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Reflections on the Development of a Holistic Approach to Web Accessibility
Abstract
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has a well-established framework for addressing accessibility based on three components: the accessibility of Web content, accessibility support in browsers and accessibility support in authoring tools, with a corresponding set of guidelines for each. These guidelines have been successful in raising awareness in Web accessibility at a political level, but have been less successful than might have been expected influencing the wider promotion and adoption of accessibility in Web technology. This is increasingly apparent as Web content becomes increasingly heterogeneous in terms of source, type, author and function. Standards, policy and guidelines overwhelmingly focus on accessibility of the end product - i.e. the Web page or site - and not the process used to create it. This is at odds with the transformation of Web-based user goals from receipt of static information to communication, and receipt or delivery of services and experiences. Thus it is the accessibility of the end goal that should be critical, and is dependent on the quality of the route(s) available to reaching that goal - making assessing accessibility of a technical unit such as a Web page less relevant. Instead, we argue a holistic approach is necessary - one that views positively, where appropriate, aggregation of alternatives in a way that allows each route to provide the best possible chance for disabled users to achieve the end goal, even if individual routes may themselves exclude certain groups. Since 2004 the authors have developed a framework for addressing the accessibility of Web resources, inspired by the holistic use of Web technology in e-learning, building on WAI guidelines but providing the flexibility needed to address the limitations of the guidelines and the diverse ways in which the Web is now being used. This paper reflects how the influence and impact of WCAG has changed over time, and, by reviewing the authors' work conducted in recent years, considers how a more holistic approach to Web Accessibility in a Web 2.0 world can best be achieved.
The use of learning technologies is becoming ubiquitous in higher education. As a result, there is a pressing need to develop methods to evaluate their accessibility to ensure that students do not encounter barriers to accessibility while engaging in e-learning. In this study, sample online units were evaluated for accessibility by automated tools and by student participants (in sessions moderated and unmoderated by researchers), and the data from these different methods of e-learning accessibility evaluation were compared. Nearly all students were observed encountering one or more barriers to accessibility while completing the online units, though the automated tools did not predict these barriers and instead predicted potential barriers that were not relevant to the study participants. These data underscore the need to carry out student-centered accessibility evaluation in addition to relying on automated tools and accessibility guideline conformance as measures of accessibility. Students preferred to participate in unmoderated sessions, and the data from the unmoderated sessions were comparable to that from the more traditional moderated sessions. Additional work is needed to further explore methods of student-centered evaluation, including different variations of unmoderated sessions. © 2015 Association for Educational Communications and Technology
Designing for disabled and elderly users is an increasingly important topic within the HCI curriculum, particularly given the current legislative requirements. After introducing the concepts of inclusive design (ID) and assistive technology (AT), we present a number of arguments, some radical, some more conventional, for including them as part of mainstream HCI courses. We introduce some suggestions for what and how one might teach these topics within a mainstream HCI course, and a number of useful resources for teaching them. We conclude with some lessons we have learnt from a number of years of experience in including these topics in our own HCI courses.
Since 1999 the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have provided a solid basis for implementation of accessible Web design. However it is argued that in the context of evaluation and policymaking, inappropriate reference to the WCAG may lead to serious practical difficulties in implementation and monitoring of an effective accessibility policy. There is a pressing need for a framework that guides appropriate application of the WCAG in a holistic way, taking into account the diversity - or homogeneity - of factors such as context of use, audience and audience capability, and access environment. In particular, the current promotion of W3C technologies at the expense of widely used and accessible proprietary technologies may be problematic, as is the apparent reliance of the WCAG on compliant browsing technology. In this paper, a holistic application of the WCAG is proposed by the authors, whereby the context of the Web resource in question and other factors surrounding its use are used to shape an approach to accessible design. Its potential application in a real world environment is discussed.
The importance of accessibility to digital e-learning resources is widely acknowledged. The W3C WAI has played a leading role in promoting the importance of accessibility and developing guidelines which can help when developing accessible Web resources. The accessibility of e-learning resources provides additional challenges. In this paper the authors describe a holistic framework for addressing e-learning accessibility which takes into account the usability of e-learning, pedagogic issues and student learning styles in addition to technical and resource issues and provide a case study which illustrates use of this holistic approach to e-learning.
The importance of accessibility to digital resources is now widely acknowledged. The W3C WAI has played a significant role in promoting the importance of accessibility and developing a framework for accessible Web resources. The accessibility of e-learning provides additional challenges that may not be faced when providing access to other Web resources. The authors argue that there is a need for a more sophisticated model for addressing e-learning accessibility which takes into account the usability of e-learning, pedagogic issues and student learning styles in addition to technical and resource issues. The authors expand on these issues and propose a holistic model for the development of accessible e-learning resources.
Testing accessibility of a web site is still an art. Lack of appropriate definitions of accessibility and of standard testing methods are some of the reasons why Web accessibility is so difficult to achieve.
The paper describes a heuristic walkthrough method based on barriers; it then discusses how methods like this can be evaluated, and it shows experimental data about validity and usefulness of the method when compared to standards review.
In order for an enterprise to successfully implement an accessibility solution, the enter- prise needs to be some sort of organization that will handle and support accessibility issues and enforcement. We’ll refer to this as anaccessibility organization. The details of how this accessibility organization works will differ depending on the type of organization. Certainly, there will be differences in the way it is implemented in nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, for-profit businesses, and educational institutions. However, there will also be important similarities.
Given the increasingly important role the World Wide Web plays as an information source, and yet with the continuing problems that certain individuals, particularly those with disabilities and those using ‘non-standard’ Web browsing technology, it is vital that web resource providers be aware of design features which introduce barriers affecting the accessibility of on-line information.
The role of the accessibility audit is seen as an important one in uncovering, describing, and explaining potential accessibility barriers present in a web site. It furthermore acts as an educational tool by raising awareness in accessible design amongst web designers and content providers in providing them with a recovery plan for improving the accessiblility of the audited resource, and potentially other resources.
In 1999, the authors were commissioned to carry out accessibility audits of 11 web sites in the UK Higher Education sector. This paper discusses the development of the methodology used to carry out the audits, the findings of the audits in terms of accessibility levels of the subject sites, and feedback as a result of the auditing process. It concludes by looking at ways in which the methodology adopted may be tailored to suit specific types of web resource evaluation.
Increasingly, the Web is providing unprecedented access to information and interaction for people with disabilities. However, the Web will not be equally accessible, allowing people with disabilities to access and contribute to the Web, until:• Authoring tools and development environments (including content managements systems such as blogging applications) produce accessible Web content and have accessible interfaces;• Browsers, multimedia players and assistive technologies provide a completely usable and accessible experience;Content is designed to be accessible.Web accessibility relies on tools that are designed to work together and support the needs of the people who use them. This paper describes how Web accessibility depends on several components working together. It demonstrates the relationship between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG), and User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG).