There are many commendable efforts on the World Wide Web to
champion the cause of improving accessibility for the over half-a-billion people in the
world who are disabled. This special report intends to provide an overview of Internet
Accessibility and to serve as a select resource to some of the initiatives launched by
individuals, organizations and companies.
This report is a result of the lessons learned in a project to launch an electronic
"Gateway" for the Division of Social Policy and Development of the United
Nations Secretariat. The challenge was the development of web pages that would present the
work of the Division, aimed at several sets of audiences, and ensure that these pages are
accessible to people with disabilities. This is not meant to be an authoritative report.
If it can encourage or inspire a few more developers to make accessibility a major
consideration in building web pages, it will have served its purpose.
What is accessibility?
Accessibility ... Providing flexibility to
accomodate each user's needs and preferences.
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Accessibility means providing flexibility to accommodate each
user’s needs and preferences. In an Internet context, accessibility is making
computer technology and Internet resources useful to more people than would otherwise be
the case.
Internet Accessibility is normally aimed at allowing for the participation of people
with disabilities. Internet accessibility can also include consideration for people whose
communication infrastructures or capabilities are not advanced or not in place.
Why do we need accessibility?
- Internet Accessibility allows for a larger participating audience. Accessible web pages
for example will expand a site’s potential audience to the millions who are disabled,
or who have slow connections.
- In some countries, it’s the law. In the United States, for example, the Americans
with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities,
and that requirement extends to web site accessibility.
- Accessible designs often benefit not only people with disabilities but also those in the
mainstream. For example, screen readers and dictation software, which are meant to empower
the visually impaired, can be used for document creation and proofing.
- Accessibility is the right thing to do. It helps achieve societal goals of full
participation and of equality.
Issues
There are three Internet accessibility issues covered by this report: Web
accessibility, Email accessibility, and Adaptive technologies.
Web accessibility
Web accessibility involves the ability of a web page to be read and understood, using
adaptive technologies where necessary. The blind and visually impaired are the most
affected by the advances in the graphical nature of web sites. The good news: web site
developers can make web pages both accessible and visually appealing by following good and
simple Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) programming practices.
Email accessibility
For many of the world’s peoples, access to email (or even just to a communication
hub) is considered a luxury. Although the costs are dropping, these users pay heavily for
every kilobyte of email received. Email accessibility simply involves the sensible use of
email.
Adaptive Technologies
Any technology that allows access to computer resources for a person with disabilities
is known as adaptive technology. These "electronic curb-cuts" can be found in
hardware and software. The challenge is to make adaptive technology part of any base
configuration and make all components work in a seamless fashion. This will increase the
access to computers and applications without making major modifications.
Causes of Inaccessibility on the Internet
There are many situations where the Internet is not accessible to everyone. For
example,
- World Wide Web pages that use frames or that are filled with non-descriptive graphics
are difficult to decipher for the visually impaired or blind users using screen readers.
- Internet connectivity is not available, or the connection is slow in some countries. In
these cases, recipients may pay a premium to receive email.
- Video clips can be undecipherable for the hearing impaired if there is no captioning,
and to the visually impaired if there is no audio description.
The resources available in this report suggest solutions for improving accessibility
and are aimed at developers and users. They also provide other concepts and interesting
developments in this and the larger field of making computer technology available to all.
Solutions
There are several technologies and practices that would help
improve access to Internet resources, particularly email and the World Wide Web. Solutions
are presented with regard to the three areas: adaptive technologies, web accessibility,
and email accessibility.
Adaptive Technology
Adaptive technology is a major prerequisite for many people with disabilities to use
computer technology. These are modifications or upgrades to a computer’s hardware and
software to provide alternative methods of input and output. Some modifications can be as
simple as raising a computer desk and as elaborate as an eye-coordinated input device.
These "electronic curb-cuts" - a term that is borrowed from the curb-cuts in
city sidewalks that improve wheelchair mobility – enable the disabled to use
computers. As a result, disabled persons can also participate in the Internet.
Common adaptive technologies include programs that read or describe the information on
the screen, programs that enlarge or change the color of screen information, and special
pointing or input devices.
There are several categories of these accessibility aids as presented by Trace R&D
Center of the University of Wisconsin. The Trace R&D Center has won recognition and
many awards for its continuing work in accessible technology development. Their two
on-line databases - ABLEDATA and TraceBase - list more than 18,000 products for people
with disabilities. The databases can be found at http://tracecenter.org.
Microsoft corporation has an Accessibility
and Disabilities page which lists accessibility aids that are compatible with its
products at http://www.microsoft.com/enable/aids.htm.
Other interesting developments are happening at Sun
Microsystem's Accessibility page, IBM's
Special Needs page, and Apple's Universal
Access of Mac OS 8.
The Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation also provides features on adaptive technologies in
its WebAble site at http://www.yuri.org/webable.
Email Accessibility Practices
In countries where connections are slow and/or expensive, people use the Internet
prudently: they will turn off graphics when surfing and they will read and create email
off-line. These are practices that they have control over. One aspect they have no control
over is the size of email messages they receive.
The most obvious solution is for the senders to practice proper email etiquette. Email
messages sent to countries which could have limited line speeds should definitely be short
and to the point. Attachments, like text or picture files, should only be sent if they are
truly necessary, and if sent, should be in compressed formats.
One good resource for determining if a target country has the proper line speeds is
that of the International E-mail
Accessibility page at http://www.ee.ic.ac.uk/misc/country-codes.html.
Web Accessibility
It was an eye-opener to find countless resources in the World Wide Web encouraging web
site developers to make their sites accessible. However, more and more web sites are being
built that sport complex screen layouts, and graphics without 'alt'-descriptions. These
sites are aimed at impressing and engaging the mainstream surfer, but they confuse and
alienate persons with visual limitations.
Early in 1998, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C),
based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, launched the Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The W3C was created to develop common protocols that
enhance the interoperability and promote the evolution of the World Wide Web. The Web
Accessibility Initiative focuses initially on expanding the protocols and data formats to
make the Web itself more accessible. In addition, the International Program Office (IPO),
which was created to oversee the WAI, is responsible for creating guidelines, educating
the industry, and establishing international partnerships.
The result is the development of Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI) - Page Authoring Guidelines which reflect the accessibility
improvements in the "HTML 4.0 Recommendation". Alternative text, the description
of pictures when graphics are turned off in a browser, is now required for images. HTML
4.0 also enables more detailed textual description of image maps, tables and frames. The
W3C HTML Validator Service at http://validator.w3.org/
is one service to help developers get into the habit of creating ALT (alternative content)
tags, among other enhancements.
Another notable
validator that rewards accessible sites with the use of its ‘4-star Bobby
Approved!’ emblem is the CAST: Bobby site,
which is located at http://www.cast.org/bobby.
CAST or Center for Applied Special Technology is a non-profit organization whose mission
is to expand opportunities for all through innovative uses of computer technology. Their
free web-based service, and downloadable validator program, can analyze a web page and
describe areas for improvement. The 4-star system has been replaced by a single
‘Bobby Approved!" emblem which will be based on the stricter HTML 4.0
Recommendation.
Off the beaten path: a little-known HTML 3.2 validator called "A Kinder, Gentler
HTML Validator" is available at http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~gerald/validate/.
If you would like a checklist-style validation of web pages, try the Public Service
Commission of Canada’s Designing
Universal Web Pages.
The Web Access
Project of the National Center for Accessible Media or NCAM – located at http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/ncam/currentprojects/wapindex.html
– allows sites to display its web access symbol if reasonable effort is done to
comply with the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Page-Authoring Guidelines.
Commercial software developers are also working to add accessibility features to
browsers and accessibility validators to HTML editors. You also can find out what
companies like Sun Microsystems, IBM, Microsoft and Apple are working on at WebAble mentioned above.
Resources
Following are a few resources that provide guidance or tips in making web sites
accessible. These sites have different approaches to web page design, but they all have
common recommendations.
Conclusion
This report is a living document; accessibility is always under development. If you
have links to resources worth mentioning, or would like to comment, please feel free to
email me at lvaldes @ visionoffice.com. Also, feel free to disseminate the
information in this report.
"Accessibility on the Internet, version 1.1"
First posted 06.16.1998
Updated 11.02.2003 Copyright (c)
1998 Leo Valdes
» Persons
with Disabilities
