Download - Boosting new media accessibility - Scott Hollier

1. Boosting New Media AccessibilityDr Scott HOLLIER Presentation for Web Directions South 2009

Not-for-profit organisation addressing access issues in:

Cinema

Education

New Media

Access issues include captioning, audio description, computer-related and Internet-related access issues

Professional:

Project Manager New Media, Media Access Australia

Advisory Committee member of the W3C

Academic: PhD thesis examined ways to make computers and the Internet more accessible to people with disabilities

Personal: Legally blind, first-hand knowledge of access issues

Why should you care for the IT needs of people with disabilities?

Brief history of access: benefits and barriers

User perspective: how do people with disabilities use computers and the Internet?

Developer perspective: W3C, WCAG 2.0 and ATAG 2.0 (draft)

Online video: perception and the reality

How MAA can support your development projects

New Media used to be about the emergence of digital technologies: now its about convergence

MAA looks at new media in terms of usability and accessibility

Usability is generally associated with intuitiveness and ease of use.

Accessibility focuses on application and design issues specifically for people with disabilities.Usability is an important part of accessibility

Moral/Social case: care for others in society, good thing to do

Educational case: accessible online resources leads to improved educational opportunities, then to a reductions in unemployment and poverty

Corporate case: inaccessibility may prevent customers from purchasing goods and services

Legal case: danger of being sued if accessibility not considered (SOCOG, Target USA, HSBC)

For the mainstream population, Internet was viewed primarily as an information and communication resource

For people with disabilities, Internet was viewed as a gateway to independence

Today, both mainstream and people with disabilities view the Internet as an essential service due to:

Choice of media type: text, audio and video on demand

Real-time information delivery: Internet TV and radio

Real-time AV communication: Skype

Collaboration: Cloud computing and social networking

Although these products sound great, people with disabilities are 18% less likely to have any form of Internet access in the home.Issues include:

Broadband access remains poor

70% of the population

30% of people with core disabilities

Website accessibility issues (social networking)

Limited captioning and audio description availability

Cloud computing:some good hardware options (netbooks) but still access issues with phones/PDAs/online applications and OS.

Initial premise of PhD study: people with disabilities are not using the Internet as much as the able-bodied population because they try to access computers and the Internet, but give up after running into barriers.

Was this true?

People surveyed were aware of importance of IT and highly knowledgeable

Although there were barriers, they dont give up and continue to fight for access

How to resolve:

Communication and engagement between developers and the end user is the key

Improvements to policy and legislative frameworks

Today, people with disabilities generally use assistive technologies to help use a computer

Assistive Technology is the practical implementation of technology to support and help people

OS contains many tools, but additional products often required for full featured access

AT software costs about $1200-$2000

Change the icon and text size

Adjust cursor width and blink rate

Toggle Keys

Mouse pointer size and movement

Mouse Lock and Toggle Keys

Change the colour scheme to high contrast

Show Sounds

On-screen keyboard

Magnifier

Narrator

Screen reader (JAWS, Window Eyes)

Screen magnifier (ZoomText, MAGic)

Improvements over Windows XP/Vista:

Improved screen reader VoiceOver

Full-screen Zoom feature

Braille display support

However

VoiceOver doesnt work with the Office suite (only works with Cocoa apps)

Hit-and-miss with Safari, although improved with Snow Leopard

Mainstream options reducing the need for expensive assistive technology products

Windows 7:

Full screen magnifier

Predictive text in on-screen keyboard

Works well on netbooks

Free screen readers: WebAnywhere, NVDA

Netbooks becoming 3G and touch-capable

Reliance on collaboration and the cloud

iPhone 3GS with VoiceOver now an option

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) formed by Tim Berners-Leein 1992

Initially inaccessible as AT products couldnt read out graphics

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 published in 1999, became definitive standard for web accessibility

65 checkpoints across three Priority levels

Original WCAG very HTML-specific, became rapidly outdated

In 2001, WCAG 2.0 working group formed

Shift in focus from developer code compliance to user task achievement

Development process went for seven long years:

To Hell With WCAG 2: a frustrated Joe Clark felt that 165 pages for the easy to understand manual was too obscure, vague, and a backwards step

To Hell With Joe Clark by Martin Kliehm felt that WCAG 2.0 simplified the issues, provided achievable goals and better supported new web technologies

Released in December 2008

Although WCAG 1.0 still used in Australia, 2.0 quickly adopted in US, EU

Based around four POUR design principles:

Perceivable (adjustable)

Operable (finding what you want)

Understandable (content)

Robust: (other technologies)

Perceivable:

Provide text alternatives for non-text content.

Provide captions and alternatives for audio and video content.

Make content adaptable; and make it available to assistive technologies.

Use sufficient contrast to make things easy to see and hear.

Operable:

Make all functionality keyboard accessible.

Give users enough time to read and use content.

Do not use content that causes seizures.

Help users navigate and find content.

Understandable:

Make text readable and understandable.

Make content appear and operate in predictable ways.

Help users avoid and correct mistakes.

Robust:

Maximize compatibility with current and future technologies.

W3C also provides the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines

ATAG 2.0 supports WCAG 2.0, but still in draft

Two parts:

PART A: Make the authoring tool user interface accessible

PART B: Support the production of accessible content

PART A: Make the authoring tool user interface accessible

Authoring tool user interfaces must follow applicable accessibility guidelines

Editing views must be perceivable

Editing views must be operable

Editing views must be understandable

PART B: Support the production of accessible content

Production of accessible content must be enabled

Authors must be supported in the production of accessible content

Accessibility solutions must be promoted and integrated

Most online video lacks accessibility features

Many arguments as to why its not possible

Perception and reality are different

The perception:

The technology cant support closed captions or audio description.

The reality:

Flash, Windows Media, Real, QuickTime and open standards all support closed captions.Internet Captioning Forum:http://ncam.wgbh.org/icf/tech.php

Only Windows Media doesnt support multiple audio tracks for AD, but Microsoft have released AMP to resolve this:http://www.codeplex.com/amp

The perception:

Its all too hard and time-consuming.

The reality:

CaptionTube: an easy way to caption YouTube clipshttp://captiontube.appspot.com

Captions can be saved back onto local machine, dont have to be put on YouTube

If uploaded to YouTube, captions can be translated in real-time to different languages

The perception:

Theres no point:hardly anyone is captioning online, and online audio description is like the Yeti: you hear about it but no one's ever seen it.

The reality:

BBC iPlayer now features both closed captions and audio description

In a nutshell: if TV shows are already captioned, it can be easily included online

HTML 5 info in Silvias presentation up next

AWARe: Australian Web Access Review

5 websites per month for testing

Answer some simple questions

MAA will take data to government, industry to create change

Forum to discuss access issues

http://www.aware.org.au

AWARe home page:

AWARe Participate section

Large collection of web resources:www.mediaaccess.org.au/newmedia

Advice is free

E-mail:[email_address]

Phone: (02) 9212 6242