Accessibility

• Images & animations. Use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual.
• Image maps. Use the client-side map and text for hotspots.
• Multimedia. Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video.
• Hypertext links. Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "click here."
• Page organization. Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style where possible.
• Graphs & charts. Summarize or use the longdesc attribute.
• Scripts, applets, & plug-ins. Provide alternative content in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported.
• Frames. Use the noframes element and meaningful titles.
• Tables. Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize.
• Check your work. Validate. Use tools, checklist, and guidelines at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG

• Distance Education: Access Guidelines for Students with Disabilities
  http://www.htctu.fhda.edu/dlguidelines/final%20dl%20guidelines.htm
  August 1999 Chancellor’s Office California Community Colleges
  Developed By: The High Tech Center Training Unit In Collaboration with the Distance Education Accessibility Workgroup

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
  http://www.w3.org/WAI/

• 508 WebAIM
  http://www.webaim.org/
  An estimated 20 percent of the population in the United States (40.8 million individuals) has some kind of disability, and 10 percent (27.3 million individuals) has a severe disability.

• Information about Evaluation and Repair software
  http://www.webaim.org/products/evalandrepair/
  (e.g. Bobby, WAVE, A-Prompt, InFocus, AccVerify, PageScreamer, Lift, etc., posted January 2002)

• Bobby
  http:///www.cast.org/bobby/
  Center for Applied Specail Technology provides Bobby, a means of checking individual pages or sites for accessibility.

• A-Prompt
  http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/
  Stand-alone tool developed at the University of Toronto. Developers install the program on their own computer, then specify which file they would like to evaluate. The program then takes the user through a wizard-style succession of questions and answers. At the completion of the process, the file is updated to incorporate the changes that the developer has made (if any) at the recommendation of the software. Although the software makes recommendations based upon sound princples, the actual changes to the file are made by the developer, so the developer still needs to have a solid understanding of the underlying principles.

• American Foundation for the Blind
  http://www.afb.org/info_documents.asp?kitid=115&collectionid=4
  links to information about adaptive technology. The Foundation's headquarters is in New York City.

• World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
  http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/
  document is available free at this site. The consortium develops interoperable technologies for the Web. It has offices in Cambridge, Mass., and around the world.

• Royal National Institute for the Blind
  http://www.rnib.org.uk
  offers "an excellent unit dealing with accessible Internet for all disabilities, not just visual," says London computer trainer Stewart. The institute, with locations in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, provides a free CD -- available only within the U.K. -- featuring video on disability and Web design.

• Australia's Royal Blind Society
  http://http://www.rbs.org.au/
  provides free adaptive technology, including screen readers and large-print programs.