Learning Objectives:
1. Specific user groups with particular accessibilty requirements identiied.
2. General legislated accessibilty standards and requirements identified.
3. Specific and general standards and requirements are consolidated into an accessibility checlist..

Weight: 100%

Due Date:  Week 11

Submit web page featuring a report which addresses the following issues which are to be uploaded to your project site. Introductory page for the Confirm Accessibility section on your site must include the following content:

What are accessibility standards and who do they apply to . 10 marks

Accessibility standards provide for the measure that people with disabilities can interact better with the web, i.e enabling better perception and navigation so that people with disabilities may more than participate but also contribute to the web. Web accessibility ideally encompasses all disabilities including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive and neurological disabilities.

Web accessibility can also be beneficial to people without disabilities, as the aim of web accessibility is to encourage website design that is flexible to meet different user needs, preferences and situations (such as a slow internet connection) . In themselves, the standards apply to everyone, not just people with disabilities. They apply not only to the users but also to the web developers, as they should be closely attending to accessibiliity guidelines.

 

According to The Center for Universal Design accessibility should adhere to the following principles:

 

1. Equitable Use - The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.

2. Flexibility in Use - The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

3. Simple and Intuitive Use - Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.

4. Perceptible Information - The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.

5. Tolerance for Error - The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

6. Low Physical Effort - The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.

7. Size and Space for Approach and Use - Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user's body size, posture, or mobility.

 

Do you think accessibility standards are or are not important and why. 15 marks

Accessibility is important as it enables people with disabilities or limited abilities to use the web; it takes away the discriminative nature of the internet. Web accessibility creates the opportunity for everyone to participate regardless of ability, experience orr physical/mental impairment otherwise preventing equal involvement. With the web becoming an increasingly important resource in many areas of western life (corporate, education, recreation etc) it is becoming essential that the web's accessibility role step up and provide equal access and equal opportunity to all aspects of the community. People with disabilities can more actively participate in the wider community when given more opportunity to via an accessible web.

With the significant progression of technology, people with disabilities have a much wider avenue of activities they can participate in. The web offers an array of possibilities to people with disabilities that they would otherwise not have access to. The W3C Web Accessibility Intiative states

Give an example of specific user groups with particular accessibility requirements. 5 marks

1. Visually impaired people, who either cannot read small print or who are blind and require audio assistance with web browsing. People who are visually impaired can have a greater advantage by shopping online rather than in the store as they can have item descriptions read to them for example.
2. Hearing impaired people, who cannot hear sounds or music on websites. Online banking would be of great assistence to this kind of disability as it allows them to process faster transactions independantly.
3. Physically impaired people, who may be unable to use keyboards or mice for example, would have an easier time on an accessible website as the software performance (eg voice recognition tabbing) is higher when websites conform to the accessibility standards.

 

What is an example of a General Legislated Accessibility Standard and requirements? 5 marks

An example of the Australian Legislation for Accessibility Standards is Section 5 of our Disability Discrimination Act 1992

Disability Discrimination

⁽¹⁾ For the purposes of this Act, a person (discriminator) discriminates against another person (aggrieved person) on the ground of a disability of the aggrieved person if, because of the aggrieved person's disability, the discriminator treats or proposes to treat the aggrieved person less favourably than, in circumstances that are the same or are not materially different, the discriminator treats or would treat a person without the disability.

⁽²⁾ For the purposes of subsection ⁽¹⁾, circumstances in which a person treats or would treat another person with a disability are not materially different because of the fact that different accommodation or services may be required by the person with a disability.

 

Include a checklist of the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines and whether your front page adheres to them. 35 marks

(15 marks of this are for how well your site adheres to guidelines)

WCAG 2.0 Guidelines

• WCAG 2.0 Guidelines
  • Principle 1: Content must be perceivable.
    • Guideline 1.1 Provide text alternatives for all non-text content
    • Guideline 1.2 Provide synchronized alternatives for multimedia
    • Guideline 1.3 Ensure that information and structure can be separated from presentation
    • Guideline 1.4 Make it easy to distinguish foreground information from its background
  • Principle 2: Interface components in the content must be operable
    • Guideline 2.1 Make all functionality operable via a keyboard interface
    • Guideline 2.2 Allow users to control time limits on their reading or interaction
    • Guideline 2.3 Allow users to avoid content that could cause seizures due to photosensitivity
    • Guideline 2.4 Provide mechanisms to help users find content, orient themselves within it, and navigate through it
    • Guideline 2.5 Help users avoid mistakes and make it easy to correct mistakes that do occur
  • Principle 3: Content and controls must be understandable
    • Guideline 3.1 Make text content readable and understandable.
    • Guideline 3.2 Make the placement and functionality of content predictable.
  • Principle 4: Content should be robust enough to work with current and future user agents (including assistive technologies)
    • Guideline 4.1 Support compatibility with current and future user agents (including assistive technologies)
    • Guideline 4.2 Ensure that content is accessible or provide an accessible alternative

 

At this stage most of the guidelines do not yet apply to my index page as there is very little there which requires much interaction. It consists entirely of links, and all images have alternative text in case images are unable to be viewed. Principles 1-4 while not all applicable, have been addressed. The page is operable via keyboard or mouse alone and the entire site can be so navigated.

 

Test the web accessible conformation of your front page by using Web Accessibility evaluation tools.

1. Validate markup including syntax and style sheets, using the following validators:

         - HTML Validation Service - Validated !
         - HTML Tidy - Validated !
         - CSS Validation Service - Validated !

2. Use at least two Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools on your index page.(Include all test reports or links to test report). 30 marks

Acc - Accessibility Evaluator - Evaluation !

Acc - Accessibility Evaluator - Evaluation !