We present to you a menu of tidbits collected in recent days that are too short for blog posts and sometimes too long for a tweet (when we want to add clarifying comments). Headings provide a light grouping to help you skim the offerings. Bon appétit!
Techie Stuff
The Mono Accessibility project “enables many Windows applications to be fully accessible on Linux. ” Oh, they’re looking for people to help write code, documentation, or bug swatting. Consider joining their team.
Talking about the Mono Accessibility project brings us to “Moonlight”. Moonlight is an open source implementation of Silverlight!! Intrigued? Read more in this article about Moonlight.
Game On
Here is a list of several European initiatives concerning gaming and people with disabilities.
- The Game On Project – A European initiative on “using Game Based Learning to develop basic, personal and work sustainability skills in prisoners, those at risk of offending and ex-offenders, including those with disabilities.”
- The GOAL-Net project – “The project will support participants in training and further training activities, in the acquisition and the use of knowledge, skills and qualifications to facilitate personal development, employability and participation in the European Labour Market.” This project is now completed; you can download the software and other resources at this site.
- The GOET project “will support people with learning disabilities in getting and keeping a job by helping them to learn, via games-based learning, more independent living skills that will help them in their working day.”
RECALL is a slight variation on a gaming project. It “combines location based services with games based learning approaches.” RECALL “has been developed to meet a need identified from years of research in working with user groups of people with learning disabilities and their teachers/trainers. This research has shown that on leaving compulsory education, people with learning disabilities, who have previously been provided with transport to allow them to access community activity, suddenly become excluded from lifelong learning and community activity because of their lack of independent travel skills.” RECALL is still in its early stages, but it is definitely worth monitoring.
Reflections, Musings, and Ponderings
Sandi Wassmer shares her thoughts on inclusivity versus accessibility. Is there a difference? The article includes a link to her presentation at the London Web Standards in February.
“Accessibility isn’t just about disabilities, it’s about varying degrees of ability to access content.” That’s a great quote from the article “Moving forward is holding us back“. Computer monitors might be getting bigger, but what about those teeny tiny mobile devices?
@sarahebourne benefits from accessible websites when using her Kindle for the Web. She wrote an excellent review of using Accessible Twitter on her Kindle.
Help, I Need Somebody
Don’t ever assume that the entire world using the emergency number that you use in your country. Wikipedia lists emergency telephone numbers from around the world; only Australia and New Zealand make reference to TTY phone numbers (devices used by deaf people). Apparently, emergency numbers for deaf people are often special numbers. The three-digit national emergency numbers are generally not usable by deaf people, which means they need to know and memorize a different number.
A page from the West Yorkshire Police (UK) site lists an 11-digit number where you can send a text message – but all messages must be prefixed with “999″. That’s a lot to remember in an emergency! The Australian emergency call service lets you dial 106, but that is from a TTY device or a computer, not a mobile phone.
Now, New Zealand is making the headlines because they are the first country in the world where deaf people can send a text to the national emergency number, 111. When you think about it, it is rather amazing that we haven’t gotten much farther in the year 2010.
Stereotypes Revisited
“Talk” is a video that “portrays a society in which non-disabled people are a pitied minority and disabled people lead full and active lives.” The following links are subtitled and signed (BSL, I believe): Talk, Part 1 (5 min. 40 sec.) and Talk, Part 2 (5 min. 7 sec.)
“Talk” is a great video to watch, but if you are in a hurry, try this 35-second video showing “able-bodied people trying to live in a world made for those with disabilities”.
@vavroom compared some advertising from the late 90s to current ads by the Canadian Paralympics Committee. His blog post about ads presenting “the disabled” in a different light is a must-read. The captions for the ads means those who cannot see the pictures can still follow the story – an example for others to follow (hint, hint).
Merinda Epstein uses cartoons to present issues around mental health services in a “humorous, satirical or ironical manner”. These are not captioned, but I am sure a volunteer would be welcome to offer their captioning services.
Quotes for the Week
@sarahebourne wrote a tweet recently that is definitely worth repeating here:
Accessibility is not about “being nice to the blind.” It’s about avoiding restrictions that arbitrarily exclude people.
@mattmay sent a great comment from the current South-by-Southwest gathering in Austin, Texas. It was too long to re-tweet, but I had to share it.
Touch-centric apps are a HUGE trend at #sxswi. In case you were wondering what accessibility experts will be fixing in 5yrs. #TouchHolyGrail
Link Contributors
This post was glued together with links or inspiration from many people. They are listed with their Twitter names.
@DaveBanesAccess
@mattmay
@meera404
@mpaciello
@pixeldiva
@SandiWassmer
@sarahebourne
@slewth
@strongria
@vavroom
@webaxe
@WgChef
Related posts
Making Flash accessible is a good thing. However, accessible Flash is not perceivable by screen-reader users if they don’t use Windows. If a screen-reader user needs information that is contained in a Flash presentation, that user needs to be on Windows. Oops.
Everett Zufelt (@ezufelt) brought this to my attention on Twitter today shortly after I shared news from @awkawk about making accessible Flash presentations.
Freedom of Choice
The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.
That’s a famous quote from Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web. Nowhere does it say “works only with one operating system”. Users of assistive technology might want a choice.
The really crucial point here is freedom of choice – people with disabilities should have a freedom of choice when choosing their operating system. After all, sighted people have the choice.
As someone who doesn’t use a screen reader, I had long thought that making Flash accessible would solve most issues around Flash for blind or low-vision computer users. Fortunately, expert users of screen readers are on the internet clarifying matters and clearing up misunderstandings. I appreciate Zufelt setting me straight – and now you – on this issue. Making Flash accessible only helps some of the users.
Having a Choice
What can be done? I won’t go into design issues about choosing Flash. Right now, there is a lot of Flash out there and some of it was made accessible. How can screen reader users not on Windows perceive that Flash material?
You still have time to sign the petition from the Mac-cessibility network asking Adobe to commit to accessibility for Flash on Macs. When that petition is presented to Adobe, perhaps they’ll consider doing the same thing for Linux.
In his post about Flash accessibility, Marco Zehe expresses hope that “the better support in NVDA for Flash should also be an incentive to Adobe to make Flash accessible on other platforms such as Linux and Mac.”
Let’s hope that more people in Flash classes ask about accessibility – and on which platforms. People must keep asking these questions so that the outstanding accessibility issues are addressed. This is also an opportunity for software producers to become industry leaders by addressing accessibility routinely from Day 1 of development.
Those who are blind in this matter are not the users, but the ones who are developing software with inaccessible features.
PS I snipped Tim Berners-Lee’s quote from the pages of W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative.
Related posts
Everett Zufelt’s open letter to CTV (Canada) regarding the accessibility of CTVOlympics.ca makes me angry.
I had already read Joe Clark’s article about the Vancouver Olympics websites being inaccessible to disabled people, as well as the Webaxe article. It was clear from Twitter that the sites were inaccessible.
So why should Everett Zufelt’s letter make me angry? Because it was his story.
The previous articles were excellent, but here was the story of a person performing a rather ordinary task. Just another Canadian curious about this huge sports spectacular happening in his own country. Big deal. Only this person couldn’t perform this ordinary task. He had the knowledge and desire to get the information, but something was keeping the information out of his grasp.
Was it ignorance? Thoughtlessness? Carelessness? Cheapskate-ness? Why, why, why?
This is 2010, people! Has everyone forgotten what happened with the case of the website for the Sydney Olympics in 2000? Did collective amnesia strike? The Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) ignored a complaint and a ruling about the inaccessibility of their website for the 2000 games, and they were fined. You can read Joe Clark’s good write-up about the Sydney Olympics accessibility complaint, or you can read the full case yourself. An awareness about accessibility has grown since 2000. The Web Accessibility Initiative over at W3C has grown tremendously. We have had the Target lawsuit concerning accessibility.
Oddly enough, when I was searching for links about the Sydney issue, I came across an article called Olympic Lawsuits That Could Have Changed History. It matched my search for the words sydney, olympics, lawsuit, and web. I was impressed that someone wrote how using accessible web practices would have changed history and improved the web experience for all users of screen readers, at least. I read through the article. Nothing. My keywords matched, but the case of Maguire vs. SOCOG was not mentioned anywhere. Wow.
The Alliance for Equality for Blind Canadians published a press release about blind Canadians being overlooked by Olympic websites. They listed three things – three things – three really simple things – that could have made a huge difference. The site wouldn’t necessarily have been perfect, but the navigation would have been greatly improved.
In ten years, someone couldn’t learn three simple things. That’s why Everett Zufelt’s letter makes me angry.
Related posts
We present to you a menu of tidbits collected in recent days that are too short for blog posts and sometimes too long for a tweet (when we want to add clarifying comments). Headings provide a light grouping to help you skim the offerings. Bon appétit!
Ada Lovelace Day
March 24 is approaching, and that means it’s Ada Lovelace Day again. We blogged for it last year and aim to blog again this year. Our twist is finding women in technology or science whom we admire – and who are connected to the topic of accessibility. We encourage you to blog for Ada Lovelace Day, too. Twitter lists of Women in Tech is one place to find candidates.
Technology News
There are some fascinating uses of technology in the article about the future of user interfaces. As these new technologies are explored and developed, what spin-offs will be discovered and will they contribute to universal design and universal accessibility? What new challenges will they give the future of technical communication?
More cool technology is mentioned in an article about 14 tech tools that enhance computing for the disabled. In the comments to the article, one reader provides some thoughtful criticism that is also worth reading. Many of these items require a big bank account!
Maybe the devices developed for NEDC will be affordable. NEDC, the National Engineering Design Challenge, “asks students, in grades 9-12, to put their creativity and problem-solving skills to use and create an assistive technology device for a person with a disability.” The competition is an excellent and inspiring idea. It will be exciting to read about the winners on February 25, 2010. Or rather, read about the results. All the participants are already winners.
What’s happening in Second Life and do virtual worlds have any use? Second Life itself may have been overwhelming, but some colleges are rethinking the concept and taking a more sensible approach. They may have been dazzled by the technology, but kept the old mindset – an approach that is often doomed.
Green Accessibility
A recent post on the FWD (Feminists with Disabilities) blog merges sustainability and accessibility. The article discusses sustainable transportation on a university campus and what accessibility challenges there might be. The author would love to hear other people’s thoughts on the matter. Share your ideas on their blog.
Blindness
Tom Babinszki, from Even Grounds, finished a nice article series about a day through the eyes of a blind woman: introduction, at work, and at home. This is a great combination of a persona and storytelling. I found some of the comments on the first article to be a bit shocking – when you are interested in accessibility issues, you forget that some people are not at all familiar with any of these issues. Read them for yourself to find out what you think.
Some contrast came from Sandi Wassmer in her recent blog post about breaking through stereotypes about disabilities. Another thought-provoking worth reading is Blind Anxiety. As @ezufelt put it, the article shares “interesting thoughts on emotions related to blindness”. In the comments, someone mentions that the feelings were similar to their experience as someone who is deaf.
Communities About Health Issues
The Mayo Clinic community blog is for stories from patients, families, friends, and the staff of the clinic. The NPR “Our Cancer” community seems to have the same purpose. @lisagualtieri comments that they are very different and I agree.
The NPR page feels cluttered; I am unsure of what to do or where to begin. The Mayo clinic site is simple and rather standard, but its layout is familiar and makes me feel more comfortable. My comments are based on my immediate visual reaction. I don’t know what a screen reader user would think of these two sites. Emotionally, I would think the target audience for these sites would appreciate a standard, perhaps conservative layout, as opposed to something elaborate or unfamiliar.
The Last Word
We close with a quote and a cartoon.
This quote that surfaced on Twitter last week couldn’t be retweeted; it was too long! It was worth saving for this blog post.
Enhancement is not about design. It is about process, teamwork, maintainability and about delivering working solutions. — codepo8
Others were laughing at a Dilbert cartoon that some claim came directly from W3C WCAG 2.0 meetings. Many technical communicators might claim it came from their meetings. Here’s the content of the cartoon.
Dilbert is talking to his colleagues in a meeting: “The Marketing Department has asked us to make our products more robust.
None of us knows what that means.
So we can either cancel this meeting and go ask them…
Or we can pretend that arguing with each other about the true meaning of “robust” is just as good.
While that option is stupid, it would give us the illusion of doing something useful right now.”
Dilbert’s young colleague asks: “Would it be ethical to ignore the long-term interests of stockholders just to feel good about ourselves for a few minutes?”
Dilbert stares at his colleague for a moment.
Dilbert turns to Wally and says “I think robust means it has lots of features.” And Wally shouts back, “It means sturdy!”
Link Contributors
This post was glued together with links or inspiration from many people. They are listed with their Twitter names.
@anthonypash
@ComputerWorld
@DaveBanesAccess
@ezufelt
@fredshead
@jared_w_smith
@kelsmith
@KoreenOlbrish
@kurren
@LeeAase
@lisagualtieri
@Meera404
@mpaciello
@ReeveFoundation
@SandiWassmer
@sarahebourne
@songvang
@stc_carolina
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