Accessibility for Web Sites

Module 1 – Accessibility Standards and Guidelines

• What is AODA?
• Addressing accessibility issues with visitors to the site
• Visually impaired, including colour blind
• Physically impaired and unable to use a mouse
• Hearing impaired and unable to hear movies or narrations
• Functionally challenged and unable to comprehend at a high level
• Understanding the WCAG 2.0 principles
• Elements to review:  Font, reading order, placement and image procedures, colours within the site and common language
• Understanding site navigation and common ‘plug-in’ elements
• The Importance of headings and proper nesting
• How to review components within a ‘live’ and operational web site
• What are ARIA roles and landmarks (Accessible Rich Internet Applications)?
• What is DOM as it related to web sites?

Module 2 – What’s on my website

• Understanding “content” rendering

• Using an image versus a descriptive paragraph
• Images for impact and not accessibility

• Checking for reading order
• Wrapping text and image placement
• Reviewing and using the correct ‘accessible font’
• Correct formatting of hyperlinks, what to know, what to do
• Common Language, using the Gunning Fox Index for readability

Module 3 – Proper HTML Tagging for Accessibility

• Understanding proper tagging

                              <alt txt>

                              <h1><h2> and <h3> elements Verus <nav> and <banner>

                              <img> alt Attribute

                              Best practises for <table><tr><td>

<span>

• The importance of a Cascading Style sheet

Module 4 – What’s My Colour?

• Reviewing colour use on the website
• When to use coloured background
• Colours for effect and not content
• Colour and contrast compliance
• Understanding the AA colour standard
• Understanding the AAA colour standard

Module 5 – Dynamic Web Components

• When to use a form fields ie: searching
• Special considerations to create accessible form fields
• Using Animations and movies
• Adding captioning to movies
• Adding Sound to your site (discussions around Browse-Aloud)
• Adding enlargement options to website font

Module 6 – Checking for Accessibility

During this modules students will work with Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox and review the checking tools that are available for no charge.  Each tool will be evaluated for its ease of use and false positives that it may report.

Students will also use the WebAIM site and discuss the tool and its limitations.

Module 7 – Offering Visitor documentation

How to provide access to additional documents and email addresses in an accessible manner.