ACCESSIBILITY
RESEARCH WEB SITES & INFORMATION
SECTION
508 WEB SITE: the Department
of Justice site is the location for the most important new Federal Statute
on web accessibility. Go here to down load a PDF of the actual statute
and to link to other important information on Section 508. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/508home.html
WC3: WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY
STANDARDS VERSION 2.0: This is the WC3 web site with a posting
of the current draft of "Web Content Accessibility Standards Version 2.0".
Read carefully. This is a primer for web site usability. Bookmark it.
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/.
Also see the "Quick Tips" page for a compressed overview (card) of how
to make sites more accessible. Tape a copy on your wall. http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips/
THE CPB/WGBH NATIONAL CENTER FOR ACCESSIBLE MEDIA (NCAM): A virtual plethora of excellent information on accessibility issues for all manner of media. The NCAM is a research and development effort dedicated to improving the fit between media and information technology for people with disabilities in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities. Incidentally, the site is fully accessible. Many excellent links. http://ncam.wgbh.org/index.html.
SECTION
255: FUELING THE CREATION OF NEW ELECTRONIC CURBCUTS:
Steve Jacobs a Senior Technology Consultant with the NCR Corporation has
created a fascinating and engaging review of technology accessibility.
The article includes a description of well known IT systems that were
originally designed for "special population" users but later became highly
successful mainstream products. An excellent historical overview and great
links. http://www.tiaonline.org/access/news.cfm?ID=37
INDUSTRY USABILITY REPORTING SITE: (Accessibility resources) This site, supported by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), is an excellent starting point for detailed content on usability. There are several good links posted on this simple page. While you are at it, check out the IUSR (Industry Usability Reporting) site. It contains many links and information related to software usability. http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/iusr/documents/accessibility.html
TRACE PRODUCT DESIGN BROWSER: This interesting information source, created by the Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin-(Madison) School of Engineering and Gallaudet University, under a grant from the US Department of Education, offers an interactive, list-based, design tool for improving the usability of products of all types. An interesting implementation allows you to select a design variable (ex: display of visual information for color-weak individuals) and then receive a screen listing ways to enhance the users' access to the chosen design variable. Topics cover a wide range of design issues, including visual, auditory and tactile variables. Unfortunately, the interface of the site itself is a bit lame (font sizes are too small in some browsers), but the content is first rate and immediately useful. http://trace.wisc.edu/docs/browser. The rest of the TRACE site also contains interesting and useful data on accessibility.
USER-FRIENDLY MATERIALS AND ALTERNATE FORMATS: The National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research has created a simple yet excellent information set on how to create physical materials, such as printed documents, videos, CDs and other media, in forms that are highly accessible. This site provides excellent data and related links to information on document design and vendors who specialize is such systems. A good summary document supported by good links. http://www.ncddr.org/du/products/index.html
CAST BOBBY WEB ACCESSIBILITY TESTING TOOL: Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST is an educational, not-for-profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities. CAST has developed and makes available at no cost a web accessibility-testing tool that allows you to test pages against leading accessibility standards such as Section 508 and WAI 1.0. You can test one page at a time or download the tool and test your entire site. If you download the entire application, there is a modest charge used to defer development costs. http://www.cast.org/Bobby/Bobby311.cfm.
ARTICLES & INFORMATION OF INTEREST FROM TASKZ.COM:
ALERT! SECTION 508 WEB ACCESSIBILITY NOW A FEDERAL LAW!: A clearly written overview of section 508 with related links. Good for circulation to team members and executives who do not have an awareness of 508 and its implications. http://www.taskz.com/ucd_Section_508_summary.htm.
DESIGN DATA SECTION FROM TASKZ.COM: A quick overview of statistics on special populations who require special accessibility considerations. Also contains links to other research data on user populations. http://www.taskz.com/DesignData/individual_special_indepth.htm.
SEMINARS ON WEB ACCESSIBILITY: MNM, in conjunction with the Usability Consortium offers various seminars on web site accessibility, general usability engineering, interface design and professional usability testing. For more information send a request to editorTZ@mauronewmedia.com. Please include "seminar" in subject line.
CONSULTING SERVICES: Taskz.com is funded by MauroNewMedia. Founded in 1975, MNM is a leading provider of professional usability engineering and user interface design consulting services. MNN is a recipient of the Alexander C. Williams Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
TO VIEW OTHER TASKZ TOP 10 LIST: We maintain an archive of other Top 10 lists at http://www.taskz.com/Opt_in.htm.
PLEASE GIVE US YOUR COMMENTS AND ADDITIONAL LINKS: We welcome your comments and additional links that add intelligently to any of our Top 10 lists. Send comments and links to: editorTZ@mauronewmedia.com.
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