Each One Teach One: The Issue & Fears

Adaptive and assistive technologies.
The web is fantastic for finding and reading all kinds of information quickly. All that print and all those graphics, movies, images and flash graphics are fantastic ways of delivering information to a broad audience. But, what do you do if your vision limits how much of that information you’re able to read? What if you’re unable to see entirely? What kinds of adaptive and assistive technologies exist to help those with low-vision, no vision or difficulty reading moving screens? I’m looking for solutions that go beyond simply needing a pair of reading glasses to read the screen. I’m interested in discovering what technologies, standards and organizations exist to help develop and improve the Internet experience for users who are hindered by declining ocular health.

Ever go to a website and have trouble reading the point size of the type? If you use the roller ball or change the default font settings on your browser, you can increase the point size. The result is often that the web pages don’t always read as the designers and authors intended. Also, how do web developers take graphics and moving images into account when they’re designing for the visually-impaired?

Full disclosure: I’m by no means blind, but this is an issue that has been on my radar lately. I have keratoconus, a disease that causes the cornea to become misshapen and distorted. The disease is treated through contacts and, in my case, a combination of contacts and glasses. I’m also faced with frequent changes to my prescription due to the dynamic nature of my corneas. As my prescription keeps changing, I find I sometimes have some trouble seeing the monitors at work. While I’m not to the point where I can’t use a computer, I’m interested in learning what tools are out there and in development for people who have difficulty with reading screens.

Top 5 Fears about Websites not paying attention to the needs of the visually-impaired:
1. Web sites will continue to develop with more and more high-tech formats like Flash and video and won’t contain comparable content for visually-impaired readers. Developers must make sure they’re building alternate pages built for readers with limitations.

2. I worry that developers and organizations do not budget and plan for alternate pages for users with limitations. Companies must treat alternate page development as they would installing ramps or handicapped accessible bathrooms.

3. Visually-impaired users who are unable to read the screen and highly-designed websites might not stick with the Internet. As more information becomes available on the web only, those users who abandon the web will be unable to obtain that information any other way.

4. A personal fear, as my own vision worsens, I fear I won’t be able to see the screen, and therefore fear I may not be able to continue with a career that puts me in front of the computer more than 8 hours a day. I want to know what things I can do now to help protect my vision when I’m using the computer. And, I want to know what’s available to assist me as it becomes more difficult to read the screen.

5. A similar fear stretches beyond just visual limitations. How many websites in the U.S. have a main page, a page for users with disabilities and how many include a Spanish version of their content? Developers need to be working to make sure their content is accessible to users in any number of different formats.

Each One Teach One: Resources

One thing I made sure to note when evaluating these sites was whether or not they included an easy option to display their pages either with bigger fonts, in plain text or some other kind of view. Most did, but some of the federal sites' accessible pages were still under construction.

1. Americans with Disabilities.
www.ada.gov and specifically, this page relating to the Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites.
This web page provides some good links to resources for smart development of websites. The ADA also includes some basic guidelines for what websites should include and an overview of accessible technology.

2. NCD -National Council on Disabilities.
Specifically, this page, a 2003 position paper on the application of the ADA to cyberspace. While the paper is from 2003, it still contains several good interpretations of the act and several recommendations for further application.
Also, this page that is a link to 2007 testimony on web accessibility. The NCD is an independent federal agency whose members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Incidentally, the site is not currently up to standard: "NCD is committed to making its Web site accessible to all citizens. NCD's Web site is being upgraded to ensure that it meets or exceeds the requirements of Section 508 (of the Rehabilitation Act) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. As with all Web sites, we are continually working to make all pages more accessible."

3. Disabilityinfo.gov
A government clearinghouse for all kinds of information relating to disabilities. Specifically, this page devoted to Technological issues. This portal contained some good links to vendors and organizations that provide assistive technologies.

4. Assistitvetech.net
A handy site for finding assistive technology products.
"Our mission is to provide access to information on AT devices and services as well as other community resources for people with disabilities and the general public.
This site is created and maintained through the collaboration of our Partners: Georgia Tech Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA), National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), and Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA)."

This site includes a link to information about accessibility on each page, in the navigation bar on the left and at the bottom. More information about steps the company has taken to make the site accessible can be found here.

5. Building Accessible Websites, by Joe Clark
A book written by Clark, the entire book is available online. It includes sections on why bother with accessibility; how to build and code pages that are accessible; navigation; working with images, color and typography.
And, yes, the site includes links to an Accessible version of the site.

6. Lowvision.org
This organization has a page full of resources for where to learn about building pages that are accessible to users, including one to a Java development tip page. Some of the links are out of date, so I'll knock a few points off for not keeping things current, but this site definitely has its target site in mind.

7. Microsoft and Apple Assistive Technology overviews
Details on products and accessories for two of the big giants.

8. Talklets.com
I found this blog that had a Talklet toolbar at the bottom of the page. When the page started talking to me, I figured the technology might be worth a mention. Pretty nifty stuff, and doesn't sound like the annoying little narrator that's found on Windows machines.

9. Recent Advances in Assistive Technologies and Engineering
A UK conference on assistive technologies. Good links and resources to companies and researchers.

Each One Teach One: Recommendations

So, what can be done to expand the reach of assistive technologies? Here are a few of my suggestions, along with a quick evaluation of a few major national sites.

1. Spend and budget money to develop alternate pages that are readable by a variety of adaptive and assistive technologies. Developers should also work to make sure their main pages have alternate tags and images that can stand in the place of Flash or Java animation and video.
2. Government websites are fairly committed to making their sites accessible to the visually impaired, thanks in part to amendments that have been made to the Americans with Disabilities act and other pieces of legislation. Corporations need to do a better job
   of doing the same.
3. Expand the use of adaptive and assistive technologies on national and international websites like cnn.com, nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com, espn.com.
   Cnn.com provides links at the bottom of it’s text-driven home page to CNN’s sites in Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Korean and Turkish. Excellent! But, I couldn’t find a link to a text-only page.
   
   ESPN.com: I couldn’t find a translated or accessible page. The site does do a far amount with podcasts and sound.
   
   NYTimes.com: Also, no easily visible button to translate or link to an accessible page.
   
   
4. Reduce the cost of these technologies so users are not as limited by the cost limitations of getting online.
5. Awareness and education. A better understanding of what it takes to develop these kinds of sites will help developers and designers in their creation of truly user-friendly websites. Also, web design classes should be sure to include a module on adaptive and assistive development and adaptive and assistive technologies.