Making IT Accessibility Accessible (And Fun?)
Greg Kraus(Temporarily Able Bodied)
University IT Accessibility CoordinatorNorth Carolina State University
@gdkraus
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
The Problems with Accessibility
• Accessibility can be hard to understand• People are afraid they are going to mess it up• Non-technical people are often the ones
needing to fix the problems• Accessibility is not fun
Typical Accessibility Audit Report
Please Go Fix the Errors in Here
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Aristotle
• “If you want to become a major league baseball player, you cannot simply wake up one day and declare yourself a baseball player, capable of hitting a curve ball. You must become habituated in the ways of being a baseball player through a lifetime of practice.”
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
How to Learn To Be a Major League Baseball Player
1. Start easy2. Gradually build skill over time3. Learn to see patterns and know how to react4. Reactions become intuitive and natural5. Practice
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
What Accessibility Needs
• Achievable goals– broken down into manageable tasks
• A way for everyone to be able to take responsibility for accessibility
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Four Strategies
• Quick Training Videos• Accessibility Handook• IT Accessibility Quick Guides• Accessibility Scan/Game
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Quick Training Videos
• Short (5-10 minute) videos• Each video covers 1 specific topic• (Usually) give you something actionable you
can do• http://accessibility.oit.ncsu.edu/trainingvideos
/
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Quick Training Video Example
• Microsoft Word Headings– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbVl4IYqmIU
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Some Quick Training Video Topics
• Accessibility Evaluation Tool Tutorials• Using Headings in Microsoft Word• Using Headings in Google Docs• Accessible Math on the Web• Skip to Main Content Links• Language Attributes for Screen Readers
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
IT Accessibility Handbook
• Resource for Web developers• Takes you through the steps for designing
accessibly– Gives you a way to think about accessible design
• http://go.ncsu.edu/accessibility-handbook
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Section 508
• Procurement and development requirement for Federal agencies– (You don’t have to follow Section 508, unless you have
to follow Section 508)• Released in 1998• 16 criteria• 381 words long• Does not tell you how to technically do any of it
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2)
• Standard published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) within the W3C
• Released in 2008• 14,000 words in the standard• 300,000 words of support documentation
This is what they see
But this is what they want
Accessibility HandbookStep 1: Understand legal accessibility requirementsStep 2: Choose the most appropriate technology and document formatStep 3: Start with some of the basicsStep 4: Plan your document structure Step 5: Plan your user interactions Step 6: Design alternate ways for users to access your content when the content is dependent on a single human sense
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Accessibility Handbook Demonstration
• http://go.ncsu.edu/accessibility-handbook
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
IT Accessibility Quick Guides
• What about content creators?
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
IT Accessibility Quick Guides – What They Do
1. Overview of NC State’s accessibility responsibilities
2. Profiles of commonly used technologies on campus
3. Overview of how to build it accessibly4. How to check if it is accessible5. Where to get more information
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
IT Accessibility Quick Guide Demo
• http://go.ncsu.edu/accessibility-quick-guide
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
IT Accessible Game
• Can accessibility be fun?• Should it really be a game?• Isn’t accessibility a human right?
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Gamification
• Gamification [n]: the use of game design elements in non-game contexts
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Competing in a Marketplace of Demands
• Prioritizations– “Keeping the lights on”• Production services to run and maintain
– Security and Compliance• This impacts everyone, not just “those people”
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Gaming Principles
• A good game…– Lets everyone play, regardless of skill level– Lets you improve skills over time– Gives you instant feedback
We’re Not Talking About Wheelchairs with Lasers
Make a Game Everyone Can Play
1011
32
1
4
69
57
8
Mario Didn’t Save the Princess in World 1-1
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Prioritization
• 4 = fatal error, user cannot interact at all with the element
• 3 = significant error, user can only partially recover or it causes a significant hardship
• 2 = significant error, but user can usually mostly, if not fully recover
• 1 = minor annoyance• 0 = usually can ignore
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Level 4
• Missing alternative text• Unlabeled form element• No keyboard event for an equivalent mouse
event
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Level 3
• A form control has more than one label• Page auto refreshes• No skip to main content link
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Level 2
• Spacer image does not have an alt attribute• Pages have unique titles and don’t say
“Untitled Document”
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Level 1
• Invalid code• Heading levels are skipped• No titles for frames
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Level 0
• No alternative content for iframes• Contrast ratio to pass WCAG 2 Level AAA
Weighted Errors Corrected
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov0
50,000100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000400,000450,000500,000
642
190,311
88,029
19,641 3,111 0
431,227
138,294
317,659
Weighted Errors Corrected With Contests
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov0
50,000100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000400,000450,000500,000
642
190,311
88,029
19,641 3,111 0
431,227
138,294
317,659
16,82950,488
98,537
317,659
@gdkrausGreg Kraus
Demonstrate System
• http://accessibility.oit.ncsu.edu/accessibility-scan/