Did you know that Stanford University now has an Online Accessibility Program? They call it “SOAP” for Stanford Online Accessibility Program. I came across this today and thought you might be interested to see it: http://soap.stanford.edu/. The site offers resources and information; tips, tricks, and tutorials; a developers toolbox; and special program services for the Faculty and Staff of Stanford University. (Details about the program services may be seen at http://soap.stanford.edu/showcategory.php?categoryid=14.)
The program has the mandate to assist web designers and online content creators in producing material that is accessible to the greatest audience possible. The program achieves this through the promotion of Universal Accessibility and web standards compliance.
![[Valid XHTML 1.0]](/wp-content/uploads/w3c_xhtml10.gif "Validate XHTML 1.0"){kind=small}
![[Valid CSS!]](/wp-content/uploads/w3c_validcssb.png "Validate CSS"){kind=small}
![[W3C Web standards]](/wp-content/uploads/w3c_standards.gif "This site conforms to W3C Web Standards"){kind=small}
![[Cynthia Says Tested]](/wp-content/uploads/Ctested.gif "Test Section 508 standards and WCAG guidelines for accessibility"){kind=small}
![[Passes the Lynx Validator]](/wp-content/uploads/lynx_inspected-80x15.gif "Convert to text-only page and validate in Lynx Viewer"){kind=small}
![[Valid RSS]](/wp-content/uploads/valid_rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
![[GrayBit]](/wp-content/uploads/graybit.gif "Convert full-color Web page into grayscale to test accessibility"){kind=small}
![[MySQL database]](/wp-content/uploads/mysql_powered.gif "The database is powered by MySQL"){kind=small}
![[Section 508]](/wp-content/uploads/sec508b.gif "U.S. Government Section 508 requirements"){kind=small}
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![[STC AccessAbility SIG]](/wp-content/uploads/stc_a-sig.gif "The STC AccessAbility SIG Web site"){kind=small}
This is a great tip, Cynthia. The best part is the concept of accessibility incorporated into schooling. Accessibility is so much easier to handle if you remember it from Day 1. That should be common sense in planning. Learning about accessibility while still in school is like living the “Day 1″ philosophy. Kudos to Stanford – and all the other schools who integrate accessibility concepts in their teaching and learning environments!
Posted on October 28, 2008 at 3:24 am.