Link Roundup - November 2010

• ARIA and Progressive Enhancement (A List Apart)
• Court orders Ottawa to make websites accessible to blind
• Content strategy and accessibility – a natural partnership by @kmdk
• Accessible Audio Player with HTML5 audio & Yahoo Media Player fallback (by @terrillthompson)
• Past Present and Future of Accessible Technology (Tech Doctor Podcast)
• Checklist for Better Forms
• About the European Union (EU) Accessibility Requirements (SSB Bart Group)
• Long Live the Web: A Call for Continued Open Standards and Neutrality by Tim Berners-Lee
• I Don’t Want to Read More or Click Here - an accessibility rant by @kmdk
• Making Your Website Senior-Friendly
• Is Accessibility Being Overlooked in Favor of Sociability?
• WAI-ARIA States & Properties: Practical Examples
• Travel sites settle New York accessibility investigation (Out-Law)
• Best Free Onscreen Keyboard for both access & security purposes
• 5 top access technology podcasts (not web accessibility podcasts, LOL; see comment 4)
• Understanding Assistive Technology (YouTube video)
• Designing Accessible Technology radio show (with transcript)
• Single Switch Tutorial from the Yahoo accessibility lab
• NFB files complaint against Penn State University for accessibility problems (also NFB Files Complaint Against Penn State University)
• How to code accessible YouTube player controls (Vision Australia)
• Flash Web Accessibility Best Practices preso from Adobe MAX 2010 (video)
• WAI-ARIA: it's accessibility, but not as we know (Media Access Australia)
• Freedom Scientific releases JAWS 12 with contracted Braille support (INDATA)
• Using the HTML title attribute by @stevefaulkner
• Web Accessibility – Alt Text and Long Descriptions (embedded YouTube video)
• "Multilingual Web" a localization & web accessibility (web-based slide presentation)
• The Legal System, Accessibility, and the World Wide Web (US, Michigan)

Addendum (thanks Jennison!)

• The Ghosts of ARIA Present and Future (WebAIM)
• Quick Thoughts On Canadian Legal Ruling (Adobe, Andrew Kirkpatrick)

Response to Twitter Keyboard Shortcuts

A few nights ago, I submitted a comment to a recent article on Lifehacker, Navigate the New Twitter Like a Pro with Keyboard Shortcuts. My comment wasn't approved. I also tweeted a reply about the article to @Scobleizer and Twitter employee @rsarver. Received no response there either.

The article to which I was responding glamorizes New Twitter's keyboard shortcuts. I take offense to this so-called "feature" because the Twitter.com website itself is not accessible to users of keyboard-only input devices (which includes many types of assistive technology). And like all websites, Twitter.com should be accessible to anyone, not just to those who are able to use a mouse (device independence, see WCAG 2.0 Guideline 2.1). Does everyone see the irony here?!

So what my argument boils down to is this: if a website offers special keyboard shortcuts, it should first ensure that the it is fully keyboard accessible.

Here is my comment and Tweet below. Did I overreact?

Unapproved article comment:

This sickens me. Twitter isn't keyboard accessible, period. Users of assistive technology can't access the website. People who use a screenreader (visually impaired) or another type of keyboard-only input device (mobility impairments) are nearly completely blocked and makes Twitter.com useless. New Twitter is even worse than the old Twitter site. The so-called keyboard enhancements are an insult to those with disabilities. Fortunately, there is a web-based Twitter app that pays attention to everyone (and web standards, too). It's called AccessibleTwitter.com.

My tweet reply:

.@Scobleizer Not valuable to users of keyboard-only devices; Twitter.com isn't accessible to assistive tech. /cc @lifehacker @rsarver #a11y

Adobe Dreamweaver tutorial vidio

Section 01 - Introduction

HTML5 Sanity Check

Most of us are excited about HTML5 and all the benefits it will bring. Overly excited maybe is a more accurate term, which includes myself. We as a community need a "sanity check" about the readiness of HTML5 and its accessibility because:

1. The spec isn't complete (2012 for Candidate Recommendation) thus requirements may still change.
2. The browsers are in the middle of implementation and much accessibility support isn't provided yet.
3. There are many accessibility issues remaining such as Canvas in general; no semantic information to assistive technology for many elements; keyboard access lacking in audio & video controls in most conditions.

The web site HTML5Accessibility.com is a great place to learn about these issues for each major web browser. Along with that is a presentation by Steve Faulkner (@stevefaulkner) of the Paciello Group: HTML5 Accessibility - Is It Ready Yet? presentation by Steve Faulkner and and Hans Hillen (SlideShare).

Because of this intermediate stage, we developers must implement more complex code as desired, including fallback methods for user agents which don't yet support the HTML5 features. Here are some great resources on doing so:

• HTML5 Cross browser Polyfills - Shims, fallbacks, and polyfills in order to implant html5 functionality in browsers that don't natively support them.
• The most pressing Accessibility issue in HTML5 today? <video> by John Foliot (@johnfoliot).
• Creating Your Own Accessible HTML5 Media Player by Terry Thompson (@terrillthompson)
• HTML5, ARIA Roles, and Screen Readers by Accessible Culture

More Web Accessibility Jobs!

Nice to see a few more open positions requiring some web accessibility skills!

• Web Producer, TechSoup.org, San Francisco. (Full-time, Exempt). Job description includes "Knowledge of W3C web accessibility and markup standards required".
• Web Accessibility Coordinator at University of Iowa. Experience desired includes "Knowledge of WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 as they relate to technology".
• Web Developer for NAF (National Abortion Federation), Washington, D.C. Job description includes "conform to standards of usability and accessibility".

Another! (via Jared Smith):
Director, Accessible Technology Initiative, California State University

Feedback on A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Web Accessibility

Here is my feedback on a recent article A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Web Accessibility on 1stWebDesigner.com. Some good points, but I'd like to clarify a few things:

• Item 1 is good, I think the main point is "follow conventions", to continue established design patterns. This may be beneficial for those with cognitive disabilities, but it's somewhat more of a usability issue rather than accessibility.
• For Item 2, remember that a text-alternative is now frowned upon; it's almost always not equal content, nor a comparable experience. Also, many Flash websites can now be done with accessible HTML/JS/CSS.
• Don't agree with your point on Pagination. Not directly related to accessibility, but again, more of an opinion on usability.
• For item 4, I think the point is to use semantic markup. A great place to start!
• On item 7, the point is that you should use relative sizing and layout (EM, %) instead of absolute (PX, PT).
• For 8, you're pointing to WCAG1, which is now outdated. You want WCAG2. Also, for testing, auto tools are handy, but it's always best to have real users test. And many items MUST be checked by a human, such as proper alternative text.

AccessU West Keynote by Web Axe Host

Web Axe host and founder Dennis Lembree is giving one of three keynote speeches at the AccessU West conference (previously CalWAC) in San Jose, California, January 10-12, 2011. The accessibility event is three full days and is held at San Jose State University. Dennis is also the author of Accessible Twitter.

A superb lineup of experts are providing sessions including Derek Featherstone, Jim Thatcher, Lainey Feingold, and Deque Systems. Topics include HTML5/CSS3/ARIA, testing accessibility, Drupal, and legal issues (U.S.). If you're more interested in a particular topic, tracks are offered in Usability, Policy/Admin, and Design Development.

Fees are relatively low, about $235 to $820 depending on the package you select. Register here and say hi to Dennis at the conference. We hope to see you there!

Podcast #86: EDUCAUSE Review, AHG Preview, HTML5 Audio with Terrill Thompson

Dennis speaks with Terrill Thompson about a variety of topics including a summary of the EDUCAUSE conference; a preview of the Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) conference; community efforts to fix the web; HTML5 audio, video, and controls; and captioning.

Download Web Axe Episode 86 (Educause review, AHG preview, HTML5 audio with Terrill Thompson)

[Transcript of podcast 86]

Mentioned links

• Creating Your Own Accessible HTML5 Media Player
• The Quest for an Accessible Flash MP3 Player
• Accessible University 2.0 (test exercise page)
• EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Constituent Group
• Mozilla Audio Data API
• DO-IT Video Search - even searches captions!

More on the EDUCAUSE Twitter backchannel

• View the E10 backchannel tweets on EDUCAUSE site
• #EDUCAUSE10 backchannel blog by Eric Stoller

News

• WebAIM: Using VoiceOver to Evaluate Web Accessibility (and also Using NVDA to Evaluate Web Accessibility)
• Topsy, a great app for searching tweets
• Tips for Designing For Colorblind Users
• Integrating Accessibility Through Design