable (by addressing keyboard access, color contrast, timing of input, seizure avoidance, and navigability);
Understandable (by addressing readability, predictability, and input assistance);
Robust (for instance by addressing compatibility with assistive technologies).

Tools

We are all toolmakers – or, at least tool users…

When the implementation is in a specific platform (hardware device / software environment), the best approach is to find (Google!) existing resources for that platform.

(e.g. Google “Drupal Accessibility” or “IOS Accessibility” or “JavaScript Accessibility”)

Best generic starting point:

W3C - WAI Guidelines and Techniques

http://www.w3.org/WAI/guid-tech.html

Languages;

For generic HTML: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php

And:

How to Meet WCAG 2.0

A customizable quick reference to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 requirements (success criteria) and techniques

http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/

Beyond W3C – HTML Doctor – Accessibility

http://html5doctor.com/category/accessibility/

Beyond W3C – from NCSU – Accessibility Handbook

A brilliant reference for practical HTML coding techniques

http://accessibility.oit.ncsu.edu/training/accessibility-handbook/

IDEs;

When the Integrated Development Environment is in a specific platform (hardware device / software environment), the best approach is to find (Google!) existing resources for that platform.

(e.g. Google “Eclipse Accessibility” or “Dreamweaver Accessibility” or “Joomla Accessibility”)

Example of “Eclipse Accessibility”

The Accessibility Tools Framework (ACTF) is a subproject of the Eclipse Technology Project.

http://www.eclipse.org/actf/

http://www.eclipse.org/proposals/actf/

(Good illustration of IDE accessibility extension)

Digital Content

Standards for making documents that are inherently accessible are the work of the W3C project: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview

http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php

Extraordinary resource:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of proving a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.

The WCAG documents explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Web "content" generally refers to the information in a web page or web application, including:

natural information such as text, images, and sounds
code or markup that defines structure, presentation, etc.

Who WCAG is for

WCAG is primarily intended for:

Web content developers (page authors, site designers, etc.)
Web authoring tool developers
Web accessibility evaluation tool developers
Others who want or need a standard for web accessibility

Related resources are intended to meet the needs of many different people, including policy makers, managers, researchers, and others.

See also: Essential Components of Web Accessibility

http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components.php

Captioning

The most comprehensive resource for captioning (and beyond) is the Media Access Group at WGBH and the National Center for Accessible Media .

From the WGBH site <http://www.wgbh.org/about/disabilityservices.cfm>:

“WGBH has been pioneering and delivering accessible media to people with disabilities for more than 30 years.

36 million Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired rely on media access services provided by WGBH.

We invented captioning and video descriptions for television, and today we apply those services to movies, the Web, museums, theme parks, and more. Our Carl & Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) is working on new media access breakthroughs that build on WGBH’s history.”

Both conceptual discussions of alternative media and techniques are available.

Media Access Group at WGBH http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/
National Center for Accessible Media http://ncam.wgbh.org

Real Time Remote Captioning

{To be added by DHH }

Platforms

A Mac is not a PC. A phone is not a PC…

To the extent that applications are environment dependent (specific operating system) the best approach is to find (Google!) existing resources for that platform.

For example: