Checking the Accessibility of your eResources

1
Checking the Accessibility of your e-Resources

• Presentation 1
• Tools to aid auditing of web materials for
  accessibility

2
Pre-requisite knowledge

• Before exploring this pack you should have looked
  at
• What is Accessibility?
• An Introduction to the Disability Legislation

3
Introduction

• This workshop aims to introduce
• The need for accessibility.
• The issues of standards/guidelines and how to use
  them.
• Using tools to assess accessibility.

4
The Drivers

• Special Education Needs and Disabilities Act -
  amends the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act
  (DDA).
• Part 4 of the DDA concerns educational
  institutions within England and Scotland,
  including further and higher education
  institutions.

5
The Drivers

• Why web accessibility?
• The power of the Web is in its universality.
  Access by everyone regardless of disability is an
  essential aspect.
• -Tim Berners-Lee

6
Guidelines, Standards or Legislation?

• Website developers should be aware of the World
  Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which develops
  interoperable technologies, including
• specifications,
• guidelines
• software tools
• The W3C aims to lead the Web to its full
  potential as a forum for information, commerce,
  communication, and collective understanding'
  (W3C, 2002).
• http//www.w3.org

7
W3C and the WAI

• One W3C programme is the Web Accessibility
  Initiative (WAI), consists of 5 complimentary
  strategies.
• Ensuring that web technologies support
  accessibility.
• Developing guidelines for accessibility.
• Developing tools to evaluate facilitate
  accessibility.
• Conducting education and outreach.
• Coordinating with research and development.
• W3C have also researched and developed extensive
  guidelines for the use of web technologies such
  as HTML, XML and CSS.

8
SENDA and WAI

• SENDA does not mention specific guidelines or
  standards.
• UK legislation relies on interpretation, the
  spirit of the UK law should be the primary
  concern
• The principle behind the legislation is that
  disabled people should have the same
  opportunities as non-disabled people to benefit
  wherever possible from whatever education or
  other related provision is available.

9
Using WAI

• Adherence to the WAI guidelines does not
  guarantee accessibility for a specific
  individual.
• Developers need to think in terms of inclusive
  design - applying the guidelines so that design
  does not automatically exclude groups of people.

10
Inclusive Design

• This principle should guide both the environment
  and content development stages.
• Developers and information providers need to be
  aware of accessibility issues.
• Developers also need to be aware of where help is
  available.