Boulder Mozilla Accessibility Research

Professor Anne Ross, Aura Chuck, Aya Tarist, Summer Hession, Katrina Wilson

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Some Facts About Web Accessibility

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Summer Hession

What Is Web Accessibility?

The inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed.

• Everyone benefits from accessibility. Accessible design improves access to information on the web for individuals with and without disabilities. Well-designed, accessible web sites expedite the delivery of information and services.
• Web accessibility is not only ethical but also a sound business practice as well as a legal obligation.

Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people can:

• perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web
• contribute to the Web

Topics to keep in mind

• Coding: web applications to meet international W3C standards.
• Designing: interfaces to meet the needs of people with disabilities, including older users.
• Advocating: for accessibility by understanding real-life experiences of how accessibility is essential for some, and useful for all.
• Managing: accessibility in projects and in organizations.
• Checking: web pages for basic accessibility issues and improving accessibility.

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CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik and illustrations by Stories

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Why is Web Accessibility Important?

It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities. Access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, is defined as a basic human right in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

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Web Accessibility is about people.It’s about real people with disabilities. being able to use your websites, apps and digital technology

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It’s about the user experience.

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The first step is understanding how people with disabilities use the web.

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Web Accessibility for Small Businesses

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Aura Chuck & Aya Tarist

Web Accessibility Training for SBDC Students

As part of an ongoing research initiative to promote web accessibility, Professor Ross and her students are running web accessibility training sessions for local businesses in the area.

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The leftmost image is an ex of accessibility guidelines for the website builder Wix!

Navigating Accessibility Guidelines Across Design Platforms: Figma/Wordpress/Wix

Figma

→ Built-in Accessibility Plugins: Figma supports various plugins that help designers check for accessibility issues within their designs, such as color contrast, text sizes, and more.

→ Instant Checks: While plugins are helpful, ensuring full accessibility compliance often requires manual review and adjustments by the designer, which Figma offers an easy access to through a checklist.

→ Collaborative Feedback: Figma's collaborative nature allows for real-time feedback on accessibility issues, enabling teams to address concerns promptly.

→ You can make your own accessibility plug-in!

Navigating Accessibility Guidelines Across Design Platforms: Figma/Wordpress/Wix

WordPress

→Theme Selection: The accessibility of a WordPress site heavily depends on the chosen theme. Some themes are specifically designed with accessibility in mind, while others may require significant modifications.

→Varied Quality and Compliance: Users must choose carefully and may need to customize extensively to meet accessibility guidelines.

→Plugins for Accessibility: WordPress offers a range of plugins that can assess and improve site accessibility, including tools for color contrast, font sizes, and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles.

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Navigating Accessibility Guidelines Across Design Platforms: Figma/Wordpress/Wix

Wix

→ Integrated Accessibility Features: Wix provides built-in features aimed at improving accessibility, such as keyboard navigation, screen reader support, and customizable alt text for images.

→ Automatic Site Analysis: Wix offers an accessibility analysis tool that can automatically identify and suggest fixes for certain accessibility issues, although it might not cover all potential problems.

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Design Tools Features To Look For :

Checklist

Suggestions - Color Contrast

Plug-ins

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Integrating Accessibility into CS Education

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Katrina Wilson

Why should accessibility be integrated into introductory CS courses?

“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” - Tim-Berners Lee, Inventor of the WWW

Accessibility has a wide spectrum: everything from “never thought about it” to “this is my lived experience” (Ross)

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Accessibility is an exciting outlet for social impact

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What have I been working on?

Reading, understanding, and applying the main points in of “Beyond HCI: The Need for Accessibility Across the CS Curriculum”

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Introduction to Web Accessibility edX course

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Helping to develop a White Paper applying the learning objectives outlined in “Beyond HCI”

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Editing and summarizing existing assignments

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What’s next?

Finishing summaries of example assignments

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Building out 1-2 assignments to be used in CSCI203 next fall

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Thanks!

CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik and illustrations by Stories

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