STC AccessAbility SIG
A Blog About Accessibility

Fahrner Image Replacement (FIR) FIR is a standards-compliant technique that uses stylesheets and ordinary HTML to provide a visible image, usually consisting of text. The CSS specifies that the image will display in most cases; if it should not display for some reason, the underlying structural HTML markup is supposed to take its place… Because [...]

Read: Internet Accessibility / Usability Resources F-W »

3M Office Ergonomics Audit A simple self-assessment of your own workplace.  New
AbilityNet is a UK charity helping disabled adults and children use computers and the Internet by adapting and adjusting their technology.  New
AbilityNet Resource Pack Available free of charge from Superhighways.  New
A-Chat Web-based chat tool, designed with accessibility in mind
Accessible Web Developers group is [...]

Read: Internet Accessibility / Usability Resources A-E »

Applied Ergonomics Conference and Virtual Community
Ergonomics information provided by IBM.
Ergonomics At Work, Department of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS)
Ergonomics & Safety Research Institute (ESRI) [United Kingdom]
"Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Guidance on accessibility for human-computer interfaces"
Healthy Computing information provided by IBM. Topics include Setting up your workstation, Workstation aids, Mobile computing, Comfort, Vision, Display, Input [...]

Read: Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders »

AccessAbility SIG member, Whitney Quesenbery, Whitney Interactive Design, LLC, brought some exciting news to our attention. Here’s what Whitney has to say.
Plain language is not a new concept; understanding your audience, clear communication, and good information design are part of what makes us technical communicators.
Last week, we had some exciting news from the US Congress: [...]

Read: It’s just plain language »

SIG member, Richard N. P. Hodgkinson, Fellow of the U.K. ISTC (Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators), is the editor for two ISO standards related to usability, accessibility, and systems software documentation:

ISO/TS 16071:2003: "Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Guidance on accessibility for human-computer interfaces"
ISO/IEC FDIS 18019:2003(E): "Software and systems engineering — Guidelines for the design [...]

Read: ISO Standards for Usability, Accessibility, & Software Documentation »

Accessibility: CHI 2001 and Beyond, Ariadne Issue 28
Action for Dystonia, Diagnosis, Education & Research (ADDER)
Artsline provides information on all the arts and leisure services available, both as audience or participants. The Artsline database provides updated data on the access to the arts and leisure venues and pursuits in the capital city of London. See their [...]

Read: International Disability: United Kingdom »

In this year’s pre-conference program, Whitney Quesenbery is running a certificate program that should catch the attention of any technical communicator interested in usability and accessibility. Anyone attending will definitely learn from this very, very knowledgeable member of - among other groups - the STC’s AccessAbility SIG and Usability and User Experience SIG.
Whitney comments [...]

Read: Usability and Accessibility Certificate Program at 2008 Conference »