Assistive+Technology-Web+Accessibility

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d), guarantees federal employees with disabilities comparable access to information and data as employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. This is a mandate for federal agencies that develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. School divisions are not required to comply with Section 508 standards. However, the standards were developed to ensure technology accessibility to the public; therefore, divisions should be knowledgeable of the standards as part of their responsibility to meet the needs of education stakeholders and the general public. See Appendix A for additional information on Section 508 standards. The //Code of Virginia// (Title 2.2 Administration of Government, Chapter 35 Information Technology Access Act, § 2.2-3500–2.2-3503) provides information on the Commonwealth’s policy addressing information technology access. The //Code// defines access to mean “the ability to receive, use, and manipulate data and operation controls included in information technology.” Assistive technology consists of any technologies that help students read, write, speak, see, get around, move, or play. Educational and assistive technologies give students with disabilities greater possibilities to master content and organize and control their behavior. Assistive technologies offer adaptations and modifications to help students with disabilities participate in the general education curriculum to varying degrees. The following list addresses some of the most common issues people with motor disabilities face; note that many more types of technologies exist—this is just a sampling: Several typical pieces of computer equipment also can assist people with disabilities, including **headphones** with stereo output and volume controls; a digital **microphone**, which allows students to control their input and interact with voice recognition software; and **scanners** , which should be used with scan- and read-type software. In addition, //Web accessibility// is important when considering assistive technologies. // Web accessibility // refers to a wide range of user agent devices, not just standard Web browsers. This is especially important for people with visual impairments. To access standard Web browsers, some users require special software or devices, such as a voice-activated browser function, touch screen, or simplified language interface. Design for accessibility is a subcategory of good design for usability. Web accessibility allows people with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to the Web. These tools also benefit older people with changing abilities. Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect Web access, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. When developing and setting up access to online resources, schools should allow for resources by individuals with disabilities from school and home. Organizations, companies, and consultants increasingly offer //W eb site accessibility audits //. These types of system testing identify accessibility problems and provide guidance on correcting these issues. There are several options for auditing Web site accessibility: Each of these methods has strengths and weaknesses:  ·  Automated tools can process many pages in a relatively short length of time but can identify only a limited number of accessibility problems. Ideally, Web site accessibility audits require a combination of methods. // Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 // (WCAG 2.0) (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/) offers various recommendations for making Web content more accessible. These guidelines make content accessible to a wider range of people, including those with blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech difficulties, photosensitivity, and combinations of these. Following these guidelines will make Web content more accessible to the vast majority of people, including older users. These guidelines, however, cannot address the needs of all people with disabilities. WCAG 2.0 success criteria are written as testable statements that are not technology specific. Separate documents provide additional guidance about specific technologies and general information about interpreting the success criteria. WebXACT is a free, online service that tests single Web pages for ** quality **, ** accessibility **, and ** privacy ** issues. This service, known also as “Bobby,” is a comprehensive tool designed to aid Webmasters in creating standard compliant and increasingly accessible Web sites. “Bobby” tests Web pages using guidelines set in the Web Access Initiative (WAI) established by W3C—World Wide Web Consortium—and Section 508 guidelines. Appendix A provides additional information on Web accessibility. Another consideration is Universal design—the development of products and environments that can be used by as many people as possible without the need for adaptation or specialized design. It allows students to access content using their strongest learning modality; for example, text can be adapted in print and digitally for a lower reading level with graphics that add clarity or the text could be read aloud via a computer. For additional information on Universal design, go to [|www.cast.org].
 * I t is often easier for a person with a motor disability to operate a trackball mouse than a standard mouse. For example, it is easier to manipulate a head wand or mouth stick with a trackball mouse. Someone with hand tremors also may find this kind of mouse more useful because once the cursor is moved to the right location, there is less danger of moving it accidentally while trying to click on the mouse button. In addition, people with hand tremors potentially could manipulate the trackball mouse with their feet.
 * Due to its simplicity and low cost, the mouth stick is one of the most popular assistive technologies (though the word //technology// may be a bit of an overstatement). In many cases, a rubber tip at the end of the mouth stick gives the tip better traction; a plastic or rubber feature at the other end is inserted into the mouth. People without use of their hands could maneuver a mouth stick to type and perhaps manipulate a trackball mouse, depending on their control of the mouth stick and patience level.
 * A head wand is similar to a mouth stick, except the stick is strapped to the head. Head movements make the head wand type characters, navigate through Web documents, etc. Fatigue can be an issue when a lot of keystrokes are required.
 * People with very limited mobility can use a single-switch access. For this tool, a switch is placed to the side of a person’s head. The person can control the computer by moving his or her head and clicking the switch. Special software on the computer interprets the clicking action and allows the user to navigate through the operating system, Web pages, and other environments. Some software facilitates typing by using an auto-complete feature that tries to guess what the person is typing and offers choices of different words.
 * An adaptive keyboard can be useful for people who lack reliable muscle control in their hands. Some adaptive keyboards have raised, rather than lowered, areas between the keys, which allow people to slide their fingers into the correct position. A person with tremors or spastic movements could benefit from this type of keyboard. Keyboard overlays can achieve the same results. In some cases, adaptive keyboards come with specialized software with word-completion technology, allowing the person to type with fewer keystrokes; this is significant since typing can be rather laborious.
 * Eye-tracking devices allow individuals with limited or no control over their hand movements to navigate through the Web with only eye movements. Special software allows the person to type and may include word-completion technology to speed up the process. These systems can be expensive—usually several thousand dollars—so they are less common than less-sophisticated devices such as mouth sticks and head wands.
 * Touch screens allow users to interact with computers by touching the display screens. They often project infrared light beams across the screen surface. When a person’s touch interrupts the beams, an electronic signal identifies the location on the screen. Software interprets the signal and performs the required operation.
 * Automated tools can identify some of the problems.
 * Technical reviewers who are knowledgeable in Web design technologies and accessibility can review a representative selection of pages and provide detailed feedback.
 * User testing, usually overseen by technical experts, involves setting tasks for ordinary users to carry out on the Web site and reviewing the resulting problems.
 * A technical expert review can identify many problems, but the process is time consuming; plus, many Web sites are too large to allow for a review of every page.
 * User testing combines elements of usability and accessibility testing and helps identify problems that might otherwise be overlooked; however, it needs to be used knowledgeably to avoid basing design decisions on one user's preferences.