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AccMonitor Accessibility Report
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1: <html><!-- #BeginTemplate "/Templates/header.dwt" --><!-- DW6 --> 2: <head> 3: <!-- #BeginEditable "doctitle" --> 4: <title>Distance Education Access Guidelines</title> 5: <!-- #EndEditable --> 6: <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> 7: <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../../stylesheets/styles.css" type="text/css"> 8: </head> 9: 10: <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> 11: <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> 12: <tr> 13: <td background="../../../images/homepage/topmenu_middle.png" width="48%"><a href="../../../index.htm"><img src="../../../images/homepage/topmenu_home_copy.png" width="120" height="27" border="0" alt="Home Page"></a></td> 14: <td background="../../../images/homepage/topmenu_middle.png" width="52%"> 15: <div align="right"><a href="../../../search/searchmain.htm"><img src="../../../images/homepage/topmenu_search.png" width="175" height="27" alt="Search Site" border="0"></a></div> 16: </td> 17: </tr> 18: </table> 19: <br /> 20: <!-- #BeginEditable "main" --> 21: 22: 23: <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../../stylesheets/styles.css" type="text/css"> 24: <p><a href="distedguidelines.pdf">Guidelines available as Adobe PDF</a></p> 25: <h1><a name="top"></a>Distance Education: Access Guidelines for Students with 26: Disabilities</h1> 27: <h1 align="center"><img src="images/chancellorslogo.gif" width="191" height="190" alt="California Community College Chancellor's Office Logo."></h1> 28: <p align="center">August 1999</p> 29: <p align="center">Chancellor’s Office California Community Colleges</p> 30: <p align="center"><br /> 31: Distance Education: Access Guidelines for Students with Disabilities <br> 32: August 1999</p> 33: <br /> 34: <br /> 35: <p>Developed By: <br> 36: The High Tech Center Training Unit <br> 37: In Collaboration with the <br> 38: Distance Education Accessibility Workgroup Chancellor’s Office California 39: Community Colleges</p> 40: <hr> 41: <h2> Distance Education and Accessibility Guidelines Task Force Members <br> 42: </h2> 43: <p>Name: Ralph Black, Esq.<br> 44: Title: General Counsel<br> 45: Affiliation: Chancellor’s Office, CCC </p> 46: <p>Name: Carl Brown <br> 47: Title: Director, High Tech Center Training Unit<br> 48: Affiliation: De Anza College</p> 49: <p>Name: Laurie Vasquez <br> 50: Title: Assistive Technology Specialist <br> 51: Affiliation: Santa Barbara City College</p> 52: <p>Name: Cris Mora Lopez <br> 53: Title: Distance Education Coordinator <br> 54: Affiliation: Chancellor’s Office, CCC Instructional Resources and Technology 55: Division, Distance Education <br> 56: </p> 57: <p>Name: Brain Haley<br> 58: Title: Dean of Library/Learning Resource Center <br> 59: Affiliation: Sierra College <br> 60: </p> 61: <p>Name: Jay Thompson<br> 62: Title: Executive Director <br> 63: Affiliation: Consortium for Distance Learning</p> 64: <p>Name: Nancy Glock-Gruenich<br> 65: Title: Specialist in System Advancement <br> 66: Affiliation: California Virtual University/COCCC</p> 67: <p>Name: Catherine McKenzie <br> 68: Title: Telecommunications Mgr. - Specialist <br> 69: Affiliation: Chancellor’s Office, CCC <br> 70: Instructional Resources and Technology Unit, Office of <br> 71: Telecommunications and Technology</p> 72: <p>Name: Cheryl Chapman<br> 73: Instructor, Faculty Trainer, Academic Senate <br> 74: Affiliation: Coastline College <br> 75: </p> 76: <p>Name: Catherine Campisi<br> 77: Affiliation: Chancellor’s Office, CCC<br> 78: Title: Dean, Student Support Programs </p> 79: <p>Name: Jose Michel<br> 80: Title: Senior Coordinator Distance Education <br> 81: Affiliation: Chancellor’s Office, CCC</p> 82: <hr> 83: <h2>Table of Contents </h2> 84: <p>Preface 7<br> 85: Legal Requirements 9 <br> 86: Basic Requirements For Providing Access 13 <br> 87: Access Guidelines for Specific Modes of Distance Education Instructional Delivery 88: 17 <br> 89: Print Media 19 <br> 90: Audio Conferencing 20 <br> 91: Video Conferencing/Video Transmission (Live) 22 <br> 92: Video Transmission (Pre Recorded) 24 <br> 93: World Wide Web 26 <br> 94: Instructional Software, Laser Video Disc, CD ROM, DVD 29 <br> 95: Trace Research & Development Center Accessibility Guidelines 30 <br> 96: Appendix I 37 <br> 97: Copyright Issues 39 <br> 98: Braille 43 <br> 99: Braille Production Facilities 49 <br> 100: A Guide To Large Print For People With Low Vision 51 <br> 101: Appendix II 55 <br> 102: Telephone Relay Services 57 <br> 103: Real-Time Transcription 58 <br> 104: Interpreter Services 59 <br> 105: Appendix III 63 <br> 106: Captioning 65 <br> 107: Basic Captioning Terms 67 <br> 108: Captioning Service Providers 71 <br> 109: Appendix IV 73 <br> 110: WAI Guidelines for Accessible Web Site Design 75 <br> 111: Appendix V 85 <br> 112: Microsoft’s Checklist of Accessibility Design Guidelines 87 <br> 113: Software Design Guidelines (TRACE Research Center) 95</p> 114: <hr> 115: <h2>Preface</h2> 116: <p>In March 1996, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights notified 117: Chancellor Thomas J. Nussbaum that it was about to begin a statewide compliance 118: review under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The compliance 119: review would focus on the status of community colleges in meeting their obligation 120: under Title II and Section 504 to provide students with visual impairments access 121: to print and computer-based information. The review was to examine whether students 122: with visual impairments, particularly blind students, were accorded an equal 123: educational opportunity by California Community Colleges or whether they were 124: being discriminated against on the basis of their disability. Specifically, 125: OCR wished to consider whether the Chancellor’s Office employed "methods 126: of administration" which substantially impaired accomplishment of the objectives 127: of the California Community College educational programs with respect to students 128: with visual impairments.</p> 129: <p>As an outcome of this review, OCR offered nine suggestions for addressing areas 130: of concern identified by the review. Among the suggestions/concerned voiced 131: by OCR was the need for development of system-wide access guidelines for distance 132: learning and campus Web pages. In a January 22, 1998 letter to Chancellor Nussbaum, 133: Stefan Rosenzweig, Regional Director of OCR stated: </p> 134: <blockquote> 135: <p>"California Community Colleges, individually and collectively as part 136: of the California Virtual University, are rapidly developing their capacity 137: to deliver educational programs to offsite students through technology. Little 138: attention is being given to ensure that these distance learning programs are 139: accessible to students with disabilities, especially students with visual 140: impairments."</p> 141: </blockquote> 142: <p>He further added:</p> 143: <blockquote> 144: <p>"The need for guidelines regarding distance learning has been recognized 145: by several different entities in the California Community College system, 146: including the Academic Senate which in Fall 1997, adopted "Guidelines 147: for Good Practice: Technology Mediated Instruction." It is OCRs understanding 148: that four regional distance learning centers to assist in development of program 149: and course materials will be set-up in 1998-99. The concept of accessibility 150: should be firmly integrated into such development."</p> 151: </blockquote> 152: <p>In responding to the Regional Director’s suggestions regarding development 153: of system-wide access guidelines for distance learning and campus Web pages, 154: in a letter dated March 13, 1998, Chancellor Nussbaum replied: </p> 155: <blockquote> 156: <p>"We concur with the strategies related to this issue. I will immediately 157: direct that the Chancellor’s Office Task Forces related to distance learning 158: as well as California Virtual University have persons on them to specifically 159: address access issues for persons with disabilities…To assure that the 160: necessary guidance to colleges is available, I will specifically ask Vice 161: Chancellor of Educational Services and Economic Development, Rita Cepeda, 162: whose staff oversees the distance learning issues, to develop in cooperation 163: with the DSP&S Unit and the High Tech Center Training Unit (HTCTU), guidelines 164: for distance learning to assure it is accessible to and usable by persons 165: with disabilities."</p> 166: </blockquote> 167: <p>The guidelines which follow are the result of Chancellor Nussbaum’s directive.</p> 168: <hr> 169: <h2>Legal Requirements </h2> 170: <p>Both state and federal law require community colleges to operate all programs 171: and activities in a manner which is accessible to students with disabilities. 172: Accordingly, as the system develops its capacity for creation of technology 173: based instructional resources and the delivery of distance learning; it must 174: proceed with the needs of all students in mind, including the unique needs of 175: students with disabilities. </p> 176: <p>At the federal level, requirements for access for persons with disabilities 177: were first imposed on recipients of federal funding by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 178: Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794) and its accompanying regulations set 179: forth at 34 C.F.R. 104. Similar requirements were later imposed on all public 180: entities, regardless of whether or not they receive federal funding, by the 181: Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12100 et seq) and the regulations 182: implementing Title II of the ADA which appear at 28 C.F.R. 35. </p> 183: <p>In particular, the Section 504 regulations and the regulations implementing 184: Title II of the ADA contain nearly identical provisions stating that recipients 185: of federal funds and public entities in providing any aid, benefit or service, 186: may not afford a qualified individual with a disability an opportunity to participate 187: that is not as effective as that provided to others. (See 34 C.F.R. 104.4 (b)(1) 188: (iii) and 28 C.F.R. 35.130(b) (1) (iii)). Title II recognizes the special importance 189: of communication, which includes access to information, in its implementing 190: regulation at 28 C.F.R. 35.160 (a). The regulation requires that a public entity, 191: such as a community college, take appropriate steps to ensure that communications 192: with persons with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. 193: </p> 194: <p>The United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is 195: responsible for ensuring that all educational institutions comply with the requirements 196: of all federal civil rights laws, including Section 504 and Title II of the 197: ADA. As a result, the opinions of OCR are generally accorded considerable weight 198: by the courts in interpreting the requirements of these laws. OCR has had occasion 199: to issue several opinions applying the requirements of the Section 504 and ADA 200: <br> 201: regulations to situations involving access to distance education and/or computer-based 202: instruction. In responding to a complaint by a student with a disability alleging 203: that a university had not provided access to the Internet, OCR noted that:</p> 204: <blockquote> 205: <p>[T]he issue is not whether the student with the disability is merely provided 206: access, but the issue is rather the extent to which the communication is actually 207: as effective as that provided to others. Title II [of the Americans with Disabilities 208: Act of 1990] also strongly affirms the important role that computer technology 209: is expected to play as an auxiliary aid by which communication is made effective 210: for persons with disabilities. (OCR Docket No. 09-95-2206, January 25, 1996)</p> 211: </blockquote> 212: <p>Adding additional clarity to the meaning of "effective communication," 213: OCR has held that the three basic components of effective communication are: 214: "timeliness of delivery, accuracy of the translation, and provision in 215: a manner and medium appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities 216: of the individual with the disability." </p> 217: <p>(OCR Docket No. 09-97-2145, January 9, 1998)</p> 218: <p>OCR also points out that the courts have held that a public entity violates 219: its obligations under the ADA when it only responds on an ad-hoc basis to individual 220: requests for accommodation. There is an affirmative duty to develop a comprehensive 221: policy in advance of any request for auxiliary aids or services.</p> 222: <p>Finally, in considering the magnitude and responsibility of this task, OCR 223: states:</p> 224: <blockquote> 225: <p>[T]he magnitude of the task public entities now face in developing systems 226: for becoming accessible to individuals with disabilities, especially with 227: respect to making printed materials accessible to persons with visual impairments, 228: is comparable to the task previously undertaken in developing a process by 229: which buildings were to be brought up to specific architectural standards 230: for access. Buildings in existence at the time the new architectural standards 231: were promulgated are governed by "program access" standards. However, 232: buildings erected after the enactment of the new architectural standards are 233: strictly held to the new standards on the premise that the builder is onnotice 234: that such standards apply. One who builds in disregard of those standards 235: is ordinarily liable for the subsequent high cost of retrofitting. </p> 236: <p>Similarly, from the date of the enactment of Title II onwards, when making 237: purchases and when designing its resources, a public entity is expected to 238: take into account its legal obligation to provide communication to persons 239: with disabilities that is "as effective as" communication provided 240: to non-disabled persons. At a minimum, a public entity has a duty to solve 241: barriers to information access that the public entity’s purchasing choices 242: create, particularly with regard to materials that with minimal thought and 243: cost may be acquired in a manner facilitating provision in alternative formats. 244: When a public institution selects software programs and/or hardware equipment 245: that are not adaptable for access by persons with disabilities, the subsequent 246: substantial expense of providing access is not generally regarded as an undue 247: burden when such cost could have been significantly reduced by considering 248: the issue of accessibility at the time of the initial selection. (OCR Docket 249: No. 09-97-2002, April 7, 1997)</p> 250: </blockquote> 251: <p>There are also state laws and regulations which require community colleges 252: to make their distance education offerings accessible to students with disabilities.</p> 253: <p>Government Code Section 11135 et seq. prohibits discrimination on various grounds, 254: including mental or physical disability, by entities receiving funding from 255: the State of California. The Board of Governors has adopted regulations at Title 256: 5, California Code of Regulations, Section 59300 et seq. to implement these 257: requirements with respect to funds received by community college districts from 258: the Board of Governors or Chancellor’s Office. These regulations require 259: community college districts and the Chancellor’s Office to investigate 260: and attempt to resolve discrimination complaints filed by students or employees.</p> 261: <p>In addition, the Board of Governors has adopted Title 5 regulations setting 262: forth the general requirements applicable to all independent study (Sections 263: 55300 et seq.) and those requirements specific to distance education courses 264: (Sections 5370 et seq.). Section 55370 expressly states that the requirements 265: of the Americans with Disabilities Act are applicable to distance education 266: courses. </p> 267: <p>The remainder of this document sets forth guidelines developed by the Chancellor’s 268: Office to address specific issues community college districts will face in meeting 269: their legal obligation to make distance education courses accessible to students 270: with disabilities. These guidelines are not legally binding on districts, but 271: the Chancellor’s Office will apply these guidelines in determining whether 272: a district has met its obligations under Title 5, Section 55370 and 59300 et 273: seq. Districts which follow these guidelines will generally be regarded as having 274: met those obligations. Districts which do not follow these guidelines will bear 275: the burden of demonstrating that they have achieved compliance with their legal 276: obligation to provide access to distance education for students with disabilities 277: by other means.</p> 278: <hr> 279: <h2>Basic Requirements for Providing Access</h2> 280: <p>The following are general principles that should be followed in ensuring that 281: distance education courses are accessible to students with disabilities. They 282: represent the general concepts of the ADA and its regulations but do not provide 283: a detailed legal analysis of the ADA requirements. Persons utilizing this document 284: who are unfamiliar with the ADA may wish to consult the campus ADA Coordinator 285: or DSP&S Coordinator for further interpretation. In the remainder of this 286: document, specific guidelines will be provided for resolving access issues with 287: respect to particular delivery modes commonly used in distance education. </p> 288: <p>1. One of the primary concepts of distance education is to offer students "Learning 289: anytime, anywhere." Therefore, all distance education resources must be 290: designed to afford students with disabilities maximum opportunity to access 291: distance education resources "anytime, anywhere" without the need 292: for outside assistance (i.e. sign language interpreters, aides, etc.). </p> 293: <p>2. Distance education resources must be designed to provide "built-in" 294: accommodation where possible (i.e. closed captioning, descriptive narration) 295: and/or interface design/content layout which is accessible to "industry 296: standard" assistive computer technology in common use by persons with disabilities. 297: </p> 298: <p>3. Whenever possible, information should be provided in the alternative format 299: preferred by the student (i.e. sign language interpreter, closed captioning, 300: descriptive narration, Braille, audio tape, large print, electronic text). When 301: choosing between possible alternative formats or methods of delivery, consideration 302: should be given to the fact that methods which are adequate for short, simple 303: or less important communications may not be equally effective or appropriate 304: for longer, more complex, or more critical material (Example: Use of a telephone 305: relay service may be an acceptable method for a faculty member to respond to 306: a brief question from a deaf student during his/her office hours, but probably 307: would not be appropriate as a means of permitting that same student to participate 308: in a class discussions in a course conducted by teleconference.) Issues concerning 309: accommodation should be resolved through appropriate campus procedures as defined 310: under Title 5, Section 56027.</p> 311: <p>4. Adoption of access solutions which include assigning assistants (i.e. sign 312: language interpreters, readers) to work with an individual student to provide 313: access to distance education resources should only be considered as a last resort 314: when all efforts to enhance the native accessibility of the course material 315: have failed.</p> 316: <p>5. Access to distance education courses, resources and materials include the 317: audio, video and text components of courses or communication delivered via satellite, 318: Instructional Television Fixed Services (ITFS), cable, compressed video, Local 319: Area Network/Wide Area Network (LAN/WAN networks), Internet, telephone or any 320: other form of electronic transmission. Access to resources and materials include 321: the audio, video, multimedia and text components of Web sites, electronic chat 322: rooms, e-mail, instructional software, CDROM, DVD, laser disc, video tape, audio 323: tape, electronic text and print materials. Where access to Web sites not controlled 324: by the college is required or realistically necessary to completion of a course, 325: the college must take steps to ensure that such sites are accessible or provide 326: the same material by another means that is accessible. </p> 327: <p>6. Distance education courses, resources and materials must be designed and 328: delivered in such a way that the level of communication and course taking experience 329: is the same for students with or without disabilities.</p> 330: <p>7. After the adoption date of these guidelines, any distance education courses, 331: resources or materials purchased or leased from a third-party provider or created 332: or substantially modified "in-house" must be accessible to students 333: with disabilities unless doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of the 334: instructional activity or result in undue financial and administrative burdens 335: on the district. </p> 336: <p>8. Colleges are encouraged to review all existing distance education curriculum, 337: materials and resources as quickly as possible and make necessary modifications 338: to ensure access for students with disabilities. At a minimum, the Chancellor’s 339: Office will expect that the curriculum for each distance education course and 340: its associated materials and resources will be reviewed and revised as necessary 341: when the course undergoes curriculum review pursuant to Title 5, Sections 55002 342: and 55378, every six years as part of the accreditation process. In the event 343: that a student with a disability enrolls in an existing distance education course 344: before this review is completed, the college will be responsible for acting 345: in a timely manner to making any requested modifications to the curriculum, 346: materials or resources used in the course, unless doing so would fundamentally 347: alter the nature of the instructional activity or result in undue financial 348: and administrative burdens on the district.</p> 349: <p>9. In the event that a discrimination complaint is filed alleging that a college 350: has selected software and/or hardware that is not accessible for persons with 351: disabilities, the Chancellor’s Office and the U.S. Department of Education 352: , Office for Civil Rights will not generally accept a claim of undue burden 353: based on the subsequent substantial expense of providing access, when such costs 354: could have been significantly reduced by considering the issue of accessibility 355: at the time of initial selection. </p> 356: <p>10. In all cases, even where the college can demonstrate that a requested accommodation 357: would involve a fundamental alteration in the nature of the instructional activity 358: or would impose an undue financial and administrative burden, it must nevertheless 359: provide an alternative accommodation which is equally effective for the student 360: if such an accommodation is available. </p> 361: <p>11. Ensuring that distance education courses, materials and resources are accessible 362: to students with disabilities is a shared college responsibility. All college 363: administrators, faculty and staff who are involved in the use of this instructional 364: mode share this obligation. The Chancellor’s Office will make every effort 365: to provide technical support and training for faculty and staff involved in 366: the creation of accessible distance education courses, resources and materials 367: through: campus representative(s) to the California Virtual University (CVU) 368: Regional Distance Education Center, staff from the local Regional Distance Education 369: Center(s), campus High Tech Center staff and High Tech Center Training Unit 370: staff.</p> 371: <hr> 372: <h2>Access Guidelines for Specific Modes of Distance Education Instructional Delivery</h2> 373: <p><strong>1. Print Media </strong><br> 374: The use of “correspondence” has a long history in distance education 375: and will likely continue as an element of some courses. Print-based materials 376: are easy to handle, modify, distribute and store. Print materials allow students 377: to work at their own pace. <br> 378: </p> 379: <p>Delivery Medium - Print Medium</p> 380: <p>Access Issue </p> 381: <p>Students who are blind or have low vision will be unable to read print material. 382: Some students with severe learning disabilities may also be unable to effectively 383: read print materials.</p> 384: <p>Remedies </p> 385: <p>Provide print material in alternate formats including: Braille, large print, 386: audiotape, digital sound files and e-text. Whenever possible, information should 387: be provided in the alternative format preferred by the student. </p> 388: <p>Analysis:</p> 389: <p>Braille </p> 390: <p>Braille can be produced in a variety of formats designed to accommodate specialized 391: needs such as scientific notation and music scores. For general text production, 392: materials should be provided in Grade 2 Braille. Grade 2 Braille is the format 393: most commonly used by persons who are blind.</p> 394: <p>Braille can be produced “in-house” using readily available Braille 395: translation software and specialized Braille printers or out-sourced to agencies 396: and organizations which produce Braille documents commercially. As of 1999, 397: colleges wishing to produce <br> 398: Braille documents in-house should expect to pay around $5000 for the necessary 399: printer hardware and software. Commercial production costs average about one 400: dollar per Braille page with one single spaced print page equaling approximately 401: two print Braille pages. Production time through commercial providers can vary 402: from days to weeks. </p> 403: <p>In either case, Braille documents should be formatted to preserve critical 404: page layout elements (i.e. columns, tabular data, etc.) and proofed for accuracy. 405: </p> 406: <p>Large Print</p> 407: <p>Large print documents printed from electronic files should be produced using 408: a font size of 14 point (or larger) and sans serif type faces such as Helvetica 409: for visual clarity. Documents should be reformatted as necessary to preserve 410: critical page layout elements. All colors should be set for maximum print contrast. 411: </p> 412: <p>Audio Tape</p> 413: <p>Audio taped materials can be produced in-house if recording studio resources 414: are available or outsourced to commercial providers such as Recordings for the 415: Blind and Dyslexic. For in-house recording, readers should be familiar with 416: the vocabulary of the source material and the taped material proofed for accuracy. 417: These media are typically used by both visually impaired and learning disabled 418: students. </p> 419: <p>Electronic Text</p> 420: <p>Electronic text should be available in multiple operating system formats (i.e. 421: Windows, Macintosh), plain text, and industry standard word processing formats 422: (i.e. Word, WordPerfect, etc.). These media are typically used by both visually 423: impaired and <br> 424: learning disabled students.</p> 425: <p>Resource Material</p> 426: <p>Please see Appendix I for supplemental information about copyright issues, 427: Braille and large print. </p> 428: <p><strong>2. Audio Conferencing </strong></p> 429: <p>Telephones remain the technology of choice for simple phone calls between a 430: teacher and a student as well as for scheduled, multi-point sessions between 431: a teacher and students at many locations. Telephones are also used in “one-way 432: video, two-way audio” teleconferencing/instructional delivery systems often 433: used by community colleges for microwave delivery of courses to surrounding 434: community sites. The telephone system is ubiquitous, reliable, easy to use and 435: of sufficient quality for delivery of voice content.</p> 436: <p>Delivery Medium - Audio Conferencing</p> 437: <p>Access Issue </p> 438: <p>Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing will not be able to hear conversations. 439: Students with speech impediments will not be able to respond to conversations.</p> 440: <p>Remedies </p> 441: <p>Provide a text telephones (TTY) link in the studio or classroom, provide TRS 442: service, provide a dedicated, electronic chat room and real-time transcription 443: of conversations, provide on-site interpreter at the student’s location. 444: </p> 445: <p>Analysis: </p> 446: <p>Text Telephones (TTY), sometimes called a TDD or Telecommunication Devices 447: for the Deaf, are widely used by people who are deaf or have speech impediments. 448: A TTY is a combination telephone, keyboard and display which allows for direct, 449: point-to-point text based communication between two people. Communication rates 450: are only constrained by typing speed of the two users. TTYs work over ordinary 451: phone lines and require no setup or configuration. TTYs may be used for one-on-one 452: telephone conversations between faculty and student. Faculty can communicate 453: with students who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speechimpaired using the Telecommunications 454: Relay Service (TRS). A TRS special operator types whatever the instructor says 455: and the words appear on the students TTY display. Student responses are typed 456: back to the TRS operator who reads them aloud to the instructor. Toll free TRS 457: services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Use of a TRS may be 458: an acceptable method for a faculty member to respond to a brief question from 459: a deaf student during his/her office hours, but probably would not be appropriate 460: as a means of permitting that same student to participate in a class discussions 461: in a course <br> 462: conducted by teleconference. </p> 463: <p>A variety of commercial and public domain Web-based “chat” software 464: is presently available. Using these tools, the college may create a private 465: chat room where deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech impaired students can read, 466: and type responses to, the content of the conversation as it is input by a “real-time” 467: transcriptionist. The instructor also views the transcribed text and shares 468: with the telephone audience any comments typed by students using the chat room. 469: Chat rooms may be used for one-on-one conversations between faculty and student 470: as well as for multi-point group conversations. In keeping with the basic requirements 471: defined earlier, in the event that all other efforts to make the distance education 472: resource accessible as delivered have failed, as a last resort, colleges may 473: provide an on-site interpreter(s) at the student’s location. </p> 474: <p>Please see Appendix II for supplemental information about TRS, TTY, chat, real-time 475: transcription and interpreter services. </p> 476: <p><strong>3. Video Conferencing/Video Transmission (Live) </strong></p> 477: <p>Video conferencing can include satellite broadcast, TV cable, Instructional 478: Television Fixed Service (ITFS) or compressed video (ISDN). It may include real-time, 479: two-way video and audio or one-way video/two-way audio. Pre recorded video transmission, 480: described in Item 4, generally involves the rebroadcast of a course segment 481: which has been videotaped and includes no real-time interaction between student 482: and instructor. </p> 483: <p>Delivery Medium - Video Conferencing/Video Transmission (Live) </p> 484: <p>Access Issue </p> 485: <p>Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing will not be able to hear conversations. 486: Students who are blind or have low vision will not be able to see instructional 487: materials. </p> 488: <p>Remedies </p> 489: <p>Provide real-time closed or open captioning, an on-screen interpreter or (as 490: a last resort) an interpreter at the student’s location. To facilitate 491: communication from the student, provide a TTY link in the studio or classroom, 492: provide TRS service or provide a <br> 493: dedicated, electronic chat room for real-time conversation exchange. </p> 494: <p>For blind and low vision, provide all print materials in alternative formats 495: and include descriptive video narration as needed. </p> 496: <p>Analysis: </p> 497: <p>On August 7th, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously 498: approved a new law which mandates captioning on virtually all television programming 499: in the United States. Section 305 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is being 500: implemented as a new section (Section 713) of the existing Communications Act. 501: There are a variety of existing technologies which will allow colleges transmitting 502: via satellite Ku or C band, microwave (ITFS) or cable and with moderately sophisticated 503: video editing and broadcast capabilities to add captioning to live broadcasts 504: in real-time in closed or open format. Average cost for these systems is about 505: $10,000. Hourly rates for real-time transcriptionists average $75 to $100/hour. 506: Real-time captioning can also be provided through outsourcing to commercial 507: services. Colleges may also provide access to the audio component of live broadcasts 508: for deaf or hard-of-hearing students by including a sign language interpreter 509: in a small video <br> 510: window superimposed over the main video. To facilitate communication from the 511: student, the college may employ:<br> 512: Text Telephones (TTY), a combination telephone, keyboard and display which allows 513: for direct, point-to-point text based communication between two people. TTYs 514: work over ordinary phone lines and require no set-up or configuration and may 515: be used for one-onone telephone conversations between faculty and student. The 516: faculty would read the student’s response from the TTY to the listening 517: audience. Deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired students can also communicate 518: with the faculty <br> 519: member using the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). Student responses are 520: typed back to the TRS operator who reads them aloud to the instructor. The faculty 521: would share the student’s response with the listening audience. Toll free 522: TRS services <br> 523: are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Use of a TRS may be an acceptable 524: method for a faculty member to respond to a brief question from a deaf student 525: during his/her office hours, but probably would not be appropriate as a means 526: of permitting that same student to participate in a class discussions in a course 527: conducted by teleconference. </p> 528: <p>A variety of commercial available and public domain Web-based “chat” 529: software is presently available. Using these tools, the college may create a 530: private chat room where deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech impaired students can 531: type responses to the content of the video as presented via captioning or on-screen 532: interpreter. The instructor monitors the chat room and shares with the audience 533: any comments typed by students using the chat room. Chat rooms may be used by 534: one or more students simultaneously. Colleges may also provide an on-site interpreter(s) 535: at the student’s location as an alternative to captioning, TTY, TRS or 536: chat rooms. Supplemental course material in print media must also be provided 537: in alternative formats <br> 538: (Braille, large print, audio tape and/or electronic text) to provide access 539: for students who are blind or have low vision. Please see the discussion of 540: Print Media for details. Descriptive narration on the Second Audio Programming 541: (SAP) channel provides a mechanism through which students who are blind or have 542: low vision can receive auditory descriptions of important visual elements of 543: the video presentation. Real time descriptive narration requires the services 544: of a trained narrator and the ability of the college to transmit a SAP channel. 545: As an alternative, colleges should train faculty who teach via real-time broadcast 546: to include descriptions of visual objects which have significant instructional 547: content in their course dialogue. Please see Appendix III for supplemental information 548: about real-time captioning. </p> 549: <p><strong>4. Video Transmission (Pre Recorded) </strong></p> 550: <p>Passive video transmission generally involves the rebroadcast of a course segment 551: which has been videotaped and includes no real-time interaction between student 552: and instructor. </p> 553: <p>Delivery Medium - Video Transmission (Pre Recorded) </p> 554: <p>Access Issue </p> 555: <p>Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing will not be able to hear conversations. 556: Students who are blind or have low vision will not be able to see instructional 557: materials. </p> 558: <p>Remedies </p> 559: <p>Provide closed or open captioning, an on-screen interpreter or (as a last resort) 560: an interpreter at the student’s location. For blind and low vision, provide 561: all print materials in alternative formats. Provide realtime descriptive narration 562: of significant visual elements </p> 563: <p>Analysis: </p> 564: <p>As mentioned in Item 3, on August 7th, 1997, the FCC unanimously approved a 565: new law which mandates captioning on virtually all television programming in 566: the United States. Section 305 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is being 567: implemented as a new section (Section 713) of the existing Communications Act. 568: There are a variety of existing technologies which will allow colleges to provide 569: “off-line” captioning to existing libraries of instructional video 570: and course materials. There are a variety of technologies available for off-line 571: addition of captioning in closed or open format. Average cost for these systems 572: is about $10,000. Costs for keying in of captioning are comparable to clerical 573: word-processing rates. Off-line captioning can also be provided through outsourcing 574: to commercial services for reasonable rates. Colleges may also provide access 575: to the audio component of a video for deaf or hard-ofhearing students by adding 576: a sign language interpreter in a small video window <br> 577: superimposed over the main video as a post-production activity. Supplemental 578: course material in print media must also be provided in alternative formats 579: (Braille, large print, audio tape and/or electronic text) to provide access 580: for students who are blind or have low vision. Please see the discussion of 581: Print Media for details.</p> 582: <p> Descriptive narration on the Second Audio Programming (SAP) channel provides 583: a mechanism through which students who are blind or have low vision can receive 584: auditory descriptions of important visual elements of the video presentation. 585: Post-production <br> 586: descriptive narration requires the services of a trained narrator and the ability 587: of the college to encode a SAP channel on the videotape. Colleges should train 588: faculty who teach via videotaped courses to include descriptions of visual objects 589: which have <br> 590: significant instructional content in their course dialogue. </p> 591: <p>Please see Appendices I for supplemental information about copyright issues, 592: Braille, large print, audiotape and electronic text and III for supplemental 593: information about realtime captioning.</p> 594: <p><strong>5. World Wide Web </strong></p> 595: <p>The Web is rapidly becoming one of the most widely used media for delivery 596: of distance education. The relatively low cost of delivery, ease of resource 597: development and wide availability of student access make it an ideal instructional 598: delivery resource. Although presently constrained by bandwidth considerations, 599: the Web is fully capable of delivering a variety of multimedia and interactive 600: instructional resources including audio, video and real-time chat services. 601: </p> 602: <p>Delivery Medium - World Wide Web </p> 603: <p>Access Issue </p> 604: <p>Students who are blind will be unable to access graphic images, text formatted 605: in complex ways, Java applets and video clips. Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing 606: will not be able to hear the auditory content of the Web site. Some students 607: with severe learning disabilities may be unable to process large amounts of 608: text information without the use of assistive technologies. In addition, documents 609: created using Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) are difficult, if not impossible, 610: to read using screen readers and/or refreshable braille displays. Thus, if materials 611: are provided on a website in PDF format, an alternative version should also 612: be available in plain text or HTML format. Of course, this is only feasible 613: for textual information and would not apply to materials, or portions of materials, 614: that are inherently graphic in nature such as pictures, graphs and maps. </p> 615: <p>Remedies</p> 616: <p>A comprehensive set of guidelines for meeting the Web access needs of persons 617: with disabilities have been developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) 618: (http://www.w3.org/WAI/) as a working group of the World Wide Web Consortium 619: (W3C).</p> 620: <p> Analysis:</p> 621: <p>The intent of these guidelines is to foster the creation of Web sites which 622: provide equal access to information when viewed using typical, industry standard 623: assistive computer technologies in wide use today by students with disabilities. 624: Over the past two years, the international body of the World Wide Web Consortium 625: (W3C) has sponsored the work of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) in developing 626: a set of international access guidelines for the Web. Although the WAI guidelines 627: remain in draft format, they satisfy the access requirements identified under 628: Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In order to resolve compliance 629: issues raised by OCR and to comply with Title II of the ADA, these guidelines 630: have been adopted by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. 631: They apply to use of Web based instructional resources created by the college 632: or other Web-based resources students are required to use for course completion. 633: They will be reviewed/modified as necessitated by future revisions of the WAI 634: guidelines by W3C. </p> 635: <p>The WAI guidelines excerpted below fall into three priority levels: </p> 636: <p>Priority 1 </p> 637: <p>This guideline must be followed by an author, or one or more groups of users 638: will find it impossible to access information in the document. Implementing 639: this guideline is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web 640: documents.</p> 641: <ul> 642: <li>Provide alternative text for images, applets, and image maps. </li> 643: <li>Provide descriptions for important graphics, scripts, or applets if they 644: are not fully described through alternative text or in the document’s 645: content. </li> 646: <li>Provide textual equivalents for audio information (captioning). </li> 647: <li>Provide verbal descriptions of moving visual information in both auditory 648: and text form. </li> 649: <li>Ensure that text and graphics are perceivable and understandable when viewed 650: without color. </li> 651: <li>Ensure that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or pages 652: may be paused or frozen. </li> 653: <li>Ensure that pages using newer HTML features (i.e. style sheets, forms, tables) 654: will transform gracefully into an accessible form.</li> 655: <li>Use features that enable activation of page elements via input devices other 656: than a pointing device (e.g., via keyboard, voice, etc.). </li> 657: <li>For frames, provide sufficient information to determine the purpose of the 658: frames and how they relate to each other. <br> 659: Ensure that tables (not used for layout) have necessary markup to be properlyrestructured 660: or presented by accessible browsers and other user agents. </li> 661: <li>Only use technologies defined in a W3C specification and use them in an 662: accessible manner. Where not possible, provide an accessible alternative page 663: that does. </li> 664: </ul> 665: <p>Priority 2</p> 666: <p>This guideline should be followed by an author, or one or more groups of users 667: will find it difficult to access information in the document. Implementing this 668: guideline will significantly improve access to Web documents. </p> 669: <ul> 670: <li>Indicate structure with structural elements, and control presentation with 671: presentation <br> 672: elements and style sheets. </li> 673: <li>Provide supplemental information needed to pronounce or interpret abbreviated 674: orforeign text.</li> 675: <li>Elements that contain their own user interface should have accessibility 676: built in. </li> 677: <li>Use interim accessibility solutions so that assistive technologies and older 678: browsers will operate correctly. </li> 679: <li>Group controls, selections, and labels into semantic units. </li> 680: <li>Wherever possible, create good link phrases. </li> 681: </ul> 682: <p>Priority 3 </p> 683: <p>This guideline may be followed by an author to make it easier for one or more 684: groups of users to access information in the document. Implementing this guideline 685: will improve access to Web documents. </p> 686: <ul> 687: <li>Provide mechanisms that facilitate navigation within your site. </li> 688: <li>Create a single downloadable file for documents that exist as a series of 689: separate pages. </li> 690: </ul> 691: <p>Complete text of the WAI accessibility guidelines as well as useful tutorials 692: and extensive technical support can be found at: <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/%20">http://www.w3.org/WAI/ 693: </a></p> 694: <p>Additionally, a fully automated Web accessibility evaluation tool called BOBBY 695: is available for use by California community colleges. BOBBY will evaluate a 696: local Website incorporating the current WAI guidelines in its Website accessibility 697: analysis <br> 698: and provide a detailed report of accessibility problems and recommended changes 699: arranged by priority of importance.</p> 700: <p><em>It is required that all California community college instructional Web 701: sites created or substantially modified after adoption of these guidelines be 702: Priority 1 compliant. It is strongly recommended that all California community 703: college instructional Web sites created or substantially modified after adoption 704: of these guidelines be Priority 2 compliant.</em></p> 705: <p>BOBBY can be found at: <a href="http://www.bobby.watchfire.com/">http://www.bobby.watchfire.com/</a> 706: </p> 707: <p>Please see Appendix IV for supplemental information about development of accessible 708: Web pages.</p> 709: <p> <strong>6. Instructional Software, Laser Video Disc, CD ROM, DVD </strong></p> 710: <p>Courses presented through distance education may also include supplemental 711: materials offered in a variety of electronic formats including computer assisted 712: instruction (CAI) software, materials on video disc, CD ROM or DVD. </p> 713: <p>Delivery Medium - CAI software, video disc, CD ROM, DVD </p> 714: <p>Access Issue </p> 715: <p>Students who are blind will be unable to access graphic images, text formatted 716: in complex ways, Java applets and video clips. Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing 717: will not be able to hear the auditory content of these resources. Students with 718: physical <br> 719: disabilities may have difficulty using a touch screen video disc interface. 720: Some students with severe learning disabilities may be unable to process large 721: amounts of text information without the use of assistive technologies. </p> 722: <p>Remedies </p> 723: <p>The Trace Research & Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 724: has designed a comprehensive set of software development guidelines which address 725: these issues. These guidelines should be used in combination with the guidelines 726: for multimedia access developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative. </p> 727: <p>Analysis: </p> 728: <p>The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office gratefully acknowledges 729: the work of Dr. Gregg C. Vanderheiden, Ph.D. and the Trace Research & Development 730: Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the development of the following 731: <br> 732: software accessibility development guidelines which have been excerpted for 733: inclusion.</p> 734: <p><em>In order to comply with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act 735: (ADA), the Chancellor’s Office strongly recommends that California community 736: colleges abide by the guidelines excerpted below when purchasing existing software, 737: contracting for the development of software or developing software in-house.</em></p> 738: <p>Excerpted from the Trace Research & Development Center Accessibility Guidelines</p> 739: <p>There are many people who need to be able to use standard software programs 740: in their jobs, schools or homes but are unable to because of the design of the 741: programs or their interfaces. These people, because of accident, illness, congenital 742: condition or aging have reduced visual, hearing, physical or cognitive/language 743: abilities. The current estimate of people with disabilities is over 40 million 744: people - a sizable portion of our population.</p> 745: <p>Purpose of the guidelines The purpose of these guidelines is to document what 746: application developers can do (or need to do) in order to make their software 747: accessible and usable by people who have disabilities or reduced abilities due 748: to aging. The guidelines document does this by providing information on the 749: problems faced by people with disabilities in using current software and documenting 750: ways in which application software can be made more accessible and usable by 751: them. </p> 752: <p>Basic Components </p> 753: <p>Basically, making application software more accessible consists of three complementary 754: components: </p> 755: <ol> 756: <li>Designing your software so that it is as usable as possible to the greatest 757: number of people - without requiring them to use special adaptive software 758: or hardware. (This is referred to as Direct Accessibility). </li> 759: <li>Designing your software in such a way that it will work with special access 760: features built into the operating system or attached to it by users who require 761: them. (i.e., Compatibility with operating system or third-party access features 762: / software / devices for those people who will not be able to use your software 763: directly.) </li> 764: <li>Making sure that your documentation, training, and customer support systems 765: are accessible. </li> 766: </ol> 767: <p>A brief summary of the guidelines by disability area follows. </p> 768: <p>For people with physical disabilities </p> 769: <p>People with physical disabilities can have a wide range of abilities and limitations. 770: Some people may have complete paralysis below the waist but may have no disability 771: at all with their upper body. Others may have weakness overall. Some may have 772: very limited range of motion, but may have very fine movement control within 773: that range. Others may have little control of any of their limbs, or may have 774: uncontrolled, sporadic movements which accompany their purposeful movements. 775: Some with arthritis may find that hand and other joint movement is both physically 776: limited and limited by pain. A physical disability, by itself, does not usually 777: affect a person’s ability to perceive information displayed on the computer 778: screen. Access is generally dependent on being able to manipulate the interface. 779: Therefore, you can increase the accessibility of your software (both direct 780: and via access features/software and hardware): </p> 781: <ul> 782: <li>by avoiding timed responses (less than 5-8 sec.) or allowing the response 783: time to be changed; </li> 784: <li>by providing keyboard access to all toolbars, menus, and dialog boxes (whose 785: functions are not also in the menu); </li> 786: <li>by not interfering with access features built into the operating system 787: (e.g. StickyKeys, SlowKeys, Key Repeating etc.). </li> 788: </ul> 789: <p>For people who are hard of hearing or deaf </p> 790: <p>Many users with hearing impairments need to have some method for adjusting 791: the volume or for linking sounds more directly to their hearing aids. Both of 792: these are hardware considerations and can be met with systems having volume 793: controls and headphone or audio jacks. Users who have more severe hearing impairments 794: may also use a combination of these techniques, as well as techniques for people 795: who are deaf. Such techniques generally involve the visual display of auditory 796: information. </p> 797: <p>Therefore, you can increase the accessibility of your software to users with 798: hearing impairments: </p> 799: <ul> 800: <li>by providing all auditory information in a visual form as well; </li> 801: <li>by ensuring that all visual cues are noticeable if one is not looking at 802: the screen; </li> 803: <li>by having a mode of operation that will work in noisy environments or if 804: sound is turned off; </li> 805: <li>by using the ShowSounds feature of the operating system of your computer, 806: the user can specify that all sound should be accompanied by a visual event 807: including a caption for any spoken text which is not already presented on 808: screen. In addition, you should make sure that product support people are 809: reachable via Text Telephones (also called TDD’s or Telecommunications 810: Devices for the Deaf). </li> 811: </ul> 812: <p>For people with color blindness </p> 813: <p>You can increase the compatibility of your software with access features/software: 814: </p> 815: <ul> 816: <li>by making color coding redundant with other means of conveying information; 817: </li> 818: <li>by making sure that your program can operate in monochrome mode; </li> 819: <li>by using colors which differ in darkness so that they can be distinguished 820: by this as well as color. </li> 821: </ul> 822: <p>For people with low vision </p> 823: <p>People with low vision may have any one of a number of problems with their 824: vision ranging from poor acuity (blurred or fogged vision) to loss of all central 825: vision (only see with edges of their eyes) to tunnel vision (like looking through 826: a tube or soda straw) to loss of vision in different parts of their visual field, 827: as well as other problems (glare, night blindness, etc.). For people with low 828: vision, a common way to access the information on the screen is to enlarge or 829: otherwise enhance the current area of focus. Given this, you can increase the 830: direct accessibility of your software: </p> 831: <ul> 832: <li>by allowing the user to adjust the fonts, colors and cursors used in your 833: program to make them more visible; </li> 834: <li>by using a high contrast between text and background; </li> 835: <li>by not placing text over a patterned background where the two might interfere 836: with each other; </li> 837: <li>by using a consistent or predictable layout for screens and dialogs within 838: the program; </li> 839: <li>by providing access to tools, etc., via menu bar; </li> 840: <li>by using recommended line width information when drawing lines (if such 841: information is provided by the system). </li> 842: </ul> 843: <p>In addition, you can increase the compatibility of your software with low vision 844: access features/software by using the system pointers wherever possible, as 845: well as the system caret or insertion bar if one is available. If you use your 846: own highlight/focus indicator, drag the system cursor with you even if it is 847: invisible. This makes tracking the focus much easier for screen enlargement 848: or "pan and zoom" features. If the operating system has a High Contrast 849: setting, support it. </p> 850: <p>For people who are blind </p> 851: <p>Many people who are legally blind have some residual vision. This may vary 852: from just an ability to perceive light to an ability to view things that are 853: magnified. The best design is for this group is therefore one that doesn’t 854: assume any vision but allows a person to make use of whatever residual vision 855: they may have. Access by people who are blind is usually accomplished using 856: special screen reading software to access and read the contents of the screen, 857: which is then sent to a voice synthesizer or dynamic Braille display. </p> 858: <p>On computers which use a graphic user interface this is a bit tricky, but there 859: are a number of things that application software developers can do to make it 860: possible for people using screen readers to detect and figure out what is on 861: the screen. These include: </p> 862: <ul> 863: <li>using the system tools wherever you can to; 864: <ol> 865: <li> draw and erase all text on the screen;</li> 866: <li>display all cursors and pointers; </li> 867: </ol> 868: </li> 869: <li>using the system standard controls whenever possible; </li> 870: <li>drawing tools in tool bars, palettes and menus that are separate items (rather 871: than one big graphic of toolbar) as this makes it possible for screen readers 872: to identify the number, location and shape of the individual tools so that 873: they can be identified and named.</li> 874: <li>You can also increase the compatibility of your software with screen readers 875: using the following considerations: <br> 876: if text is embedded in a graphic image, using a special technique to make 877: the text known to screen reading software (see detailed notes); </li> 878: <li>if you use your own highlight or focus techniques, dragging system cursors 879: with you (even if invisible); </li> 880: <li>using consistent or predictable screen and dialog layouts; not using popup 881: help balloons that disappear if the focus changes unless there is a way to 882: lock them in place so that the focus (e.g., cursor) can be moved there to 883: read them; </li> 884: <li>using single column text whenever possible; </li> 885: <li>giving controls logical names, even if the name is not visible on screen 886: (screen readers can access this information and use it to describe the type 887: and function of the control on the screen); </li> 888: <li>providing keyboard access to all tools, menus, and dialog boxes. </li> 889: </ul> 890: <p>Since screen readers can only read text (or give names to separately identifiable 891: icons or tools) it <br> 892: is a good idea to: </p> 893: <ul> 894: <li>avoid unlabeled "hot spots" on pictures as a control scheme (unless 895: redundant with menu selection); </li> 896: <li>avoid non-text menu items when possible or incorporate cues (visible or 897: invisible) (screen readers can ‘see’ text that is written to screen 898: in an invisible color); </li> 899: <li>avoid non-redundant graphic tool bars if possible. </li> 900: </ul> 901: <p>Finally, you can make your documentation and training materials more accessible: 902: </p> 903: <ul> 904: <li>by designing all documentation and on line help so that it can be understood 905: by reading the text only (e.g. information presented in pictures and graphics 906: is also presented with a description in text); </li> 907: <li>by providing synchronized running audio descriptions for all information 908: presented as an animated graphic or movie (descriptive narration). </li> 909: </ul> 910: <p>For people with language or cognitive disabilities </p> 911: <p>This is perhaps one of the most difficult areas to address. Part of the difficulty 912: lies in the tremendous diversity that this category of persons with disabilities 913: represents. It includes individuals with general processing difficulties (developmental 914: disabilities, brain injury, etc.), people with very specific types of deficits 915: (short term memory, inability to remember proper names, etc.), learning disabilities, 916: language delays, and more. In addition, the range of impairment within each 917: of the categories can (like all disabilities) vary from minimal to severe, with 918: all points in between. In general, software that is designed to be very user 919: friendly can facilitate access to people with language or cognitive impairments. 920: </p> 921: <p>Somewhat more specifically, you can increase the accessibility of your software 922: without reducing academic rigor:</p> 923: <ul> 924: <li> by making sure that all messages and alerts stay on screen until they are 925: dismissed;</li> 926: <li>by making language as straightforward as possible, both on screen and in 927: the documentation; </li> 928: <li>by using simple and consistent screen layouts. </li> 929: </ul> 930: <p>In addition, because print disabilities are more common among people with language 931: and cognitive impairments, you can increase the accessibility of your software 932: by ensuring that it is compatible with screen reading software. </p> 933: <p>For people with disabilities in general </p> 934: <p>Finally, you can increase the overall accessibility of your software without 935: reducing academic rigor: </p> 936: <ul> 937: <li>by making sure that your documentation is available in electronic form (that 938: can be accessed by screen reading software) so that it is available to people 939: who cannot handle or read your printed manuals; </li> 940: <li>by making sure that your product support people are aware of disability 941: access issues and are aware that people with disabilities routinely use your 942: products; </li> 943: <li>by having particular product support people identified who specialize in 944: handling any incompatibility associated with the use of your product with 945: disability access products (all support people should be able to handle regular 946: product use questions of people who have disabilities, but it is usually helpful 947: to focus incompatibility problems to a few people who can become more familiar 948: with the issues and work arounds); </li> 949: <li>by forwarding any access or compatibility problems identified by product 950: support people to product designers (and setting lower trigger levels for 951: incidence vs. priority for fixing). </li> 952: </ul> 953: <p>The complete text of these guidelines can be found at: <br> 954: <a href="http://www.trace.wisc.edu/docs/software_guidelines/toc.htm%20">http://www.trace.wisc.edu/docs/software_guidelines/toc.htm 955: </a></p> 956: <p><br> 957: Please see Appendix V for supplemental information about development of accessible 958: software. </p> 959: <hr> 960: <h2>Appendix I </h2> 961: <p>Copyright Issues </p> 962: <p>Copyright Law Amendment, 1996: </p> 963: <p>PL 104-197 </p> 964: <p>December 1996 </p> 965: <p><strong>Background </strong></p> 966: <p>The free national library program of reading materials for visually handicapped 967: adults administered by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically 968: Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, was established by an act of Congress 969: in 1931. The program was expanded in 1952 to include blind children, in 1962 970: to include music materials, and in 1966 to include individuals with physical 971: impairments that prevent the reading of standard print.</p> 972: <p>From the beginning, this program was dependent upon the cooperation of authors 973: and publishers who granted NLS permission to select and reproduce in special 974: formats copyrighted works without royalty. Although many factors influence the 975: length of time it takes to make a print book accessible in a specialized format, 976: the period required to obtain permission from the copyright holder has sometimes 977: been significant. </p> 978: <p>Public Law 104-197 <br> 979: Under the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, H.R. 3754, Congress approved 980: a measure, introduced by Senator John H. Chafee (R-R.I.) on July 29, 1996, that 981: provides for an exemption affecting the NLS program. On September 16, 1996, 982: the bill was signed into law by President Clinton. </p> 983: <p>The Chafee amendment to chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, adds section 984: 121, establishing a limitation on the exclusive rights in copyrighted works. 985: The amendment allows authorized entities to reproduce or distribute copies or 986: phonorecords of previously published nondramatic literary works in specialized 987: formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities. </p> 988: <p>The act making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year 989: ending September 30, 1997, sets forth the Chafee amendment as follows: Be it 990: enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 991: in <br> 992: Congress assembled, that . <br> 993: . . and for other purposes, namely: <br> 994: (a) IN GENERAL—Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 995: adding after <br> 996: section 120 the following new section: "SEC.121. Limitations on exclusive 997: rights: reproduction for blind or other people with <br> 998: disabilities <br> 999: "(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 710, it is not 1000: an infringement of <br> 1001: copyright for an authorized entity to reproduce or to distribute copies or phonorecords 1002: of a <br> 1003: previously published, nondramatic literary work if such copies or phonorecords 1004: are reproduced <br> 1005: or distributed in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other 1006: persons with <br> 1007: disabilities. <br> 1008: "(b) <br> 1009: (1) Copies or phonorecords to which this section applies shall— <br> 1010: "(A) not be reproduced or distributed in a format other than a specialized 1011: format exclusively for <br> 1012: use by blind or other persons with disabilities; <br> 1013: "(B) bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a format 1014: other than a <br> 1015: specialized format is an infringement; and <br> 1016: "(C) include a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and the 1017: date of the original <br> 1018: publication. <br> 1019: "(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to standardized, 1020: secure, or norm-referenced <br> 1021: tests and related testing material, or to computer programs, except the portions 1022: thereof that are in <br> 1023: conventional human language (including descriptions of pictorial works) and 1024: displayed to users <br> 1025: in the ordinary course of using the computer programs. <br> 1026: "(c) For purposes of this section, the term— <br> 1027: "(1) ‘authorized entity’ means a nonprofit organization or a 1028: governmental agency that has a <br> 1029: primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, 1030: or adaptive <br> 1031: reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities; 1032: <br> 1033: "(2) ‘blind or other persons with disabilities’ means individuals 1034: who are eligible or who may <br> 1035: qualify in accordance with the Act entitled ‘An Act to provide books for 1036: the adult blind,’ <br> 1037: approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 35a; 46 Stat. 1487) to receive books and other 1038: publications <br> 1039: produced in specialized formats; and <br> 1040: "(3) ‘specialized formats’ means Braille, audio, or digital text 1041: which is exclusively for use by <br> 1042: blind or other persons with disabilities." <br> 1043: (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT—The table of sections for chapter 1044: <br> 1045: 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating 1046: to section 120 the <br> 1047: following: <br> 1048: "121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other 1049: people with disabilities." Braille <br> 1050: Braille is a system of reading and writing for blind individuals. The basic 1051: unit of Braille is the <br> 1052: Braille cell. It is composed of six dots: the upper left dot is dot 1, the middle 1053: left dot is dot 2, the <br> 1054: lower left dot is dot 3, the upper right dot is dot 4, the middle right dot 1055: is dot 5, and the lower <br> 1056: right dot is dot 6. From these six dots you can get 64 possible combinations. 1057: <br> 1058: dot 1 ** dot 4 <br> 1059: dot 2 ** dot 5 <br> 1060: dot 3 ** dot 6 <br> 1061: There are many more inkprint symbols than the 64 Braille symbols. For example, 1062: most computer systems handle about 96 different inkprint symbols. Braille can 1063: show a wide number of different inkprint symbols by using one or more Braille 1064: cells for each inkprint symbol. Braille only has one set of letters. By itself, 1065: a Braille letter is assumed to be in lower case. To show an uppercase letter, 1066: put the capitalization indicator (dot 6) in front of a Braille letter. To show 1067: an uppercase word, you put two capitalization indicators in front of the word. 1068: The number sign (used to indicate a number) is dots 3-4-5-6. This symbol comes 1069: just before the number. An important thing to realize about Braille is that 1070: you cannot write the dot patterns smaller or <br> 1071: larger. An 11-1/2 by 11 inch piece of Braille paper contains about 900 Braille 1072: cells. The Braille Planets cause Braille volumes to be much bulkier than inkprint. 1073: </p> 1074: <p>To reduce the bulkiness of Braille there is a system of Braille contractions, 1075: or abbreviations. A Braille contraction is a combination of one or more cells 1076: used to shorten the length of a word. For example, to write the word “mother”, 1077: you would use a two-cell contraction rather than spelling out the word “mother”. 1078: Just because a contraction can be used does not mean it should be used. The 1079: word “chemotherapy” contains the sequence “mother”. Some 1080: Braille translation programs are smart enough to know not to use the contraction 1081: for “mother” in “chemotherapy” (most of the Braille rules 1082: are based on pronunciation; you do use the “mother” contraction in 1083: “smother”, since this is pronounced like “mother”). </p> 1084: <p>In Braille, if you have the letter “d” with a space or punctuation 1085: on either side, the “d” stands for the word “do”. To show 1086: you really mean the isolated letter “d”, precede it with a Braille 1087: cell called the letter sign, dots 5-6. This alerts the Braille reader to the 1088: fact that the next letter is to be read as a letter of the alphabet rather than 1089: an abbreviation. Decoding Braille by comparing inkprint and Braille sequences 1090: can be tricky. The words “to”, “into”, and “by” 1091: are jammed up against the next word in Braille. The words “a”, “the”, 1092: “for”, “of”, and, “and” within Braille are single 1093: cells which can be jammed up against each other. For example, “with” 1094: is a single cell with spaces on either side, but “withthe” comes out 1095: as two cells jammed together. Numbers use the number sign followed by the letters 1096: a-j (312 comes out as #cab). One Braille cell means “dis” if it shows 1097: up in the beginning of a word, means “dd” if it shows up in the middle 1098: of a word, and is used for the period punctuation symbol if it shows up <br> 1099: at the end of a word. </p> 1100: <p>There are several grades of Braille. Grade I Braille does not contain any contractions 1101: (abbreviations), but it does represent capitalization, numbers, and punctuation 1102: with the correct Braille symbols. Grade I Braille is used only for specialized 1103: applications where the Braille contractions might be confusing, such as in spelling 1104: lists. Grade II Braille is the most commonly used in North America. It not only 1105: represents capitalization, numbers, and punctuation marks with the proper symbols, 1106: but it uses the various contractions. </p> 1107: <p><strong>Braille Format </strong></p> 1108: <p>Another component of Braille is format. When material is laid out on paper 1109: for the sighted reader, it is done so for visual effect. The reader is attracted 1110: to what is pleasing to the eye. However, in Braille the object is maximization 1111: of space. Due to the bulkiness of Braille volumes, you want to put as much material 1112: as possible on the page, while at the same time maintaining readability. </p> 1113: <p>According to the Library of Congress, which oversees standards and trains Braille 1114: transcribers for Braille production, there are certain criteria for the output 1115: page. A page of Braille contains a maximum of about 40 characters per line and 1116: 25 lines per page. For normal literary format (style sheet LITERARY) the Braille 1117: page number appears at the upper right-hand corner of each page. However, you 1118: may need to change these values according to the specifications of your Brailler. 1119: Because of the physical (rather than visual) nature of Braille, format standards 1120: are especially important. Small differences in where text is placed on the page 1121: can tell the Braille reader a lot about what they are reading. In any Braille 1122: format, with or without a Braille translation <br> 1123: program, certain elements are especially crucial components of page layout. 1124: These include treatment of indent and runover, Braille page numbers, inkprint 1125: page indicators, and running heads.</p> 1126: <p><br> 1127: One of the major differences between Braille and print format pertains to paragraphs. 1128: Rather than having an indent of five spaces, Braille paragraphs have a two cell 1129: indent. The first character of the paragraph begins in cell three. There are 1130: no blank lines between paragraphs. Except in special circumstances, you do not 1131: put two or more spaces in a row in Braille. Thus <br> 1132: only one space is used between sentences. </p> 1133: <p>When material is underlined or emphasized in print, there are different ways 1134: of indicating it. In Braille there are italics marks which indicate something 1135: is being emphasized. A special symbol of dots 4-6 is placed before each word 1136: to be emphasized if there are three or fewer words in a row. If four or more 1137: words are emphasized, a double italics sign (dots 4-6, dots 4-6) is placed before 1138: the first word. A single italics sign (dots 4-6) is placed in front of the last 1139: emphasized word. Please note that you do not show all uses of inkprint emphasis 1140: in Braille. Emphasis is only used in headings when it is necessary to preserve 1141: the distinctions shown in inkprint. Indent and Runover Instructions for Braille 1142: transcribing often say indent to cell #. The farthest left position in which 1143: a cell may appear is cell 1. The farthest right position ranges from cell 30 1144: to cell 40, depending on the carriage width of your Brailler. The placement 1145: of the first cell in a paragraph is called the indent. When transcribing instructions 1146: say, Indent to cell 3, put the first cell of that segment in cell 3, regardless 1147: of where the preceding line began. The position at which all subsequent lines 1148: of the same segment begin is the runover. When instructions say, Runover to 1149: cell 1, begin all subsequent lines of that segment in cell 1. If instructions 1150: say, Indent to cell 7, runover to cell 5, begin the first line of that segment 1151: of text in cell 7, and all subsequent lines in cell 5. </p> 1152: <p>Sometimes, the indent is a smaller number than the runover, as in, Indent to 1153: cell 1, runover to cell 5. In print, this is called outdenting, or a hanging 1154: indent. In Braille, the position of the first cell of a segment of text is always 1155: called the indent, regardless of whether it is to the left or the right of the 1156: remaining text. </p> 1157: <p>Another common Braille instruction is block, as in, Block to cell 5. This simply 1158: means that the indent and the runover are equal to each other. It is the same 1159: as saying, Indent to cell 5, runover to cell 5. </p> 1160: <p><strong>Headings</strong></p> 1161: <p>There are three kinds of headings in Braille: major headings, minor headings, 1162: and paragraph headings. A major heading is centered, with a blank line before 1163: the heading, and a blank line after it. Some Braille groups do not put a blank 1164: line after a major heading. Technically, this is a violation of the rules for 1165: Braille. </p> 1166: <p>A minor heading is blocked to cell five. This means that the heading starts 1167: on the fifth cell of the line. Any runover also starts on the fifth cell of 1168: the line. Usually, there is a skipped line before a minor heading, but not after 1169: a minor heading. A paragraph heading is a line or phrase in italics (or some 1170: other emphasis) that labels a paragraph and is immediately followed by text 1171: on the same line. If this is done in inkprint, do the same in Braille, using 1172: italics. </p> 1173: <p>Braille rules require that there be at least one line of body text after a 1174: heading or headings on the same page. If there is not enough room on the page 1175: for the heading(s) and a line of body text, then the heading(s) need to be postponed 1176: to the top of the next Braille page. Before you start a Braille project, you 1177: need to structure the document. You need to analyze how many levels of headings 1178: there are. You need to decide which of these should be done as a major heading, 1179: and which should be done as a minor heading. </p> 1180: <p><strong>Braille Page Numbers </strong></p> 1181: <p>As in print, each physical page in a Braille volume is given a sequential page 1182: number. This Braille page number merely orders the pages in the book. It does 1183: not provide the reader with any information about the pagination of the inkprint 1184: original. The Braille page numbers appear in different spots in different formats. 1185: </p> 1186: <p><strong>Print Page Indicators </strong></p> 1187: <p>Many Braille formats consider the Braille reader’s need to know where 1188: each inkprint page begins. When required, inkprint page indicators appear in 1189: addition to the sequential Braille page numbers. Textbooks are one instance 1190: where this information is essential. With it, the Braille reader can follow 1191: class discussion, locate homework assignments, and generally keep up with the 1192: <br> 1193: users of the inkprint original. A single print page usually occupies several 1194: Braille pages. For example, if inkprint page 87 is <br> 1195: found on three Braille pages, then these are marked with inkprint page indicators 1196: 87, a87, and b87. </p> 1197: <p>Inkprint page indicators are also extremely useful when transcribing anything 1198: that has a table of contents or an index. When inkprint page indicators are 1199: not included on the Braille page, indexes and such must be completely rewritten 1200: to refer to the Braille page numbers. When inkprint page indicators are included, 1201: then page numbers may be transcribed exactly as they <br> 1202: appear in print.</p> 1203: <p><strong>Running Heads </strong></p> 1204: <p>Many Braille formats require that the title of the work being transcribed appear 1205: on the first line of every page, with an appropriate page number. When the title 1206: is too long to fit on one line, it is abbreviated. The running head never uses 1207: more than one line. </p> 1208: <p><strong>Literary vs. Textbook Format </strong></p> 1209: <p>Whenever you begin a new transcribing project, with or without a Braille translation 1210: program, there is some planning to do before you start data entry. There are 1211: a number of things to look for in the first scan through the book: Check to 1212: see if there are a large number of foreign words, a table of contents or index, 1213: and graphs or pictures in the book. One of the first things you must decide 1214: is whether to use textbook or literary format. Sometimes, the agency that assigns 1215: the transcribing job makes this decision for you. Here are some guidelines for 1216: when you have to decide yourself. Textbook format uses inkprint page indicators; 1217: <br> 1218: literary format does not. When there is any possibility that the Braille reader 1219: needs inkprint page indicators, use textbook format. Both formats may be used 1220: with or without running heads.</p> 1221: <p>Textbook and literary formats are also different from each other in the way 1222: they handle preliminary pages, indexes, and certain special cases such as tables 1223: and graphs. In general, literary format allows the transcriber a certain amount 1224: of latitude. The overriding concern of textbook format is to represent things 1225: in Braille EXACTLY as they appear in print. Anything added or omitted in the 1226: transcribing process must be explained in a transcriber’s note. </p> 1227: <p><strong>Literary Format </strong></p> 1228: <p>In literary format without a running head, text appears on every line of the 1229: Braille page. The Braille page number appears in the rightmost cells of the 1230: first line, with at least three blank cells before the number. Text on the first 1231: line must break to allow room for this. Literary format with a running head 1232: has text on lines 2 through 25. Line 1 begins with at least three blank cells, 1233: followed by the running head, at least three more blank cells, and the Braille 1234: page number. </p> 1235: <p><strong>Textbook Format </strong></p> 1236: <p>The major difference between textbook and literary formats in the main body 1237: of text is inkprint page indicators. Textbook format has them; literary format 1238: doesn’t. For textbook format with no running head, text appears on every 1239: line. On line 1, the inkprint page indicator appears in the rightmost cells 1240: with at least three blank cells before it. The Braille page number appears in 1241: the <br> 1242: rightmost cells of the last line on the page. Again, at least three blank cells 1243: are placed before the Braille page number. </p> 1244: <p>Textbook format with a running head has text on lines 2 through 25. Line 1 1245: begins with at least three blank cells, followed by the running head, at least 1246: three more blank cells, and the inkprint page indicator. Line 25 breaks the 1247: text to allow room for three blank cells and the Braille page number at the 1248: end of the line. </p> 1249: <p>The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office gratefully acknowledges 1250: the work of Braille Planet in creating this excellent overview of Braille. </p> 1251: <p><strong>Braille Production Facilities </strong></p> 1252: <p>Dozens of commercial Braille production companies are available to colleges 1253: wishing to outsource. The majority of these resources have Web addresses and 1254: accept electronic submission of materials to be Brailled. Prices, production 1255: times and quality vary. Three of the largest are: </p> 1256: <p>National Braille Press<br> 1257: 88 St. Stephen Street <br> 1258: Boston, MA 02115 <br> 1259: Phone: (617) 266-6160 <br> 1260: Toll-free: (800) 548-7323 <br> 1261: Fax: (617) 437-0456 <br> 1262: <a href="http://www.nbp.org/%20">http://www.nbp.org/ </a></p> 1263: <p>The American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. <br> 1264: 1839 Frankfort Avenue <br> 1265: Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6085 <br> 1266: Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085 <br> 1267: U.S.A. <br> 1268: Phone: 502-895-2405 <br> 1269: Toll Free Customer Service: 800-223-1839 (U.S. and Canada) <br> 1270: Fax: 502-899-2274 <br> 1271: <a href="http://www.aph.org/contact.htm">http://www.aph.org/contact.htm</a></p> 1272: <p>Braille Institute <br> 1273: 741 N. Vermont Avenue <br> 1274: Los Angeles, CA 90029 <br> 1275: (323) 663-1111 <br> 1276: FAX: (323) 663-0867 <br> 1277: <a href="http://www.brailleinstitute.org/Press.html">http://www.brailleinstitute.org/Press.html</a></p> 1278: <p><strong>Other Braille Transcriber Services</strong></p> 1279: <p>Braille Transcribers<br> 1280: <a href="http://www.spedex.com/directories/braille.htm%20">http://www.spedex.com/directories/braille.htm 1281: </a></p> 1282: <p>Braille Jymico Inc.<br> 1283: <a href="http://www.braillejymico.qc.ca/products.htm">http://www.braillejymico.qc.ca/products.htm</a></p> 1284: <p>NMSU List of Braille Transcription Resources<br> 1285: <a href="http://www.nmsu.edu/Resources_References/access/public_html/trans.html">http://www.nmsu.edu/Resources_References/access/public_html/trans.html</a></p> 1286: <p>Quik-Scrybe <br> 1287: <a href="http://www.quikscrybe.com/">http://www.quikscrybe.com/</a></p> 1288: <p>BRAILLE INSTITUTE EDUCATION AND AWARENESS</p> 1289: <p>A Guide To Large Print For People With Low Vision </p> 1290: <p>Many people with visual impairments beyond those correctable by prescription 1291: lenses still read, often with the assistance of special aids such as lighting 1292: or magnification devices. People with reduced sight often find that conventional 1293: print appears blurred, <br> 1294: dim and very difficult, if not impossible, to read. Central damage to the retina, 1295: for example, prevents some people from seeing small print clearly and reduces 1296: their ability to move their eyes in the ways needed for reading. Text can be 1297: made more legible for <br> 1298: some of these readers through the use of large print. There are many factors 1299: to consider when producing large-print material, and it is important to note 1300: that the variety of visual impairment and subsequent impact on the ability to 1301: read is extensive.</p> 1302: <p>CONTRAST: Text should be printed with the highest possible contrast. Use of 1303: boldface type generally provides greater legibility, as the letters are darker 1304: and thicker. Black or dark blue inks are preferable to lighter colors. Color 1305: backgrounds generally should be avoided, although some studies suggest that 1306: black ink on a bright yellow background is easy to read. Buff, cream or light 1307: yellow backgrounds usually are acceptable, but not dark or bright color backgrounds. 1308: Some visually impaired people are unable to distinguish type at all with black 1309: ink on a dark red background. </p> 1310: <p>REVERSE type—"white" type on a dark background-improves readability 1311: for some. Reverse type often is an available option with some computers and 1312: special closedcircuit cameras used for reading, and might be good for some signs 1313: or other items with <br> 1314: limited text. Backgrounds should be solid. </p> 1315: <p>SIZE: Type often is measured in points and should be as large as practical. 1316: Text should be 14 points or larger, preferably 18 points. Headlines should be 1317: at least 24 points, larger if possible. </p> 1318: <p>LEADING: The spacing between lines of text, called leading, should be greater 1319: than that traditionally used in regular text. Many people with Iow vision have 1320: difficulty finding the beginning of the next line when reading if the lines 1321: of type are too close together. A ratio of 150 percent (12-point type receives 1322: 18-point leading) is a good guideline for text. </p> 1323: <p>STYLE: An ordinary typeface, such as this one (Helvetica), a sans-serif font 1324: (one without the fine lines projecting from the main strokes of letters found 1325: on some fonts, such as Palatino or Times, usually is the best choice for large 1326: print. Other styles of type <br> 1327: frequently used in regular print are not easily read by people with Iow vision. 1328: These include ALL CAPS, SMALL CAPS, italics and ornate, decorative fonts like 1329: this. Text should be in Upper and Lower Case, with wider spacing between lines, 1330: for <br> 1331: maximum readability. </p> 1332: <p>LETTER SPACING: The spacing (track) between individual letters on each line 1333: should be wider than usual whenever possible. Text with close letter spacing 1334: is particularly difficult for partially sighted readers who have central visual 1335: field defects. MARGINS: Extra-wide binding margins are very helpful in large-print 1336: books and other bound material because they make the volumes easier to hold 1337: flat. Many visual aids, such as stand and video magnifiers, are easier to use 1338: on a flat surface. </p> 1339: <p>PAPER: Paper with a glossy finish can interfere with legibility because it 1340: tends to catch and reflect the glare of lights in a room. Glare is a common 1341: problem for many readers who are partially sighted. Print on paper with a matte 1342: (dull) finish whenever possible. Those wishing to use recycled paper will find 1343: a good selection of paper stock. Ink type—petroleum-based versus soy-based—is 1344: not a factor. </p> 1345: <p>ALIGNMENT of text, hyphenation of words and other factors can slow a reader 1346: who is visually impaired and are worth considering when producing materials 1347: for this audience. Text created "flush left" is easiest to read. Paragraphs 1348: indented too far (.125 inches is a suggested maximum) might be replaced by paragraphs 1349: with extra space between them. Text that is centered is harder to follow because 1350: the reader must search for the start of each line. Text created "flush 1351: right" also is a potential problem. <br> 1352: Text that is "justified" appears to create no special problems, although 1353: many computer programs typically compact some type when this alignment is used, 1354: which can reduce the readability. Justified type also uses a lot of hyphenation, 1355: which can slow the reading process for someone who is visually impaired to a 1356: greater degree than it does for sighted readers. When producing large-print 1357: materials for people with reduced sight, keep the above principles in mind and 1358: your readers will be able to make full use of their remaining vision. </p> 1359: <p>Los Angeles Sight Center (213) 663-1111•Desert Center (760) 321-1111 </p> 1360: <p>San Diego Center (619) 452-1111•Santa Barbara Center (805) 682-6222 </p> 1361: <p>Orange County Center (714) 821-5000•Youth Center (213) 851-5695 </p> 1362: <p><a href="www.%20brailleinstitute.org">www. brailleinstitute.org</a></p> 1363: <hr> 1364: <h2>Appendix II </h2> 1365: <p>Telephone Relay Services </p> 1366: <p>Telephone Relay Services (TRS) link people using a standard (voice) telephone 1367: with people using a device called either a Text Telephone (TTY) or Telecommunications 1368: Device for the Deaf (TDD). This device generally consists of a keyboard and 1369: display screen. Calls are routed through a communications operator who has both 1370: sets of equipment and who acts as the intermediary between callers. Such services 1371: eliminate communications barriers between people with and without hearing/speech 1372: impairments, and between the different telephone equipment they typically use. 1373: Tip: Relay service calls take longer due to the communications operator’s 1374: "translation" to/from voice and text. It helps to organize your thoughts 1375: and any material you will need, beforehand. </p> 1376: <p><strong>Dialing Instructions: </strong></p> 1377: <p>TTY/TDD Origin </p> 1378: <ol> 1379: <li>Dial the TTY/TDD number of the relay services.</li> 1380: <li>The communications operator will answer by typing his/her personal ID number. 1381: (relay call conventions will be explained if you have not used them before). 1382: </li> 1383: <li>Type the voice number you wish to call. The operator will connect you. </li> 1384: </ol> 1385: <p>Voice Origin </p> 1386: <ol> 1387: <li>Dial the voice number of the relay service. </li> 1388: <li>The communications operator will answer by speaking his/her personal ID 1389: number. (relay call conventions will be explained if you have not used them 1390: before). </li> 1391: <li>Speak the TTY/TDD number you wish to call. The operator will connect you. 1392: </li> 1393: </ol> 1394: <p><strong>Nationwide Long Distance Relay Services </strong></p> 1395: <p><strong>AT&T </strong><br> 1396: 800-855-2880 (TTY/TDD) <br> 1397: 800-855-2881 (Voice) <br> 1398: 800-855-2882 (Computer) <br> 1399: 800-855-2883 (Telebraille) <br> 1400: 800-855-2884 (Spanish-TTY/TDD) <br> 1401: 800-855-2885 (Spanish-Voice) <br> 1402: 800-855-855-2886 (Spanish-Computer) </p> 1403: <p><strong>MCI </strong><br> 1404: 800-688-4889 (TTY/TDD)<br> 1405: 800-947-8642 (Voice) </p> 1406: <p><strong>Sprint </strong><br> 1407: 800-877-8973 (Voice & TTY/TDD)</p> 1408: <h3>Real-Time Transcription</h3> 1409: <p><strong>On-Site Classroom Captioning </strong></p> 1410: <p>Rapidtext is a leading provider of qualified classroom captioning or interpreting. 1411: Transcribers attend class and write the spoken word on a steno machine. This 1412: process instantly creates English text so that one or more hearing impaired 1413: students may not only see what is being said, but non-oral students can utilize 1414: the keyboard to ask questions. These questions are usually read aloud by the 1415: Rapidtext captionist. At the end of the class session, the hearing impaired 1416: students can have a diskette or hard copy of the class notes. This solution 1417: is unparalleled for even the most technical classes and graduate studies. This 1418: meets ADA requirements for the hearing impaired and is extremely effective for 1419: learning disabled and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. </p> 1420: <p><strong>Remote Captioning </strong></p> 1421: <p>The benefits are identical to the Classroom Captioning description except that 1422: the captionist/steno interpreter is located remote to the class setting. The 1423: captionist can be located in another building, another city, or in our office. 1424: The captionist hears what is being said via a telephone line, and sends back 1425: the captions to a computer in the classroom or to the Rapidtext Infosign for 1426: the instant display of the spoken work. This can work very simply by using a 1427: speakerphone in the classroom or a lapel microphone on the teacher. Also, the 1428: class notes are available at the end of the class session. This solution meets 1429: ADA requirements for the hearing impaired and can be very easy to staff for 1430: the erratic class schedule by dealing only with Rapidtext. </p> 1431: <p><strong>Captioning for Public Events, Seminars, Meetings</strong> </p> 1432: <p>Rapidtext can provide either on-site or remote captioning/interpreting for 1433: any event. Captions can be displayed on one or more computer monitors, video 1434: monitors, projection televisions, or Rapidtext Infosigns. Even special interfaces 1435: can be developed for sports arena scoreboards or special display devices. Rapidtext 1436: has captioned events of all sizes, including our president’s speech, and 1437: that was outdoors. Transcripts can be provided of the events or seminars. Ensure 1438: that you meet ADA requirements for your next event. </p> 1439: <p>RapidText <br> 1440: <a href="http://www.rapidtext.com/%20">http://www.rapidtext.com/ </a></p> 1441: <p><strong>Interpreter Services </strong></p> 1442: <p>What is Interpreting? Interpreting, simply stated, is receiving a message in 1443: one language and delivering it in another. Not as simple as it sounds, interpreting 1444: is a complex process that requires a high degree of linguistic, cognitive and 1445: technical skills. Professional sign language interpreters develop interpreting 1446: skills through extensive training and practice over a long period of time. Interpreters 1447: continue to actively improve their skills, knowledge, and professionalism through 1448: membership in RID. An increasing number of interpreters have completed college 1449: or university interpreter education programs, earning associates, bachelors, 1450: and/or masters degrees in interpreting. Some interpreters have also obtained 1451: advanced degrees in related fields such as linguistics or cultural studies. 1452: Sign language interpreting is a highly specialized field; simply knowing both 1453: sign language and <br> 1454: English does not qualify a person as an interpreter. The professional sign language 1455: interpreter is able to adjust to a broad range of deaf consumer preferences 1456: and/or needs for interpretation. Some deaf individuals use American Sign Language, 1457: a natural language with its own grammar and structure that is distinct from 1458: English. Others prefer a form of signing that more closely follows the grammar 1459: and structure of spoken English. The professional interpreter is expected to 1460: work comfortably along this wide spectrum. Sometimes it is necessary to have 1461: two or more interpreters working simultaneously in order to satisfy the preferences 1462: and needs of a varied audience. On occasion, one of the interpreters may be 1463: a deaf individual or a person fluent in a <br> 1464: language other than English or American Sign Language. Interpreters should be 1465: aware of and sensitive to ethnic/cultural and linguistic concerns. </p> 1466: <p><strong>Where professional interpreters work</strong></p> 1467: <p>Interpreters work in a variety of settings and situations. Many interpreters 1468: work in private practice; they are self-employed. From scheduling assignments 1469: to handling billing, the interpreter is responsible for all business aspects. 1470: The private practice interpreter may also receive assignments through interpreter 1471: service agencies. Other interpreters are salaried staff of an agency, institution, 1472: or corporation. Still others interpret in educational settings from preschool 1473: to graduate school and any level in between. Interpreters work in settings as 1474: intimate as a private therapy session or as public as a televised address at 1475: a national political convention. The interpreter must be a versatile, flexible, 1476: skilled professional. </p> 1477: <p><strong>Interpreter Ethics </strong></p> 1478: <p>The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. has set forth the following 1479: principles of ethical behavior to protect and guide interpreters and transliterators 1480: and hearing and deaf consumers. Underlying these principles is the desire to 1481: insure for all the right to communicate. This Code of Ethics applies to all 1482: members of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. and to all certified 1483: non-members. Interpreters/transliterators shall keep all assignment-related 1484: information strictly confidential. Interpreters/transliterators shall render 1485: the message faithfully, always conveying the content and spirit of the speaker 1486: using language most readily understood by the person(s) whom they serve. Interpreters/transliterators 1487: shall not counsel, advise or interject personal opinions. Interpreters/transliterators 1488: shall accept assignments using discretion with regard to skill, setting, <br> 1489: and the consumers involved. Interpreters/transliterators shall request compensation 1490: for services in a professional and judicious manner. </p> 1491: <ul> 1492: <li>Interpreters/transliterators shall function in a manner appropriate to the 1493: situation. </li> 1494: <li>Interpreters/transliterators shall strive to further knowledge and skills 1495: through participation in workshops, professional meetings, interaction with 1496: professional colleagues, and reading of current literature in the field. </li> 1497: <li>Interpreters/transliterators, by virtue of membership or certification by 1498: the RID, Inc., shall strive to maintain high professional standards in compliance 1499: with the Code of Ethics. </li> 1500: </ul> 1501: <p><strong>Interpreting Credentials</strong></p> 1502: <p>In the field of interpreting, as in other professions, appropriate credentials 1503: are an important indicator of an interpreter’s qualifications. The Registry 1504: of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) awards certification to interpreters who 1505: successfully pass national tests. The tests assess not only language knowledge 1506: and communication skills, but also knowledge and judgment on issues of <br> 1507: ethics, culture and professionalism. An interpreter may hold one or more certifications. 1508: </p> 1509: <p>Information on certifications is available from RID. </p> 1510: <p>Some common sign language interpreting certifications are: </p> 1511: <p>CI—Certificate of Interpretation <br> 1512: CT—Certificate of Transliteration <br> 1513: CSC—Comprehensive Skills Certificate <br> 1514: SC:L—Specialist Certificate: Legal <br> 1515: IC—Interpretation Certificate <br> 1516: TC—Transliteration Certificate <br> 1517: CDI—Certified Deaf Interpreter</p> 1518: <hr> 1519: <h2>Appendix III</h2> 1520: <p>Captioning </p> 1521: <p>FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ADOPTS RULES FOR VIDEO CLOSED CAPTIONING 1522: (MM DOCKET 95-176) </p> 1523: <p>The Commission has adopted an order (FCC 97-279) establishing rules to implement 1524: the closed captioning requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The 1525: 1996 Act required the Commission to adopt, by August 8, 1997, rules and implementation 1526: schedules for captioning of video programming ensuring access to video programming 1527: by persons with hearing disabilities. This order implements Section 305 of the 1528: 1996 Act which added a new Section 713, Video Programming Accessibility, to 1529: the Communications Act. These rules will increase the amount of closed captioned 1530: video programming available to the more than 22 million Americans with hearing 1531: disabilities. </p> 1532: <p>Congress generally required that video programming be closed captioned, regardless 1533: of distribution technology, to ensure access to persons with hearing disabilities. 1534: Congress also recognized that in some situations requiring that programming 1535: be closed captioned might prove to be an undue burden on video programming providers 1536: or owners and authorized the Commission to exempt classes of programs or services 1537: for which provision of video programming would be economically burdensome. <br> 1538: Some of the key elements in the order adopted today include: Video programming 1539: distributors will be responsible for compliance with captioning requirements. 1540: This is the most efficient and focused way to ensure compliance. Video programming 1541: distributors include all entities who provide video programming directly to 1542: customers’ homes, regardless of distribution technology used (i.e., broadcasters, 1543: cable operators, MVPDs and other). That new programming (video programming first 1544: published or exhibited on or after January 1, 1998) is made "fully accessible," 1545: as required by Section 713. The rules establish an 8 year transition period 1546: and define full accessibility as the closed captioning of 95% of nonexempt new 1547: programming. Compliance will be measured on a channel-by-channel basis for MVPDs 1548: and will be measured over each calendar quarter. Three benchmarks are established 1549: during the transition period. These benchmarks are based on average amounts 1550: of required captioning of approximately 5 hours per day after 2 years, 10 hours 1551: per day after 4 years and 15 hours per day after 6 years. During this transition 1552: period if these closed captioning requirements exceed the number of hours of 1553: nonexempt new programming on a channel during the calendar quarter, 95% of the 1554: nonexempt new programming on a channel must contain captions. The Commission 1555: will also require video programming providers to continue to provide closed 1556: captioning at a level substantially the same as the average level of captioning 1557: that they provided during the first six months off 1997, even if the amount 1558: of captioned programming exceeds that required under the benchmarks. </p> 1559: <p>That the accessibility of pre-rule programming (video programming first published 1560: or exhibited before January 1, 1998) is "maximized" through the provision 1561: of closed captions, as required by Section 713. With respect to pre-rule programming 1562: that does not meet any of our criteria for exemption, at least 75% of such programming 1563: must contain closed captions at the end of a ten year transition period. Compliance 1564: will be measured on a per-channel, quarterly basis. The Commission expects that 1565: the amount of captioning of such programming will increase incrementally over 1566: the transition period and does not set specific benchmarks for pre-rule programming. 1567: During the transition period the Commission will monitor distributor’s 1568: efforts to increase the amount of captioning to determine whether channels are 1569: progressing toward the 75% requirement. The Commission also will reevaluate 1570: its decision to determine whether specific benchmarks are necessary to increase 1571: captioning and whether the 75% threshold for maximizing the accessibility of 1572: pre-rule programming is the appropriate amount to meet the goals of the statute. 1573: </p> 1574: <p><strong>Exemptions based on economic burden: </strong></p> 1575: <p>The rules exempt from our closed captioning requirements several specific classes 1576: of programming for which such requirements would be economically burdensome. 1577: These include: non-English language programming, primarily textual programming, 1578: programming distributed late at night, interstitial announcements, promotional 1579: programming and public service announcements, certain locally-produced and distributed 1580: programming, non-vocal musical programming, ITFS programming and programming 1581: from new networks. </p> 1582: <p>The rules further exempt any video programming provider from closed captioning 1583: requirements where the provider has annual gross revenues of less than three 1584: million dollars. Advertisements of less than 5 minutes are not included in the 1585: definition of covered programming here. The rules also permit some smaller video 1586: programming providers to caption less than the specified <br> 1587: benchmark amounts of their programming by permitting them to cap their spending 1588: on closed captioning based on their gross revenues. </p> 1589: <p><strong>Exemptions based on existing contracts: </strong></p> 1590: <p>The rules will exempt any programming subject to a contract in effect on February 1591: 8, 1996, for which compliance with the closed captioning requirements would 1592: constitute a breach of contract. </p> 1593: <p><strong>Exemptions based on undue burden: </strong></p> 1594: <p>The Commission will consider petitions for exemption from the closed captioning 1595: rules if the requirements would impose an undue burden based on statutory criteria.</p> 1596: <p><strong>Standards for quality and accuracy: </strong></p> 1597: <p>Video programming distributors will be required to deliver intact the closed 1598: captioning they receive as part of the programming they distribute to viewers, 1599: where the captions do not require reformatting. Video programming distributors 1600: must maintain and monitor their equipment to ensure the technical quality of 1601: the closed captioning they transmit. The Commission will not <br> 1602: adopt standards for the non-technical aspects of quality at this time. </p> 1603: <p><strong>Enforcement process: </strong></p> 1604: <p>The rules will be enforced through a complaint process. Complaints alleging 1605: violation of the closed captioning rules must first be directed in writing to 1606: the video programming distributor responsible for distribution of the programming. 1607: If a video programming distributor fails to respond to a complaint or a dispute 1608: remains following this initial procedure, a complaint may then be filed with 1609: the Commission. </p> 1610: <p>Action by the Commission August 7, 1997, by Order (FCC 97-279). Chairman Hundt, 1611: Commissioners Quello, Ness and Chong, with Chairman Hundt and Commissioner Chong 1612: issuing separate statements. </p> 1613: <h3>Basic Captioning Terms </h3> 1614: <p>If you are unfamiliar with the process of captioning, this glossary can help 1615: you understand the most basic terms: </p> 1616: <p><strong>Off-line captioning: </strong><br> 1617: Captioning that is produced after a video segment has been recorded. A captioner 1618: watches the video recording and creates captions, paying attention to the timing 1619: and screen placement of each caption. The captions are usually then recorded 1620: on videotape with the program picture and sound before the program is broadcast 1621: or distributed. Most captioned programming is produced off-line. </p> 1622: <p><strong>Realtime captioning: </strong><br> 1623: Captions which are simultaneously created and transmitted during a video program 1624: or conference. This type of captioning is most frequently used for live programs, 1625: including news shows and sporting events. A trained stenotypist, acting in much 1626: the same way as a courtroom reporter, enters the spoken content by typing phonetic 1627: codes on a special keyboard that permits high-speed transcription. A computer, 1628: using custom software, then very quickly translates the phonetic codes into 1629: proper words. In order to display the words as quickly as possible after they 1630: are spoken, most realtime captioning is shown in a scrolling style.</p> 1631: <p> <strong>Closed captions: </strong><br> 1632: Captions that appear only when special equipment called a decoder is used. Closed 1633: captioning is typically used for broadcast television and for videocassettes 1634: of movies which are widely distributed. Closed captioning allows caption users 1635: (people who are deaf or hard of hearing) to enjoy the same broadcast and pre-recorded 1636: video materials that other television viewers enjoy. </p> 1637: <p><strong>Open captions: </strong><br> 1638: Captions that are visible without using a decoder. When a video is open captioned, 1639: the captions are permanently part of the picture. Open captions are advised 1640: for any situation where a decoder may be difficult to obtain or operate (for 1641: example, in a hotel, convention center, or museum). For this reason, open captioning 1642: is recommended for training and promotional videos. </p> 1643: <p><strong>Closed caption decoder:</strong><br> 1644: Equipment that decodes the captioning signal and causes captions to appear on 1645: the screen. In the 1980s and early 1990s, closed caption decoders were usually 1646: separate appliances that connected to the television set, VCR, and/or cable 1647: converter box. Since July 1, 1993, all television receivers with screens 13 1648: inches or larger manufactured for sale in the United States must have built-in 1649: closed caption decoders, and the additional appliance will not be needed for 1650: these sets. </p> 1651: <p><strong>Roll-up and Pop-On captions:</strong><br> 1652: These are the two main styles in which captions may appear. Roll-up captions 1653: scroll onto and off the screen in a continuous motion. Pop-on captions do not 1654: scroll; the words display and erase entirely together. Pop-on captions are used 1655: for most off-line captioning. Roll-up captions are used for most realtime captioning. 1656: </p> 1657: <h3>Captioning Service Providers</h3> 1658: <p>These are links to captioning and subtitling service providers. There are no 1659: licensing requirements or tests a captioner must meet in order to call themselves 1660: a captioning service provider. The National Association of the Deaf in cooperation 1661: with the Department of Education operates a Captioned Films/Videos program; 1662: and the NADCFV has a list of vendors evaluated by the NAD and approved by the 1663: U. S. Department of Education for CFV captioning. In order to be listed, a captioning 1664: vendor must submit samples to the NAD for approval. Some of the vendors on the 1665: NAD/DOE list are represented here: </p> 1666: <p>©Captionmax, Inc. <br> 1667: 530 N. 3rd St. <br> 1668: Minneapolis, MN 55401 <br> 1669: <a href="http://www.captionmax.com/%20">http://www.captionmax.com/ </a></p> 1670: <p>Caption Perfect <br> 1671: P.O. Box 12454 <br> 1672: Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2454 <br> 1673: 919-942-0693 (v) <br> 1674: 919-942-0435 (fax) <br> 1675: <a href="http://members.aol.com/captioning/index.html%20">http://members.aol.com/captioning/index.html 1676: </a></p> 1677: <p>Henninger Digital Captioning <br> 1678: 2601-A Wilson Boulevard <br> 1679: Arlington, Virginia 22201 <br> 1680: phone 703-243-3444 <br> 1681: fax 703-243-5697 <br> 1682: <a href="http://www.henninger.com/hcap.html%20">http://www.henninger.com/hcap.html 1683: </a></p> 1684: <p>National Captioning Institute <br> 1685: NCI California Office <br> 1686: 303 North Glenoaks Boulevard, Suite 200 <br> 1687: Burbank, CA 91502 <br> 1688: V/TTY (818) 238-0068 <br> 1689: <a href="http://www.ncicap.org/%20">http://www.ncicap.org/ </a></p> 1690: <p>VITAC <br> 1691: 4450 Lakeside Drive, Suite 250 <br> 1692: Burbank, California 91505 <br> 1693: (888) 528-4822 <br> 1694: (818) 295-2490 <br> 1695: (818) 295-2494 Fax <br> 1696: <a href="http://www.vitac.com/%20">http://www.vitac.com/</a></p> 1697: <hr> 1698: <h2>Appendix IV </h2> 1699: <p>WAI Guidelines for Accessible Web Site Design </p> 1700: <p>(<a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/">http://www.w3.org/WAI/</a>) </p> 1701: <p><strong>A. Transform Gracefully</strong> </p> 1702: <p>Make sure pages transform gracefully across users, techniques, and situations. 1703: To "transform gracefully" means that a page remains usable despite 1704: user, technological, or situational constraints. In order to use the page at 1705: all, some users may need to "turn off" features specified by the author 1706: (font size, color combinations, etc.). For example, a person with low vision 1707: might need to display all text in 36-point font, so any formatting based on 1708: an author- determined font size will fall apart. To create documents that transform 1709: gracefully, authors should: </p> 1710: <p>Ensure that all the information on the page may be perceived entirely visually 1711: and entirely through auditory means, and that all information is also available 1712: in text. </p> 1713: <p>Always separate the content on your site (what you say), and the way you choose 1714: to structure that content (how you organize it), from the way the content and 1715: structure are presented (how you want people to "see" it). </p> 1716: <p>Ensure that pages will be operable on various types of hardware, including 1717: devices without mice, with small, low resolution, or black and white screens, 1718: with only voice or text output, without screens, etc. </p> 1719: <p>Guidelines A.1—A.12 address these issues. </p> 1720: <p>A.1. Provide alternative text for all images, applets, and image maps [Priority 1721: 1] This includes images used as submit buttons, bullets in lists, and all of 1722: the links within an image map as well as invisible images used to layout a page. 1723: Alternative text does not describe the visual appearance of an image, applet, 1724: or image map. Rather, it is used to represent the function that the image, applet, 1725: or image map performs whether it be decorative, informative, or for purposes 1726: of layout. If alternative text is not provided, users who are blind, have low 1727: vision, or any user who cannot or has chosen not to view graphics will not know 1728: the purpose of the visual components on the page. Since "bare" ASCII 1729: art (characters that form images) does not allow alt-text, it must be marked 1730: up especially for this purpose. </p> 1731: <p>Techniques: </p> 1732: <ul> 1733: <li>For all images (IMG) provide alt-text (via the "alt" attribute).[Priority 1734: 1]. Note: This includes images used as image maps, spacers, bullets in lists, 1735: and links. For all applets (APPLET) provide alt-text (via the "alt" 1736: attribute) and content [Priority 1]. </li> 1737: <li>For all image map links (AREA) Provide alt-text (via the "alt" 1738: attribute) [Priority 1]. Also provide redundant links [Priority 2]. </li> 1739: <li>If server-side image maps must be used, provide text links for each hotspot 1740: in the image map [Priority 1]. </li> 1741: <li>For all graphical buttons (INPUT type="image"), 1. Provide alt-text 1742: (via the "alt" attribute) [Priority 1], 2. Do not use an image map 1743: to create a set of buttons in a form. Instead, use separate buttons or images 1744: (accompanied by alt-text) [Priority 2]. </li> 1745: <li>Replace ASCII art with an image and alt-text [Priority 1 or 2 depending 1746: on the importance of the information (e.g., an important chart)]. Note: If 1747: the description of (important) ASCII art is long, provide a description in 1748: addition to alt-text (see A.2). If OBJECT is used to incorporate an image, 1749: applet, or script into a page, use any of the many ways to convey that information 1750: in cases where the OBJECT cannot be perceived (e.g., with "title" 1751: or within the body of the OBJECT element) [Priority 1]. </li> 1752: </ul> 1753: <p>A.2. Provide descriptions for important graphics, scripts, or applets if they 1754: are not fully described through alternative text or in the document’s content 1755: [Priority 1] Otherwise, important information presented graphically (charts, 1756: billboards, diagrams) will not be perceivable to people with blindness, some 1757: people with low vision, and users who have chosen not to view graphics, scripts, 1758: or applets or whose browser does not support scripts or applets. </p> 1759: <p>Techniques: </p> 1760: <ul> 1761: <li>Provide a long description of all graphics that convey important information. 1762: To do so: Use "longdesc" [Priority 1]. Until most browsers support 1763: "longdesc", also use a d-link (or invisible d-link) [Priority 1].</li> 1764: <li> If OBJECT is used to incorporate an image, applet, or script into a page, 1765: and it presents important information, use any of the many ways to provide 1766: a long description of the information in cases where the OBJECT cannot be 1767: perceived (e.g., within the body of the OBJECT element) [Priority 1]. </li> 1768: </ul> 1769: <p>A.3. Provide textual equivalents (captions) for all audio information [Priority 1770: 1] If the audio is associated with a visual presentation (movie or animation), 1771: synchronize the textual equivalents with the visual presentation. Otherwise, 1772: users who are deaf, or hard of hearing, or any user who cannot or has chosen 1773: not to hear sound cannot perceive the information presented <br> 1774: through speech, sound effects, music, etc. </p> 1775: <p>Techniques: </p> 1776: <ul> 1777: <li>For stand-alone audio files provide a textual transcript of all words spoken 1778: or sung as well as all significant sounds [Priority 1]. </li> 1779: <li>For audio associated with video, provide a textual transcript (of dialog 1780: and sounds) synchronized with the video (e.g., captions) [Priority 1]. </li> 1781: <li>Where sounds are played automatically, provide visual notification and transcripts 1782: [Priority 1 or 2 depending on the importance of the sound]. </li> 1783: </ul> 1784: <p>A.4. Provide verbal descriptions of moving visual information in both auditory 1785: and text form (for movies, animations, etc.) [Priority 1] If the visual presentation 1786: is associated with an auditory presentation (e.g., for a movie), synchronize 1787: the audio version of the descriptions with the existing auditory presentation 1788: and collate the text version of the descriptions with the text transcript (captions) 1789: of the primary audio track. Otherwise, if actions, body language, or other visual 1790: cues present information that is not <br> 1791: expressed through auditory means as well (through dialogue, sound effects, etc.), 1792: users who cannot see (or look at) the page will not be able to perceive it. 1793: The collated text version allows access to the information by devices that do 1794: not play movies and by people who are deaf-blind. </p> 1795: <p>Techniques: </p> 1796: <ul> 1797: <li>For short animations such as animated "gifs" images, provide alt-text 1798: (see A.1) and a long description (see A.2) if needed [Priority 1]. For movies, 1799: provide auditory descriptions that are synchronized with the original audio 1800: [Priority 1].</li> 1801: <li> Provide a text version of the auditory description that is collated with 1802: the text transcript (captions) of the primary audio track [Priority 2]. </li> 1803: </ul> 1804: <p>A.5. Ensure that text and graphics are perceivable and understandable when 1805: viewed without color [Priority 1] Otherwise, if color is used to convey information, 1806: users who cannot differentiate between certain colors (and users with devices 1807: that have non-color or non-visual displays) will not receive the information. 1808: When foreground and background colors are too close to the same hue, they may 1809: not provide sufficient contrast when viewed using monochrome displays or by 1810: people with different types of color blindness. </p> 1811: <p>Techniques: </p> 1812: <ul> 1813: <li>Don’t use color to convey information unless the information is also 1814: clear from the markup and/or text [Priority 1]. </li> 1815: <li>Use foreground and background color combinations that provide sufficient 1816: contrast when viewed by someone with color blindness or when viewed on a black 1817: and white screen [Priority 1]. </li> 1818: </ul> 1819: <p>A.6. Indicate structure with structural elements, and control presentation 1820: with presentation elements and style sheets [Priority 2] When structural elements 1821: and attributes are used to create presentation effects, user agents that allow 1822: users to navigate through the structure will be unable to do so properly. Such 1823: practices also make it difficult to render the page on other media and devices. 1824: For instance, don’t use H1 to create large, bold face text unless that 1825: text is actually a top-level heading. </p> 1826: <p>Techniques: </p> 1827: <ul> 1828: <li>Nest headings properly (H1—H6) [Priority 2]. </li> 1829: <li>Encode list structure and list items properly (UL, OL, DL, LI) [Priority 1830: 2]. </li> 1831: <li>Mark up quotations with the Q and BLOCKQUOTE elements. Do not use them for 1832: formatting effects such as indentation [Priority 2]. </li> 1833: <li>Use style sheets to control layout and presentation wherever possible as 1834: soon as a majority of browsers in use support them well (see A.9). Until then, 1835: simple tables (to control layout) and bitmap text with alt-text (for special 1836: text effects) may be used, with alternative pages used as necessary to ensure 1837: that the information on the page is accessible [Priority 2]. </li> 1838: <li>Use relative sizing and positioning (e.g., percent) rather than absolute 1839: (e.g., pixels or point) [Priority 2]. </li> 1840: </ul> 1841: <p>A.7. Ensure that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or pages 1842: may be paused or frozen [Priority 1] This is particularly important for objects 1843: that contain text and does not apply to instant redirection. Some people with 1844: cognitive limitations or visual disabilities are unable to read moving text 1845: quickly enough or at all. Movement can also cause such a distraction that the 1846: rest of the page becomes unreadable for people with cognitive disabilities. 1847: Screen readers are unable to <br> 1848: read moving text. People with physical disabilities might not be able to move 1849: quickly or accurately enough to interact with moving objects. People with photosensitive 1850: epilepsy can have seizures triggered by flickering or flashing in the 4 to 59 1851: flashes per second (Hertz) range with a peak sensitivity at 20 flashes per second. 1852: </p> 1853: <p>Techniques: </p> 1854: <ul> 1855: <li>Movement should be avoided when possible, but if it must be used, provide 1856: a mechanism to allow users to freeze motion or updates in applets and scripts 1857: or use style sheets and scripting to create movement (see also A.10) [Priority 1858: 2]. </li> 1859: <li>For auto-refreshing or timed response pages, provide a second copy of the 1860: page where refresh only happens after a link has been selected (until user 1861: agents provide this ability themselves) [Priority 1]. </li> 1862: <li>Avoid any blinking or updating of the screen that causes flicker [Priority 1863: 1]. </li> 1864: </ul> 1865: <p>A.8. Provide supplemental information needed to pronounce or interpret abbreviated 1866: or foreign text [Priority 2] Unless changes between multiple languages on the 1867: same page are identified, and expansions for abbreviations and acronyms are 1868: provided, they may be indecipherable when spoken or Brailled. </p> 1869: <p>Techniques: </p> 1870: <ul> 1871: <li>Use the "lang" attribute to clearly identify changes in the language 1872: of text [Priority 2].</li> 1873: <li>For abbreviations and acronyms use either ABBR or ACRONYM with the "title" 1874: attribute to specify the expansion [Priority 2]. </li> 1875: </ul> 1876: <p>A.9. Ensure that pages using newer W3C features (technologies) will transform 1877: gracefully into an accessible form if the feature is not supported or is turned 1878: off [Priority 1] Some more recent features that are not completely backwards 1879: compatible include frames, scripts, style sheets, and applets. Each release 1880: of HTML has included new language features. For example, HTML 4.0 added the 1881: ability to attach style sheets to a page and to embed scripts and applets into 1882: a page. Older browsers ignore new features and some users configure their browser 1883: not to make use of new features. These users often see nothing more than a blank 1884: page or an unusable page when new features do not transform gracefully. For 1885: example, if you specify an image as the source of a frame (via the "src" 1886: attribute), then there is no simple way to attach alt text (see A.1) to that 1887: image. </p> 1888: <p>Techniques: </p> 1889: <ul> 1890: <li>Frames: 1891: <ol> 1892: <li>Provide a fallback page for pages that contain frames (e.g., by using 1893: NOFRAME) [Priority 1],</li> 1894: <li>Ensure that the source of each frame is an HTML file [Priority 1]. </li> 1895: </ol> 1896: </li> 1897: <li>For scripts that present critical information or functions, provide an alternative, 1898: equivalent presentation or mechanism (e.g., by using NOSCRIPT) [Priority 1]. 1899: </li> 1900: <li>For pages that use style sheets, ensure that the contents of each page are 1901: ordered and structured so that they read appropriately without the style sheet 1902: [Priority 1]. </li> 1903: <li>Applets: (embedded using OBJECT or APPLET). At a minimum, provide alternative 1904: text for applets (see also A.1.2) [Priority 1] where needed, provide a description 1905: [Priority 1]. </li> 1906: <li>If possible, provide an alternative function or presentation in a format 1907: other than an applet. For example, a canned "mpeg" movie of a physics 1908: simulation (written in Java) or a single frame of the animation <br> 1909: saved as a "gif" image [Priority 2]. </li> 1910: </ul> 1911: <p>A.10. Elements that contain their own user interface should have accessibility 1912: built in [Priority 2] The accessibility of objects with their own interface 1913: is independent of the accessibility of the user agent. Accessibility must therefore 1914: be built into the objects or an alternative must be provided (see A.11.4). </p> 1915: <p>Technique: </p> 1916: <ul> 1917: <li>Where possible make applets directly accessible (see also A.9.4) [Priority 1918: 1 if information or functionality is important, and not presented elsewhere, 1919: otherwise Priority 2]. </li> 1920: </ul> 1921: <p>A.11. Use features that enable activation of page elements via input devices 1922: other than a pointing device (e.g., via keyboard, voice, etc.) [Priority 1] 1923: Someone who is using the page without sight, with voice input, or with a keyboard 1924: (or input device other than a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or Braille display) 1925: will have a difficult time navigating a page if operation requires a pointing 1926: device. If a page is usable via a keyboard, it is more likely that it should 1927: also be operable via speech input, or a command line interface. Access to image 1928: maps is impossible for these users if alternatives are not provided. </p> 1929: <p>Techniques: </p> 1930: <ul> 1931: <li>For image maps, provide alternative text for links (see also A.1) [Priority 1932: 1]. </li> 1933: <li>If possible, ensure that all elements that have their own interface are 1934: keyboard operable (see also A.11) [Priority 2]. </li> 1935: <li>Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects (via 1936: the "tabindex" attribute or through logical page design) [Priority 1937: 3]. </li> 1938: <li>Provide keyboard shortcuts (via the "accesskey" attribute) to 1939: links (including those in client-side image maps), form controls, and groups 1940: of form controls) [Priority 3]. </li> 1941: </ul> 1942: <p>A.12. Use interim accessibility solutions so that assistive technologies and 1943: older browsers will operate correctly [Priority 2] Older browsers are unable 1944: to "Tab" to edit boxes, text areas and lists of consecutive links, 1945: making it difficult to impossible for users to access them. Users not operating 1946: in a graphical environment are disoriented by being transferred to a new window 1947: without warning. </p> 1948: <p>Techniques: </p> 1949: <ul> 1950: <li>Until most users are able to secure newer technologies that address these 1951: issues: Include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas 1952: [Priority 3].</li> 1953: <li> Include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between links 1954: that occur consecutively [Priority 3]. </li> 1955: <li>Do not use pop-up windows, new windows, or change active window unless the 1956: user is aware that this is happening [Priority 2]. </li> 1957: <li>For all form controls with labels, ensure that the label that is either: 1958: immediately following its control on the same line (allowing more than one 1959: control/label per line) [Priority 2] or on the line before the control (with 1960: only one label and one control per line) [Priority 2]. </li> 1961: <li>Until user agents and screen readers are able to handle text presented side-by-side, 1962: all tables that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns require a linear 1963: text alternative (on the current page or some other) [Priority 2]. </li> 1964: </ul> 1965: <p>B. Context and Orientation </p> 1966: <p>Provide context and orientation information for complex pages or elements. 1967: To provide context and orientation information means that additional information 1968: is provided to help users gain an understanding of the "big picture" 1969: presented by a page, table, frame, or form. Oftentimes users are limited to 1970: viewing only a portion of a page, either because they are accessing the page 1971: one word at a time (speech synthesis or Braille display), or one section at 1972: a time (small display, or a magnified display). To create documents that provide 1973: context and orientation information, authors should: </p> 1974: <ul> 1975: <li>Structure and group information. </li> 1976: <li>Clearly label the structure and groups. </li> 1977: </ul> 1978: <p><strong>Guidelines B.1—B.3 address these issues.</strong> </p> 1979: <p>B.1. For frames, provide sufficient information to determine the purpose of 1980: the frames and how they relate to each other [Priority 1] Users with blindness 1981: and low vision often access the screen with "tunnel vision" and are 1982: unable to get an overview understanding of the page. Complex relationships between 1983: frames may also be difficult for people with cognitive disabilities to use. 1984: </p> 1985: <p>Techniques: </p> 1986: <ul> 1987: <li>Provide titles for frames (via the "title" attribute on FRAME) 1988: so that users can keep track of frames by name [Priority 1].</li> 1989: <li>Use "longdesc" (where needed) to associate a more complete description 1990: (than is provided by the title) directly with the frame. Until "longdesc" 1991: is widely supported, also use a d-link or invisible d-link [Priority 2]. </li> 1992: </ul> 1993: <p>B.2. Group controls, selections, and labels into semantic units [Priority 2] 1994: This provides contextual information about the relationship between controls, 1995: which is useful for all users.</p> 1996: <p>Techniques: </p> 1997: <ul> 1998: <li>Group form controls (using the FIELDSET and LEGEND elements) [Priority 2 1999: for radio buttons and checkboxes, Priority 3 for other controls]. </li> 2000: <li>Associate labels to their controls (using LABEL and its "for" 2001: attribute) [Priority 2]. </li> 2002: <li>Create a hierarchy of long lists of choices (with OPTGROUP) [Priority 2]. 2003: </li> 2004: </ul> 2005: <p>B.3. Ensure that tables (not used for layout) have necessary markup to be properly 2006: restructured or presented by accessible browsers and other user agents [Priority 2007: 1] </p> 2008: <p>Many user agents restructure tables to present them. Without appropriate markup, 2009: the tables will not make sense when restructured. Tables also present special 2010: problems to users of screen readers. These guidelines benefit users that are 2011: accessing the table through auditory means (e.g., an Automobile PC which operates 2012: by speech input and output) or viewing only a portion of the page at a time 2013: (e.g., users with blindness or low vision using speech or a Braille display, 2014: or other users of devices with small displays, etc.). </p> 2015: <p>Techniques: </p> 2016: <ul> 2017: <li>Provide summaries for tables (via the "summary" attribute on TABLE) 2018: [Priority 3]. </li> 2019: <li>Identify headers for rows and columns (TD and TH) [Priority 2]. </li> 2020: <li>Where tables have structural divisions beyond those implicit in the rows 2021: and columns, use appropriate markup to identify those divisions (THEAD, TFOOT, 2022: TBODY, COLGROUP, the "axis" and "scope" attributes, etc.) 2023: [Priority 2]. </li> 2024: <li>Provide abbreviations for header labels (via the "abbr" attribute 2025: on TH) [Priority 3]. </li> 2026: </ul> 2027: <p>B.4. Wherever possible, create "good" link phrases [Priority 2] "Good" 2028: link phrases: do not repeat on a page, are meaningful when read out of context, 2029: are terse "Auditory users," people who are blind, have difficulty 2030: seeing, or who are using devices with <br> 2031: small or no displays are unable to scan the page quickly with their eyes and 2032: often use a list of links to get an overview of a page or to quickly find a 2033: link. When links are not descriptive enough, do not make sense when read out 2034: of context, or are not unique, the auditory user must stop to read the text 2035: surrounding each link to identify it. </p> 2036: <p>Wherever possible: </p> 2037: <ul> 2038: <li>If more than one link shares the same textual phrase, all those links should 2039: point to the same resource [Priority 2]. </li> 2040: <li>Avoid phrases that are not meaningful on their own such as "click here" 2041: [Priority 2]. </li> 2042: <li>Avoid creating link phrases that contain full sentences [Priority 2].</li> 2043: </ul> 2044: <hr> 2045: <h2>Appendix V </h2> 2046: <p>Microsoft’s Checklist of Accessibility Design Guidelines</p> 2047: <p>(Reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation) </p> 2048: <p><strong>Basic Principles </strong></p> 2049: <p>You should follow these basic principles when designing an accessible application: 2050: </p> 2051: <p>Flexibility. Provide a flexible, customizable user interface for your application 2052: that can accommodate the user’s needs and preferences. For example, you 2053: should allow the user to choose font sizes, reduce visual complexity, and customize 2054: the arrangement of menus. </p> 2055: <p>Choice of input methods. Support the user’s choice of input methods by 2056: providing keyboard access to all features and by providing access to common 2057: tasks using simple mouse operations. </p> 2058: <p>Choice of output modalities. Support the user’s choice of output methods 2059: through the use of sound and visuals and of visual text and graphics. You should 2060: combine these output methods redundantly or allow the user to choose his or 2061: her preferred output method. </p> 2062: <p>Compatibility with accessibility aids. Use programming techniques and user-interface 2063: elements that are compatible with accessibility aids, such as blind access, 2064: screen magnification, and voice input utilities. </p> 2065: <p>Consistency. Make your application’s behavior consistent with other Windows-based 2066: applications and with system standards. For example, you should support Control 2067: Panel settings for colors and sizes and use standard keyboard behavior. </p> 2068: <p>Keyboard Access. Providing a good keyboard user interface is key to designing 2069: an accessible application. Provide keyboard access to all features. Fully document 2070: your keyboard user interface. When possible, model your keyboard interface on 2071: a familiar application or control. Provide underlined access keys for all menu 2072: items and controls. Use logical keyboard navigation order. If you normally hide 2073: some keyboard user interface elements, display them when the Keyboard Preference 2074: flag is set. Allow the user to select text with the keyboard. Avoid using the 2075: GetAsynchKeyState function. If possible, provide customizable keyboard shortcuts. 2076: </p> 2077: <p>Exposing the Keyboard Focus. Many accessibility aids need to know where the 2078: user is working. Expose the location of the keyboard focus within a window, 2079: either by moving the system caret or by using ActiveAccessibility. </p> 2080: <p>Exposing Screen Elements. Many accessibility aids need to identify or manipulate 2081: the objects on the screen. Allow other software to identify and manipulate all 2082: screen elements that the user interacts with, using Microsoft Active Accessibility 2083: (which is already supported by standard window classes and controls). </p> 2084: <p>Ensure that every object, window, and graphic is properly named. Define correct 2085: text labels for all controls, and give every window a user-friendly caption, 2086: even if the text is not visible on the screen. Support the WM_GETDLGCODE message 2087: in all custom controls that have their own window, to identify your control 2088: type and keyboard interface. Provide an alternative to any owner-drawn menus. 2089: Display text using appropriate read-write edit, read-only edit, status, static, 2090: or HTML controls. Make sure that dialog boxes define the correct tab order. 2091: Uniquely identify every type of window. Expose names or descriptions for all 2092: images and bitmapped text. Give objects labels that are unique within their 2093: context and are unambiguous when taken out of context. If screen contents are 2094: not exposed in other ways, support standard drawing techniques that can be monitored 2095: and recorded. Provide alternatives to operations that directly manipulate bitmap 2096: or screen pixels. </p> 2097: <p>Color. Color should be used to enhance, emphasize, or reiterate information. 2098: The application must respond properly when the High Contrast option is True. 2099: Use only colors that the user can customize, ideally through Control Panel. 2100: Use colors in their proper foreground/background combinations. Omit background 2101: images drawn behind text. Where possible, allow the use to customize all colors 2102: through Control Panel or through its own user interface. When screen elements 2103: correspond with standard elements, use the appropriate system colors chosen 2104: in control Panel. Always use colors in their proper foreground/background combinations. 2105: If possible, be prepared to draw monochrome images that contrast with the background 2106: color. Avoid conveying important information by color alone, or make it optional. 2107: Draw graphic objects to contrast with the current background color. <br> 2108: Provide an option to omit complex or shaded backgrounds drawn behind text. </p> 2109: <p>Size. The size of text and graphics affects usability as well as accessibility. 2110: The application must be compatible with system settings for sizes and fonts. 2111: (Logo Requirement). Avoid hard coding any font sizes smaller than 10 points. 2112: If you draw lines, determine the proper width rather than using a fixed value. 2113: Allow the user to select font and font sizes for displayed information. Allow 2114: the user to adjust the size of non-document elements such as toolbars. Make 2115: sure the application is compatible with changes to the system font size and 2116: the number of pixels per logical inch. If feasible, provide a draft mode, zoom, 2117: and wrap to window features. Stretch, shrink, pad, or crop images appropriately 2118: when their space changes. Avoid tuning your application too tightly to a single 2119: font.</p> 2120: <p> Sound. Do not convey important information by sound alone, or if you do, provide 2121: an option to convey this information by visual means. Display important information 2122: visually when the ShowSounds option is True. Provide closed captions for all 2123: audio content rendered through DirectPlay. Define many custom sound events, 2124: even if they are silent in the default sound scheme. Trigger standard sound 2125: events when carrying out equivalent actions. If you generate sounds, provide 2126: a way to turn them off.</p> 2127: <p>Timings. Allow the user to customize all user interface timings. Allow the 2128: user to avoid having messages time out. Allow slowing down or disabling any 2129: rapid screen updates or flashing. </p> 2130: <p>Unexpected Side Effects. Moving the mouse should not trigger unexpected side 2131: effects. Navigating with the keyboard should not trigger unexpected side effects. 2132: </p> 2133: <p>Mouse Input Applications must be compatible with specified system settings 2134: for mouse input. Provide mouse shortcuts for commonly used features. Make toolbars 2135: customizable. Emphasize simple mouse operations that require only single clicks. 2136: </p> 2137: <p> Customizable User Interface. If possible, allow the user to administrator 2138: to customize the application to meet specific needs. </p> 2139: <p>Layout. Visual design and layout can make an application more usable and more 2140: accessible for people with cognitive or visual impairments. Make it easy to 2141: recognize the label for each control or object. Place a text label immediately 2142: to the left of or above its control. Do not separate a control and its label 2143: by too great a distance. Do not place unlabeled controls both to the left of 2144: and beneath a label. All text labels should end with colons, and static text 2145: controls that do not label other controls should not end in colons. Follow conventions 2146: for labeling icons, with text below or to the right of the icon, or displayed 2147: as a tooltip. Try to position related objects near each other. </p> 2148: <p>Verifying Accessibility. Test the application against this guidelines checklist. 2149: Test with the High Contrast option and high contrast appearance schemes. Test 2150: compatibility with extra-large appearance schemes. Verify that all features 2151: can be used without a mouse. Verify that all keyboard user interface methods 2152: are documented. Test with the Inspect Objects tool to verify that all screen 2153: elements are exposed and properly labeled. Test with the Microsoft Magnifier 2154: to verify that the keyboard focus location is properly exposed during navigation 2155: and editing. Test with commercial accessibility aids. Test with changes to the 2156: system font size and number of pixels per logical inch. Include people with 2157: disabilities and accessibility software vendors in your beta tests. Include 2158: people with disabilities in your usability tests. Conduct surveys of your users 2159: who have disabilities. Distribute free evaluation copies of your product to 2160: individuals with disabilities, disability organizations, and accessibility software 2161: vendors. </p> 2162: <p>Documentation. Provide documentation in accessible format, such as ASCII text 2163: or HTML. Accessible documentation should contain descriptions of illustrations 2164: and tables. Do not convey important information by color or graphics alone. 2165: Use color and graphics redundantly to the text. Maintain high contrast between 2166: the text and its background. Do not use text smaller than 10 points in size. 2167: If possible, bind printed documentation to lie flat. </p> 2168: <h3>Software Design Guidelines (TRACE Research Center) </h3> 2169: <p>General Design Guidelines </p> 2170: <p>There are a few general themes that you’ll notice occurring repeatedly 2171: in the specific guidelines in the next section. They are worth noting since 2172: they provide the rationale for many of the specific guidelines and can be used 2173: to help make decisions when options exist for a given design. Use system tools 2174: whenever possible. Maintain consistent, predictable layout & behavior and 2175: adhere to system standards/style guides. Provide keyboard access to all dialogs, 2176: menus, and tools. Design software to minimize the skills and abilities needed 2177: to operate it. Be sure software cooperates with (or at the least, does not break) 2178: special access features in the OS and third party access software. Use an open 2179: systems approach. </p> 2180: <p><strong>1. Use system tools whenever possible </strong></p> 2181: <p>Many software based access programs provide their alternate input and display 2182: capabilities by tapping into the system software. These access systems depend 2183: on the application program using the system tools provided for input and output. 2184: Application programs which do not use the system tools may not be accessible 2185: to people using special access software or features in the <br> 2186: operating system. For example, alternate input software may take Morse code 2187: in and convert it into alternate or "counterfeit" keystrokes which 2188: it then puts into the input cue or buffer just as if they came from the keyboard. 2189: Application software that takes its keystrokes from the input buffer will find 2190: these alternate keystrokes and treat them just like regular keystrokes. If your 2191: application program bypasses the input buffer and takes its keystrokes directly 2192: from the input hardware, then the alternate keystrokes will not be seen and 2193: the person will not be able to use it. </p> 2194: <p>Similarly, screen reading software for people who are blind works by watching 2195: the activity of the text drawing routines in the operating system. By watching 2196: commands sent to the operating system telling it to draw text on the screen, 2197: the screen reading software can keep track of everything that is written to 2198: the screen. If application software writes text directly to the screen, <br> 2199: then the screen reading software will not know that it is there. Alternate mouse 2200: or pointer routines would also depend on the ability to make system and application 2201: software think that a person was moving the mouse when in fact they were operating 2202: <br> 2203: a mouse simulation program. </p> 2204: <p><strong>2. Maintain consistent, predictable layout & behavior and adhere 2205: to system standards/style guides</strong></p> 2206: <p>Wherever possible, follow system standards and style guides. For people with 2207: cognitive disabilities it makes it easier to predict and understand how things 2208: should operate and what they mean. For people who are blind and use screen readers 2209: to find out what is on the screen, predictable layouts and controls are easier 2210: to figure out. Also, adaptive software manufactures can build techniques into 2211: their software to handle the standard objects and appearances, but not unique 2212: or one of a kind implementations. If you do something different, be sure it 2213: is accessible (see "Product Testing and Developer Support" at the 2214: end of Guidelines—Part I.) </p> 2215: <p><strong>3. Provide keyboard access to all dialogs, menus, and tools</strong> 2216: </p> 2217: <p>Application programs which provide the ability to access all of the menus by 2218: using the keyboard greatly facilitate access by individuals who cannot use the 2219: standard mouse. It also makes access easier (or possible) for people with poor 2220: eye hand coordination or those who are blind. This access may be provided either 2221: by use of the arrow keys to move around through the menu structure, or through 2222: use of keyboard equivalents for ALL menu items. </p> 2223: <p><strong>4. Design software to minimize the skills and abilities needed to operate 2224: it</strong></p> 2225: <p> The best way to view people who have disabilities is to think of them simply 2226: as individuals with reduced abilities rather than as people without an ability. 2227: The reduction in their abilities may vary from slight to severe. The more you 2228: can reduce the sensory, physical, or cognitive skills necessary to operate the 2229: program, the more people will be able to directly use the program. It <br> 2230: also makes it easier for everyone else to use the program. Some examples: using 2231: a slightly larger or clearer type, using menus which can be scanned rather than 2232: commands which must be memorized, keeping menus short and dialog boxes uncluttered, 2233: reducing or eliminating the need for fine motor control. It is also helpful 2234: to provide multiple ways of accomplishing functions in order to adapt to different 2235: needs or weaknesses. For example, having pull-down menus reduces the cognitive 2236: load and makes it easier to operate computers. While providing hot keys reduces 2237: the motor load and makes it easier and faster for individuals with physical 2238: disabilities to use computers, providing both addresses the needs of both groups 2239: and gives all users more options to meet their preferences. A second example 2240: would be the ability to use either the scroll bar or the keyboard to select 2241: position within a document. </p> 2242: <p>The third general strategy is to provide layering to reduce visual and cognitive 2243: complexity. One example of this are programs which provide both short and long 2244: forms of their menus. The use of option buttons in dialog boxes or other techniques 2245: for nesting complexity would be a second example of this. </p> 2246: <p><strong>5. Be sure software cooperates with (or at the least, does not break) 2247: special access features in the OS and third party access software using system 2248: tools and conventions/standards</strong></p> 2249: <p>As mentioned above, the most important and easiest mechanism for ensuring greater 2250: compatibility with access software is to use the tools and conventions which 2251: have been established for the operating system. Most access software works through 2252: modifications to the system tools, or bases its operation on assumptions that 2253: the standard conventions for the system <br> 2254: will be followed. As long as application software programs use the system tools 2255: and conventions, there is generally little problem.</p> 2256: <p> Provide software access to commands</p> 2257: <p>When commands are all executed through the menus, access software has very 2258: little trouble in both accessing listings of the available commands and activating 2259: the commands. Program commands which are issued in other fashions—such 2260: as tool bars, special palettes, etc.—present problems. It is difficult 2261: to get a listing of all of the commands (for example, to present to somebody 2262: who is blind). It is also difficult to directly activate the various commands 2263: (for example, by an alternate access routine for someone with a severe physical 2264: disability). Where all of the palette and tool bar commands are available via 2265: the standard menus, this is not a problem. When these commands, however, are 2266: not otherwise available, it is important that access somehow be achieved. Access 2267: to commands in a program consists of four parts. Fortunately, the movement toward 2268: inter-application control is making the commands in a program more accessible 2269: electronically. Features like balloon help are also useful for providing descriptions 2270: of the commands and buttons on the screen. Eventually, it would be nice to be 2271: able to: </p> 2272: <ul> 2273: <li>Obtain a listing of all of the possible commands </li> 2274: <li>Obtain help text for each of the commands </li> 2275: <li>Be able to execute all of the commands from an external program </li> 2276: <li>Be able to read the status of user-settable parameters (and be able to set 2277: all such parameters) from an external program </li> 2278: </ul> 2279: <p>When these capabilities are all available in a standardized format, it will 2280: make the process of developing access programs much simpler and more complete. 2281: In the meantime, programs which have most of their commands available for inter-program 2282: control may consider making the rest of the program commands available as well. 2283: </p> 2284: <p><strong>6. Use an open systems approach</strong></p> 2285: <p>Providing access to people who have disabilities is in many ways just a natural 2286: extension of the open systems approach to software design. Support of the open 2287: systems through GOSIP, POSIX, and the applications portability profile facilitates 2288: compatibility with special access software and hardware within these environments. 2289: With the rapid advance of technologies and operating systems, software that 2290: is based upon open systems concepts and which retains a stable or similar interface 2291: format across platforms greatly facilitates the efforts of third-party accessibility 2292: developers in keeping up and adapting their products.</p> 2293: <p><a href="#top">top of document</a></p> 2294: <!-- #EndEditable --> 2295: </body> 2296: <!-- #EndTemplate --></html>