Web Accessibility

Week 8 poll result

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:28:00 +0000

Here is the result for week 8 poll. Week 8 poll question was "Why write accessible websites?" Most of the readers selected the accessible coding does not take extra time which are 57.1% and 42.9% selected It's the right thing to do.

Most of the readers think that making websites accessible coding does not take extra time. If a website is built to accessible standards from the start, it only takes a few seconds more than normal to develop the site. Most of that time comes from adding certain attributes on HTML elements such as tabindex.

Extra testing might be necessary, but for basic accessibility testing, programmer should not have to add more than a few hours to the development time. After enough experience, it becomes a regular part of their workflow and there will be no difference in development time.

Common issues with accessibility statements

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:40:00 +0000

Link to us : http://sn.im/uz85h

The accessibility link is usually placed on the outside of the main viewing area of the web page such as footer area, this making it difficult to locate. For example, screen reader user would have to listen to more much content before encountering the link and maybe will give up to know more from it.

Additionally, for keyboard only users, the location of the accessibility link can result in excessive key presses in order to select and then activate the link. The Digital Media Access Group carried out much more knowledge , evaluating the Usability of Online Accessibility Information, which reviewed websites from a broad range of sectors.

Most of the accessibility statements has too much detail on conformance and technologies utilized in making the website accessible. This information shows that the website has been designed with accessibility in mind, it does not provide any benefit to general website visitors. As this information is often placed at the beginning of the accessibility statement, it is likely to confuse website visitors before they even have a chance to read about the accessibility features provided.

The example include:

The website conforms to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Priority 1 and
The website complies with the requirements of Section 508.
The HTML is valid and conforms to XHTML 1.0 Strict.
All pages on this website validate to CSS2.

With technical information, accessibility statements listed the accessibility features which they provide, rather than how to use them. The following is an example of what can typically be found in an accessibility statement:

All text sizes are relative.
All images have an alt attribute.
Style sheets have been used to separate presentation from content.
Headings are semantically marked up.
Tables have been correctly marked up with headings.
Link text is unique which makes it make sense when taken out of context.

And that is why today's these are people who use websites on a daily basis!

Source :http://www.digital-web.com/articles/are_accessibility_statements_useful/

Benefits of Providing an accessibility statement

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:44:00 +0000

Link to us : http://sn.im/uxmdw

What is an accessibility statement?

An accessibility statement provides website visitors with information on how to utilize any accessibility features implemented on the website. This information usually presented on a dedicated page within the website.

As you all know accessibility is important for a website, but do you know the benefits of providing an accessibility statement? Many people ignore the accessibility statement, they do not bother on how it would be. So here, i will explain the benefits of providing an accessibility statement.

The first benefit of providing an accessibility statement is to demonstrate how to use accessibility features provided. By demonstrating how to use the accessibility features in a website, it empowers the website visitor to improve their browsing tactics. For instance, they may be interested in how to make the text size larger or find out information about making the website speak with a speech output program such as I speech. When explaining how to use accessibility features, it is often useful to reference websites that are provided for explaining the information.

The second benefit is to detail the known barriers in the websites. Despite best efforts, they may be areas of the website which are still inaccessible and this create conflict for people with disability. Therefore, a known barriers section within the accessibility statement will enable this information to be provided in front together with alternative ways of obtaining the information and services. This will most likely benefit people with disability.

Last but not least, the last benefit I will discuss is to provide a point of contact. Website visitors or readers who experience difficulties whilst browsing will benefit from dedicated accessibility contact information. For example, the query will go directly to the team responsible for the accessibility of the website. This will likely result in the query being dealt with quickly, efficiently, and to the satisfaction of the website visitor as well.

When there are benefits, definitely there will be problem. Stay tune with us for the coming post where we will talk about the common issue with accessibility statement.

Source : http://www.digital-web.com/articles/are_accessibility_statements_useful/

Week 7 poll result

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:39:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uusxu

The poll question for week 7 was " If technology cannot be made accessible, does the policy prohibit its use? Most of the readers disagreed on the statement which consists of 66.7% and 33.3% of the readers agreed on the statement.

Why most of the readers disagreed on the statement given? It is because the policy is not intended to prohibit the use of a technology, tool, resource or technique that would contribute to the quality of an activity.

If a technology, tool, resource or technique that cannot be made accessible is adopted for use, the adopter should remember that an equally effective accommodation must be provided to any person involved in the activity who needs an accessibility accommodation.

Choosing to use a technology, tool, resource or technique that cannot be made accessible must be defensible as a true contributor to quality, and not done in order to avoid the need to comply with the accessibility policy.

The remaining 33.3% readers agreed on the statement because they did not know how serious it is when technology is not accessible, policy does not prohibit its use because its must be defensible as a true contributor to quality.

Web Accessibility for the Visually Impaired

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:49:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uuqrg

In the beginning of the web, the site were based with largely text. But, things are different now. Today it is possible to navigate entire sites by reading no more than a handful of words. Users have grown tremendously to colorful image.

But when users cannot see these images, navigation is far more difficult where the site may be totally inaccessible and this would be the disadvantage. However, information content is dispersed among words, picture, sounds and video. Good layout makes for inviting reading where the reader can identify the text and it may read words out of sequence since sentences have been chopped up to improve the page layout.

So how is one to get the content and hopefully the context of information on today's sites? In order to get around these issues, we need to design web pages with accessibility in mind from the beginning. And all of the content needs to be accessible through multiple channels.

At the very least the content needs to be text-based, and current web page standards have taken this into consideration. When developers place pictures onto a web page, they may be asked for alternate text for these images. This is not where developers name or comment on the picture; this is where they describe what is in the picture. They must imagine they are trying to describe the image to a friend over the phone.

Other disabilities benefit from this duplication of content across multiple channels. A deaf person can still see the video and now can read a narration. And persons with cognitive disabilities, especially those that limit attention span, can watch a video, see the text, and hear the text all at once. Information is presented with multiple channels and these channels increase the ability to concentrate on that information by blocking out other input.

By following the idea of universe recommendation for one disability, a web site becomes accessible to a broad range people.

Source :http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/wilferthhart/4.htm

Step to Making a Web Site Accessible

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:29:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uu307

Everyone wondering why do we need to make our web site accessible? Making our web site accessible would highly benefits people with disabilities and this would make them feel alive again.

So here are the few step of making a web site accessible :

Before you begin, accessible design always starts on the blackboard itself. Think about accessibility implementation during the design process, before you are writing a line of code on it. You need to find out if you web site has to comply with any legislations, standards or regulations. For example, when you design a web base product for the U.S Federal Government, you need to comply with the Section 508 standards according to the country you used.

Firstly, you need to select a suitable accessibility standards or guidelines. Currently, most developers favor Section 508 or the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). If you want to design a web site for the U.S. government at a minimum you have to comply with the Section 508 as i mention earlier. In many other instances, you might have to use the web content accessibility guidelines as second option. Currently, the WCAG is the most thorough set of guidelines, and it is recommended using it regardless of the requirements. Also, WCAG provides numerous explanations and examples to make your work easier, and resources are continuously added.

Secondly, you need to select a third part components which can speed up your work by using the components written by third party. The most common ones are the use of content management systems, widgets, database, interfaces and etc. It is your responsibility to make sure that these components are accessible before you integrate them into your site. It is much harder to make components accessible after the fact, which you must do before accessibility is a requirement. Some providers will post an accessibility notice together with their products which you can use as a starting point for you web site. The other option to select a third party component is to write your own code. It takes longer, but does just what you want it to do, and is as accessible as you make it.

Thirdly, you need to learn about accessibility to create an accessible web site where you must find plenty of free information on the web. Two of the best resources are the official Section 508 site and the Web Accessibility Initiative site. Also, several training programs are available as well. This would enhance your knowledge about accessibility and there will be a big improvement in designing your web site.

Fourthly, let the world know that your web site is accessible. Not for bragging purposes, but to allow people with disabilities know that they will be able to use it. It is especially useful when you have competitors, some people might just make a decision based on how accessible is information to them. It is a common practice to post an accessibility notice on your web page, so others can see it accessible in your web site.

As a conclusion, with this four steps, I believe your web site will be accessible and its benefit people with disabilities in the same time. So, what are you waiting for? Start making your web site accessible now! :)

Source : http://www.evengrounds.com/articles/steps-to-making-a-web-site-accessible

Week 6 poll result

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:22:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/ur43i

Here come the week 6 poll result. The question for week 6 poll was : Will making site accessible mean making it bland and boring? As the poll result which has shown that there are mostly 62.5% readers were disagree with making site accessible mean making it bland and boring , and there were 12.5% for don't know, yes and depends.

Making site accessible is to provide convenient for all the people who can get their sources and use this applications as fast as they can and it will not be boring and bland if compare with some site which you have to take long time to process it , it might make your patient become worst and also, you will feel boring on it.

Lastly, making site accessible doesn't mean making the site bland and boring, it's because making fair to everyone included people with disability to surf the website.

The problem with automated accessibility tools

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:53:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/upwda

Do you all know what is an automated accessibility tool? Automated accessibility tool is a piece of software which can evaluate a web page, or even an entire website for accessibility purpose. Furthermore, automated accessibility tools are useful because they can save a huge amount of time.

But are these tools a little too good to be true?? Can you really assess a website for accessibility so easily? Unfortunately the answer is NO. There are a number of underlying problems associated with using just automated tools to check for accessibility.

The problem are as below :

1) Can't check many coding issues
The vast number of accessibility guidelines tend to be related to how the site is coded. Automated accessibility tools are unfortunately unable to check for many of the coding too. For example, HTML-related accessibility considerations which these tool's can't check for the coding as well.

2) Outdated guidelines are used
Automated accessibility tools generally uses the W3C accessibility guidelines, which by now are over five years old. As such, a number of guidelines were outdated and do not apply on it anymore. In fact, some of them are now thought to hinder accessibility rather than help, so it is better to totally ignore these outdated guidelines.

3) Most guidelines aren't properly checked
Automated accessibility tools can check for a number of guidelines, and can tell you when a guideline is not being adhered too. However, when the tool claims that a guideline is being fulfilled this may in fact be a false truth as automated accessibility tools were hardly recognize outdated guidelines.

4) Warnings may be misinterpreted
The reports generated by the automated accessibility tools provide warnings, as well as errors. These warnings are basically guidelines that the automated tool can't check for, but which may be errors. Often they are not, and in fact they are often not even relevant to it. However, some people reading a report may try to get rid of these warnings message by making an appropriate changes to their site for precaution. By doing this, they may be implementing guidelines that needn't be implemented and inadvertently lowering the website's accessibility.

As a conclusion, automated accessibility tools can be useful sometime as they can save a large amount of time in performing some very basic check for accessibility. However, they must be used with caution and they cannot be used as a stand-alone guide for accessibility checking. Indeed, some expert accessibility knowledge should always be applied in evaluating a site's accessibility not only replying on an automated accessibility tool itself.

Source: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/automated-tools.shtml

Accessibility tips

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:39:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/upe16

Do you all know what are the best tips for making the web accessible? Most of you will think by making the text larger will be accessible for people with disability. But there are more tips for making a web site accessible. The tips as below :

1) Web Accessibility is designed to promote access by individuals with limited environments.

Following are things that keep in mind about potential users from W3C web content accessibility guideline :

They may not be able to see, hear, move or understand easily
They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.
They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or a mouse.
They may not have an early version of a browser.
They may have a slow connection, a small screen, a text-only screen.
They may not speak or understand fluently the language in the document written.

2) Use the markup and style sheets properly

Avoid from using the structural markup for the visual result given by popular browsers. Documents that contain orderly and appropriate structural markup can be transfer to almost any type of user agent or display device and stand still on their own easily.

3) Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes

Not everyone can read information at the same pace. If you have scrolling or changing information, be sure there is a mechanism available for the user to pause or stop the flow of data so that it can be more easy for the user to get what the information within their time.

4) Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces

If an embedded object such as ActiveX control is used, the interface for that object must also be accessible so that other user with different browser can also see the object that posted by the writer.

5) Design for device independence

Not everyone has a mouse, and not everyone has a keyboard at home. Keyboard shortcuts, tabbing order, and event handlers all contribute to the accessibility of forms and elements. Keep in mind that people with a variety of input devices may interact with your documents.

6) Use the W3C technologies and guidelines

Adhere to W3C recommendations for markup and content development guidelines ; this provides greater security that the writer documents degrade gracefully to software that may not fully implement the most recent technologies.

7) Provide a clear navigation mechanisms

The most frequently used feature of any web site is the navigation system. No matter on a site a user may be, there should be a way to return to the home page with only one or two steps. This will create conveniences for various of users.

This are the 7 tips of making a web site accessible for various of users and I believe that, there are more tips on making a web site accessible as the technology now is getting more and more modern which would soon becoming the generation Z!

Source : http://www.paciellogroup.com/resources/tips.htm

Policy Relating to Web Accessibility

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:14:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uo0c6

The web's emergence as a pivotal form of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) raises interesting questions about application of existing laws and policies to the new medium, and the importance of all members in the society, including people with disabilities.

There is a growing body of national laws and policies which address accessibility of ICT which include the internet and the web as well. There is also a great variety of approaches among these laws and policies : some take the approach of establishing a human right to ICT ; others to approach that any ICT purchased by government must be accessible ; others that any ICT sold in a given market must be accessible and there are still other to be approach.

A separate document, addresses issues which frequently arise when establishing policies on web accessibility. There include, for instance, simple and comprehensive sample policy statements ; conformance levels for web sites as well as web related software ; defining the scope, milestones, and monitoring processes for web accessibility.

Source : http://www.w3.org/

ColorBlindExt – Better Web Accessibility for Colorblind Users

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:53:00 +0000

LINK TO US : http://snipr.com/umor8

Have you ever wondered, if you can’t see certain things on a website because of your color blindness? This time is over now—at least for colorblind Firefox users.

The Firefox add-on called ColorBlindExt was released just recently and is a great support to discover things which you couldn’t see up to now. The developers describe it as follows:

His extension helps color blinds while browsing the web, by processing images and text on the page according to the type of user’s color blindness. Color Blindness detection test is included for creating awareness among people.

After installation (see further down) as a first step you should take the color blindness test available through the newly added menu called ColorBlindExt. The test is based on Ishihara plates and will tell you, which type of color blindness you are suffering from. It detects protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia and even monochromacy, which means you are completely colorblind.

After taking the test the filter will be set according to your results. This can be changed at any time. Also the filter can be completely enabled or disabled however you like.

Image obtained from : http://www.colblindor.com/2007/06/20/colorblindext-better-web-accessibility-for-colorblind-users/

Personally I like the image filtering on demand. Through this option, which is also available on the context menu when clicking on an image, pictures and diagrams can be enhanced according to my type of color deficient vision.

The developers took the image filtering even one step further. Through the settings you even can adjust the level of deficiency and a choose from a noise reduction and sharpening option. This lets you play around and find the settings which fit the best to your personal color vision.

The tool also has some limitations, which don’t really restrict the usage to me when I look at them.

Page contents like flash objects, applets, media players can’t be filtered, it is out of scope.
Only elements accessed by DOM are processed.

Unfortunately the installation isn’t a single click and run. I tried to summarize all requirements including the links to get the latest software if you are missing some of them. I hope this helps you to get your colorblind webpage filter up and running without a hassle. Be aware that you need administration privileges if you have to install new software like the Java run time environment.

Hopefully this tool will help you to access some websites more easily than before or to read some colorful and up to now undistinguishable chart lines. And I also hope this tool isn’t used as an excuse for web designers to disregard accessibility, especially concerning color blindness.

Source : http://www.colblindor.com/2007/06/20/colorblindext-better-web-accessibility-for-colorblind-users/

Week 5 poll result

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:34:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uktbv

This is the result for week 5 poll. The question was " If we don't have any employee who are disabled,do we still have to make our intranet accessible? As you all can see, most of the readers agreed to make the intranet accessible which was 83.3% and 16.7% readers disagreed on the statement provided.

Why do most of the reader agreed? Because many disabilities are not visible and you therefore may not always know whether a person has a disability or not. In addition, the workplace infrastructure, including its technology infrastructure, should be accessible in preparation for future employees with disabilities so that they are able to be productive from the moment they begin their employment.

Accessible is important for everyone no matter people with disability or ability because its make thing goes smoothly without any error. Sometime there will be some error, with the technology nowadays, solution always there.

Podcast in Indonesian Language - Web Accessibility Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:17:00 +0000

link to us : http://snipr.com/uka5w

You might wonder how a blind person can surf the net at all, is it with the visual or other things? Blind and other disabled today can surf the net as long as the web designer consider accessibility requirements when they were designing the web site.

(Anda mungkin bertanya-tanya bagaimana orang buta dapat menjelajahi bersih sama sekali, adalah dengan visual atau hal lain? Buta dan cacat lainnya hari ini dapat menjelajahi bersih sepanjang mempertimbangkan aksesibilitas web designer persyaratan ketika mereka merancang situs web.)

For example, Blind people can surf the net using speech or braille browsers. These browsers either can speak out the text on page or convert it to braille which only read text, so you need to be careful when using image maps as navigation bars or the blind may not be able to navigate your site.

(Sebagai contoh, orang-orang buta dapat menjelajahi bersih pidato atau Braile menggunakan browser. Browser ini juga dapat berbicara teks di halaman atau mengubahnya menjadi Braile yang hanya membaca teks, sehingga Anda harus berhati-hati ketika menggunakan peta gambar sebagai navigasi bar atau buta mungkin tidak dapat menavigasi situs Anda.)

A partially sighted person might need to view your site in larger font size or with more contrast between the text and also background. Most browsers will allow these people to adjust the text size and colours, that is why, you need to ensure your page allows their browser to do this.

(Sebuah terlihat sebagian orang mungkin perlu untuk melihat situs Anda dalam ukuran font yang lebih besar atau dengan lebih kontras antara teks dan juga latar belakang. Kebanyakan browser akan memungkinkan orang-orang ini untuk menyesuaikan ukuran teks dan warna, itu sebabnya, Anda perlu untuk memastikan halaman Anda memungkinkan browser mereka untuk melakukan hal ini.)

A physically disabled person might not be able to use a mouse, and would perhaps use a keyboard or other device to tab down the links on the page. You can help by organised links in a sensible manner.

(Seorang penyandang cacat fisik mungkin tidak dapat menggunakan mouse, dan mungkin akan menggunakan keyboard atau perangkat lain ke tab di link pada halaman. Anda dapat membantu dengan diatur link dalam cara yang masuk akal.

Accessibility in a general sense is about making your site easy to use. This means having intuitive navigation and a clean layout. Visitors to the net are generally looking for information, and are more likely to stay on a site that provides this information in a quick and straightforward manner.

(Aksesibilitas dalam pengertian umum adalah tentang membuat situs anda mudah digunakan.IPengunjung ke net umumnya mencari informasi, dan lebih mungkin untuk tinggal di situs yang menyediakan informasi ini dalam sebuah cara yang cepat dan sederhana.)

PodCast in Mandarin- what is the opportunities has offered by web acccessibility?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:34:00 +0000

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As we know, the internet is a great tool that is used by millions of people everyday. To accessing websites is very easy and straightforward process if you have great vision, good listening and all of your limbs. But still, at least more than 90 percent of the websites are inaccessible to a large portion of the population. Why? Because of the Internet, one of the best things seems that ever happened to people with disabilities.

(就像我们所知，每一天，都会有数不尽的人在使用着网际网络此工具.当你拥有着健全的视觉，听觉，及四肢，网际网络的使用其实是非常容易而且也很直接。可是，为什么至少还有90%的网站是达不到那部分庞大数目的人口呢？是因为对残障人士来说，使用网际网络这样棒的工具是不可能发生在他们身上的。)

Did you know for example that someone who is blind can actually use the Internet? Yes. They can use some special software, known as a screen reader. It actually reads what's on screen to them. People with other types of disabilities use technologies to help them use the Internet as well. Example,before the internet, how did blind people read the newspaper? Most of them didn't, If they want to know, they could ask their friends or family member to read for them and if comparing with today's, blind people can actually know the news from internet.

( 你知道吗，其实视觉障碍的人士也可以使用网际网络？是的。他们可以使用一些称为屏幕助读员的特别软件，来帮助他们阅读屏幕上的资料。除了视觉障碍人士之外，他们也可以使用先进科技来协助他们使用网际网络。比方说，在网际网络的诞生之前，视觉障碍的人，是如何阅读报纸呢？大多数的他们都没有阅读的机会，如果他们想知道关于报章的文字，就必须透过他们的朋友，家人帮忙阅读而跟如今比起来，视觉障碍的人，也可以靠自己透过网际网络阅读新闻。)

screen reader: 屏幕助读员

Most of the online news which publish already in a format which can read by "screen readers" which used by the blind. These software programs can read out the text loud.So,blind people can access any text content through the computers. Similarly, if the people with disabilities who cannot pick up the book and turn it to another page, through the technologies that adapt the computer interface to their own disabilities. Sometimes the adaptations are simple, such as having the person place a stick in the mouth and use it to type keyboard commands. In other cases, the adaptations are more sophisticated, as in the use of special keyboards or eye-tracking software that allows people to use a computer with nothing more than eye movements.

(大多数的网上新闻已经被格式化，视觉障碍的人士可以透过屏幕助读员来协助阅读。透过此软件， 它可以大声地读出文字 所以， 视觉障碍的人士可以使用电脑来阅读文字内容。同样的，面对着不可能将书拿起并翻阅的残缺人士也可以透过如今科技来配合使用电脑。有时候，残障人士面对着这些配合是可以很简单的，他们可以将笔咬着，并慢慢的在电脑键盘上打字。在其他的方案里，他们可以使用特别键盘或 “眼睛追踪”软件来方便一些只可以使用眼神交流的残缺人士。)

special keyboard:特别键盘

eye-tracking:“眼睛追踪”软件

From web accessibilities we know that they really offers unprecedented opportunities and increase more public awareness to everyone.

( 透过这可达性这么高的网络后，我们也知道，它除了提供了无数的机会给公众，更也提高公众对此的注意力.)

Podcast in malay - what is web accessibility?

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:01:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uh5cp

Duration : 2.08 minutes

All of us want to use the internet with speed and ease right? And for most of us, there usually no problem in going from one web page to another.
(Semua daripada kita ingin menggunakan internet dengan kelajuan dan kemudahan benarkan? Dan bagi kebanyakan daripada kita, biasanya tidak ada masalah untuk pergi dari satu laman web ke laman web yang lain.)

After a minute or even a few seconds of searching, we normally would find the online information we need. But for people with certain types of disabilities, this may not always be the case. Fortunately, a number of principles and concepts known as web accessibility has been developed to address the concern of these groups.

(Selepas satu minit atau bahkan beberapa detik mencari, kita biasanya akan mencari maklumat yang kita ingini. Tetapi bagi orang-orang dengan jenis kecacatan tertentu, hal ini mungkin tidak selalu demikian. Mujurlah, sejumlah prinsip dan konsep yang dikenali sebagai web kebolehcapaian telah dibangunkan untuk mengatasi keprihatinan kumpulan-kumpulan ini.)

So, what is web accessibility? Basically, web accessibility refers to the practice of creating and developing websites that can easily be accessed and used by persons with special needs.
(Apakah itu web kebolehcapaian? Pada dasarnya, web kebolehcapaian merujuk pada amalan mencipta dan membangunkan laman web yang boleh dengan mudah diakses dan digunakan oleh orang-orang dengan keperluan khas.)

Generally, a website is deemed accessible if anyone who visits it can easily navigate within its pages and quickly find the desired information in the site.
(Umumnya, sebuah laman web yang dianggap boleh dicapai jika siapapun yang mengunjungi dapat bernavigasi dengan mudah dalam halaman-halamann dan dengan cepat mencari maklumat yang diingini dalam laman tersebut.)

This practice is primarily focused on Internet users with disabilities.
(Amalan ini terutamanya difokuskan pada pengguna Internet yang kurang upaya.)

For example, when text and images are large or enlargeable, it is easier for users with poor sight to read and understand the content without wearing a spectacle.
(Misalnya, ketika teks dan gambar yang besar atau diperbesarkan, lebih mudah bagi pengguna dengan pemandangan yang lemah untuk membaca dan memahami isi tanpa memakai kanta pembesar.)

Other than that, web accessibility is easy to achieve. There are numerous companies that provide accessibility consulting to those who want to make their sites accessible.
(Selain daripada itu, web kebolehcapaian mudah untuk dicapai. Ada banyak syarikat yang menyediakan konsultasi kebolehcapaian kepara mereka yang ingin membuat halaman mereka diakses.)

Also, there are organizations willing to give accessibility trainings to web developers in order to increase awareness regarding major accessibility issues.
(Juga, ada organisasi bersedia memberikan latihan kebolehcapaian ke web pemaju dalam rangka untuk meningkatkan kesedaran mengenai isu utama kebolehcapaian.)

Being disable people doesn't mean their life is end, with web accessibility, everything is possible. Don't you all agree? definetely yes!
(Menjadi orang yang kurang upaya tidak bererti hidup mereka berakhir, dengan web kebolehcapaian, semuanya mungkin! Kalian semua bersetuju? sememangnya ya.)

Glossary

web accessibility - web kebolehcapaian
web developers - web pemaju
Navigate - bernavigasi
Awareness - kesedaran

Weekly Poll Result (4)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:41:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/ufp4s

Thanks again to all our daily supporter who response to our weekly poll question. And here goes your result from the week 4 poll. The tittle of it was "Who are the people that seriously affected by issues of access to information and information technology?".

The result came out to be 83.3% choose visual disability and 16.7% choose aging.

So it state clearly that, for most of the people who agreed that visual disability people have low vision, or have color blindness. Their assistive screen reader technology cannot obtain information from image. A person who has a visual disability will not find a mouse useful because it requires hand and eye coordination. Those are the focus on visual disability.

The trouble which met by web-accessibility

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:49:00 +0000

Link me: http://snipr.com/ufazv

Do you know, web accessibility have benefits but there are trouble occur too. Actually, the web-accessibility community is in deep trouble. The trouble in 1 will be FLASH.

As we know, the technology today's is evolving every moments. Since the Web content accessibility Guildline 1.0 was published as a W3C recommendation on 5th May 1999. That's now well over few years ago. Microsoft's Internet Explorer had just eclipsed Netscape Navigator 4 as the top dog browser.

Few years later, technology has moved on. Using web standards is now a feasible development approach. Flash has come along in leaps and bounds. Unfortunately WCAG hasn't. A WCAG 1.1 would look quite different if it were a snapshot of technology perhaps even of two years ago. (WCAG 2.0 looks drastically different in its accommodation of technologies - for example, the baseline approach.)

Technology evolving! It improves, especially in its ability to make content accessible. Technology is one very important factor in web accessibility today's. In the days of Flash 5, when accessible Flash was an oxymoron. But wake up. It is certainly no longer that clear cut today. Macromedia and Adobe have made some excellent progress in the last five years. And now there is a community springing up that's embracing accessibility.When two Flash Experts spend time with the RNIB, testing, learning, understanding how disabled people use the web, and how Flash can enhance their experiences - it's a Straussian epoc. When the SHAW TRUST is actively engaged in testing the accessibility of Flash, and give it a thumbs up - its another Also Sprach Zarathustra moment. Put those together, and the facade some accessibility 'experts' (still cowering from monolith) desperately want you to believe collapses.

The web accessibility community needs to be actively engaged with the Flash accessibility community. There's a surprising amount of cross-over and idea-swapping opportunities to be explored. The coolest example is Lawrence Carvalho's and Christian Heilmann's Text rezise detection recently published on A List Apart.

Now, They got their Solution which Flash has an advantage over HTML and CSS in that it is far better placed in dealing with learning based or reading based disabilities. Its foundation as a vector based graphics engine trumps HTML's and CSS' mediocre feature set when tackling disability barriers best met with interactivity and graphics. Its time to admit, Flash is part of the web accessibility toolbox.

For more information, you can log in:http://www.isolani.co.uk/blog/access/AccessibilityInTrouble1Flash

Source:http://www.isolani.co.uk/blog/access/AccessibilityInTrouble1Flash

The secret benefits of web accessibility

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:50:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/ud0bj

As all of you know, web accessibility have many benefits. One of the main benefits is increased usability, which according to usability guru, Jakob Nielson, can increase the sales or conversion rate of a website by 100% and traffic by 150%.

An accessible website is not automatically more usable but there are many areas of overlap.

1) Descriptive link text

Visual impaired users can scan web pages by tabbing from link to link and listen to the content of the link text in an accessible website must always be descriptive of its descriptions.

Equally, regularly sighted web users don't read web pages in word-for-word, but scan them looking for information they wanted to search.

2) Site map Provided

Site maps is a useful accessibility tool for visually impaired users as they provide a site straightforward list of links to the main pages on the site, without any of the fluff in between. Site maps are useful for everyone as they provide us with a way of finding pages quickly and help us visualize the structure of the website.

With site maps, it will be easier for them to search the information they want and would not have any difficulties on finding the information especially the visually impaired users.

3) Simple and easy language

From an accessibility point of view, it is important for people with cognitive disabilities and site visitors who first language isn't the one they are writing in.

From a usability point of view, it helps everyone. Reading from computer screens is tiring for the eyes and about 25% slower than reading from papar. The easier the style of writing the easier it is for site visitors to absorb the words of wisdom. Shorten sentences would be more easier for them to read and this would help them to absorb the words of wisdom easily. Use, "apply" instead of "make an application".

4) CSS used for layout

CSS - based sites are generally have a greater ratior of content to HTML code so that there are more accessibile to screen readers and search engines. Websites using CSS for layour can also be made accessible to in-car browsers such as WebTV and PDAs.

As well as improved accessibility, CSS - based websites have one large usability benefits which is increased the download speed. Broadband is not as widespread as what you all think. In the UK for example, just one in four web users are booked up to broadband. Even in Malaysia not much people using broadband as their connection.

Improving the download speed of the web pages could provide a great usability advantage over the competitors if possible.

With all this overlap between web usability and web accessibility there are no excuses for not implementing basic accessibility on the website. Outside of the ethical argument there will be many reasons to make one website accessible, on of the main one being that its usability will be improved. No one can argue with that.

So, in my opinion, I think that, every website should make it accessible to prevent any difficulties that occur on people with disability and it could give a hard time for them to figure what the websites are all about.

For more information, you can log in to http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/web-accessibility-usability.shtml

Source : http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/web-accessibility-usability.shtml

Week 3 poll result

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:28:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/ucolj

Which components do you think it is more important for people with disability while surfing the net?

As you can see most of the readers selected all above which are 55.6%, 33.3% for audio and 11.1% for animation.

Component that is included in a web page that is targeted to the disabled people is very important as some of these people will not be able to read, listen or speak.

The browser that is used by the disabled while surfing the net needs to consider about this few elements. From the research that has been conducted online, it shows that most people consider that all Text, Graphic, Animation and Audio are equally important. Every different part helps in different ways to the disabled people. Audio are mostly used for blind people as they cannot see.

Text, Animation and Graphics are considered as visual aid that helps in communicating with the deaf and dumb people. All different parts are equally important for the disabled people.

This shows that all the components are important for people with disability and even all the readers agreed on it. This should be a really good questions to be asked to figure it out that all the components are important in a website for people with disability usage.

Stay tune with us. Please kindly vote for our weekly poll. thank you! :)

Web Accessibility Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:17:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/ubtl3

For example, Blind people can surf the net using speech or braille browsers. These browsers either can speak out the text on page or convert it to braille which only read text, so you need to be careful when using image maps as navigation bars or the blind may not be able to navigate your site.

A partially sighted person might need to view your site in larger font size or with more contrast between the text and also background. Most browsers will allow these people to adjust the text size and colours, that is why, you need to ensure your page allows their browser to do this.

A physically disabled person might not be able to use a mouse, and would perhaps use a keyboard or other device to tab down the links on the page. You can help by organised links in a sensible manner.

For more information, you can log in to http://www.vordweb.co.uk/accessibility.htm

Source : http://www.vordweb.co.uk/accessibility.htm

Is web accessibility a human right?

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:13:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uaasf

Source taken from : http://www.bcics.northwestern.edu/events/humanrights/

What is human right? Human right are basic rights and freedoms to which all of us are entitled. Some of the right include the right for work, the right to choose where we work, the right to access education. All of this rapidly becoming obtainable through one primary source that is the web. If one group of people is denied access to much of the web, therefore constitutes a denial of those human right that are exercised via the web.

The web is now so tightly integrated into our society that it is second nature to obtain the human rights properties. If the web is now a permanent and integral part of society, then is denying a group of people access to much of the web a form of discrimination and a denial of a human right?

Lets say if the web is unusable, who will be affected? People with disabilities will be affected where they are not able to participate in much that is offered on the web. They are computer users and able to be productive when using desktop application. Yet when it comes to accessing the web, they encounter many barriers that does not found in the general computer usage.

If you don't agree that web accessibility is a human right, then what it is? If web site accessibility is a human right, then all web sites should be accessible with a few exceptions. If web sites are open to the public then these web sites must offer equitable access to everyone who uses them, if not it is not fair for people with disability.

All the stakeholders in web technology have the obligation to make the web accessible for people with disability, yet most of them are doing little to progress web accessibility. For example, the authors of the next generation of HTML do nothing to make the language itself more accessible. Web authoring tool vendors are slow in implementing existing accessibility features.

With each passing day, a group of people are deprived of the right to choose their employment, have access to education because much of the web is inaccessible to them. Many stakeholders in web technology shirk any responsibility in their obligation to make the web accessible and instead tell these people to wait for future solutions. As what martin Luther king. Jr said " a right delayed is a right denied " .

So for me, I think that web accessibility is a human right thing. People with disability have the right to get the web accessible so they would uses the web technology wisely and fairly.

For more information please visit http://rebuildingtheweb.com/en/is-web-accessibility-a-human-right/

Source : http://rebuildingtheweb.com/en/is-web-accessibility-a-human-right/

PS : please do vote for our poll. Thank you for your support. :)

Weekly poll result

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:26:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/ua2k2

Time for Weekly Post !What can we see here today ? Is it good for people with disability surf the net ? 57% of the people who agree to say "yes", 29% of the people agree on the ans "depends" and there is 14% of the people who do not know anything about the question.

Here goes the question, Is it good for people with disability surf the net ? Its depends on different disability because it includes examples of the kinds of barriers someone with a specific disability might encounter using the Web. For example: -

1.Visual Disability - blindness - low vision - color blindness

2. Hearing Impairments - deafness - hard of hearing

3. Physical Disability - motor disability

4. Speech Disability - speech disability

5. Cognitive and Neurological Disability - dyslexia and dyscalculia - attention deficit disorder - intellectual disability - memory impairments - mental health disability - seizure disorder

6. Multiple Disability

7. Aging-Related Condition

So people, do stay tune for the next post ! :)Good day ! :)

The future of Web Accessibility

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:47:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/u91o2

Hello reader!

7 years ago, there was a first version of web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 1.0) has been release by W3C. Since then, accessibility has slow down but it surely turned up on the radar of web managers in the most large organizations in the world.

As the previous post stated, the benefits of web accessibility really bring everyone no matter people with disability or people with ability more and more profit for the website offered as the year goes by. There is still a long way to go but the progress over the past few years were highly visible and indeed positive.

Many websites using Web 2.0 technologies started to spring up all over the internet, and are most likely to exponentially increase in the number over the next few years. Although the term itself, web 2.0, has become a bit of a buzzword, there is no doubt that web 2.0 is here and its becoming more and more commonplace.

The characteristic of web 2.0 include AJAX and user generated content, many website begin to embrace these two concepts causing never-before seen accessibility issues.

AJAX, Asynchronous Java Scripts and XML are not actually a technology itself, because it is a technique for using a number of existing technologies to create interactive web application on it. The main accessibility concern is not the use of Java Scripts, is the way in which Java Scripts is used to cause on-the-page changes.

For example, showcases of a great example of using AJAX to create an interactive and useful interface. It uses the click-and-drag sliders to allow to narrow a wide range of filtering criteria. The page then automatically updates to show how many result conform to the users' selected criteria. So, it would be convenience for people to check on the result they wanted to.

Will the future of web accessibility would be more advanced compare to now? Maybe the next generation can see how web accessibility grow rapidly year by year. The expert will come out with more idea on how dealing with web accessibility and we can't wait to see how great it is! :)

For more information, you can log in to this website : http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/future.shtml

Source : http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/future.shtm l, Retrieved on 2nd of February.

Essential Components of Web accessibility

noreply@blogger.com (Shereen ( W.A)) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:03:00 +0000

Link to us : http://snipr.com/u87xe

Hello reader! I'm back to discuss more about web accessibility. So, today I will be discussing about the essential components of web accessibility.

It is essential that several different components of web development and interaction work together in order for the web to be access for people with disability. These components includes :

Content ( Information in a web page or Web application )
Web Browser,Media player
User's knowledge and experience using the web
Authoring tool ( software that creates Web Site )
Evaluation tool ( Web accessibility evaluations tools )

How did the components relate with each other? Web Developer usually use authoring tool and evaluation tool to create the web content. Besides that, users uses Web browser, Media Player or other user agents to get and interact with the content. People with disability will eventually get to surf the web page smoothly.

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

When accessibility features are effectively implemented in one components, the other components are most likely to implement them. When web browsers, media player and other user agents support and accessibility feature, users are more likely to demand it and developer are likely to implement it in their content for reference for the user with disability. Furthermore, when developer want to implement an accessibility feature in their content, they are most likely to demand the authoring tool that make it easier to implement it. It's like a routine thing where each components need each other to support so users ( people with disability or people with ability ) can use it smoothly and easily.

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

For more information about the essential components of web accessibility and how they relate, you can log in to this website http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components.php

Source : http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components.php , retrieved on 30th January 2010

Weekly Poll Results

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Link us to : http://snipr.com/u7vdx

Hey dear readers, Carmen here talking about our weekly poll result which W.A members really appreciate of your time to read our blog and thanks you guys for participating yourself in our weekly poll. A big major thanks to your support as well.

Well, dear readers, the question that I'm gonna talk about is "What do you think about web accessibility?" In the percentage of 43, internet user with ability uses it often and there goes the 57% which is useful for internet user with disabilities.

Do you know different disability can affect Web Accessibility? In here, we are describing general kinds of disability that can affect to the Web. Commonly used disability terminology varies from country to country and between different disability communities in the same country. There is a trend in many disability communities to use functional terminology instead of medical classification.

On the other hand, ability can vary from person to person, and over time, for different people with the same type of disability. People can have combination of different disability, and combination of varying levels of severity.

Having limitation of sensory, physical or cognitive functioning which can affect access to the Web are some people with condition described would not consider themselves to have disability.

So readers, thats all for now, if you do have any question or something that banging your mind about Web Accessibility please feel free to drop by our chatbox and we will definitely reply you as soon as possible. Besides, do check out our previous post by knowing more about disability. :)