Are You Reaching Your Audience Online?

Access to the Web is especially critical at institutions like Penn State, where the Internet is used extensively to share academic and other important information with students, faculty, and staff. Unfortunately, part of that audience is often prevented from obtaining online information because of practices and elements in Web design (see sidebar) that make sites inaccessible to individuals with certain disabilities.

The good news is that accessible (also called universal) design techniques are not very different from the best practices of effective Web design. Building accessible Web sites requires that designers know their audience and that they present content in ways that gives the largest numbers of users the easiest access possible‹strategies savvy designers use anyway. Accessible design is likely to benefit all visitors to a site, since it presents different options for accessing online information.

Know Your Audience

At the University Park campus alone, 900 students have registered with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) to disclose a disability. With all Penn State locations combined, that number rises to 1,600 and it may be even larger, since it does not include staff, and because registration with ODS for both students and staff is voluntary.

ODS classifies disabilities into four main categories.

Learning Disabilities

Users with learning disabilities may have difficulty reading text online and navigating poorly organized Web sites. To more easily comprehend online information, this audience may use screen reader software that reads out loud the text on pages and applications.

Visual Impairments

Users with partial or no sight may use any combination of extra large screens, screen magnification software, screen readers, and voice recognition software to access the Web. Users who have color blindness may have difficulty distinguishing between similar color shades and may not be able to recognize symbolic use of color.

Hearing Impairments

Users with partial or no hearing may not be able to access information presented in audio clips or by sound cues.

Mobility Impairments

If using a mouse or trackball to navigate Web pages is not an option, users with upper body mobility impairments may employ their keyboards by using assistive tools such as a mouth stick, head wand, or breath-controlled device that emulates keyboard functionality, or may use voice recognition software.

Accessible Design Resources

At Penn State, a free Information Technology Services (ITS) seminar is offered on designing accessible Web sites, and faculty can receive consultation on accessibility and test screen reader software. Many other resources are available on the Web to help designers learn the practical, and often simple, steps they can take to ensure adequate accessibility to online information.

In Person

• The seminar Creating Accessible Web Sites includes an overview of the main categories of disabilities that affect Web access, practical steps for making sites accessible, and a demonstration of assistive technology. The seminar is offered year-round, including during Summer-Fest. Registration for Summer-Fest is currently available online at http://cac.psu.edu/training/.
• Information on accessibility is available and continues to be incorporated into ITS seminars on Web topics so attendees will become familiar with accessibility pitfalls and solutions as they learn about Web technology.
• Consultation on accessibility for faculty is available by appointment through Teaching and Learning with Technology¹s Faculty Multimedia Center (FMC). Contact FMC by e-mailing fmc@psu.edu, or calling 814-863-7051.
• Screen reader software is available at FMC workstations for instructors who are interested in testing their pages or observing how the tool works. Please schedule an appointment using the contact information provided above, or see http://cac.psu.edu/fmc/ for more information.

On the Web

• Material used in the ITS seminar Creating Accessible Web Sites, an accessibility checklist, tips, examples, and links to many excellent external Web sources on accessibility are available online at http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/accessibility/.

• Penn State¹s ODS Web site offers information on disabilities, accommodations for students and staff, and links to a number of Web resources on disability-related topics at http://www.lions.psu.edu/ods/.

Common Obstacles to Web Accessibility

The following practices and Web technology may impede access to Web sites for certain users. With consideration during the design process, many of these obstacles are easy to avoid or work around.

General Site Design

• Inconsistent page hierarchy and complicated path to return to home page
• Web pages displayed in frames without a link to view pages outside of frames
• Text-only pages offered as alternatives to inaccessible principal pages that do not offer a fully equivalent version
• See also ³JavaScript and Interactive Elements² below.

Page and Text Formatting

• Graphical representations of text or mathematical or scientific notation that do not include the equivalent text in an alternate (alt) tag
• Content that does not read logically with style sheets turned off
• Tables that do not make sense when read left to right, top to bottom
• Color used symbolically without another symbol to indicate the same meaning to users with color blindness or without sight
• Similar colors used next to one another that may not provide strong enough contrast to be distinct to users with vision impairments
• Pages and images that flicker between the rates of 2 Hz to 55 Hz, which may trigger seizures among users with seizure disorders

Links

• Links with meaningless names (e.g., ³click here²) that do not give a clear sense of where they point
• Graphic links without description (longdesc) or alternate (alt) tags
• Particularly small links (e.g., links composed of a single character) that are difficult to select for users with mobility impairment
• Image maps that do not include alternate text in hot spots
• Long lists of links that require frequent repetitive motion to navigate, which may tire users who must exert physical effort, such as those who use head wands to manipulate keyboards

Graphic, Audio, and Video and Interactive Elements

• Graphics, video, and animation without captions, a transcript, or description of action that conveys the meaning of the action and images displayed for users without hearing or sight
• Audio files or sound cues without text or graphic alternatives
• Embedded media players that do not give users alternatives to accessing content (most players offer better accessibility when linked as stand-alone applications)
• PDF files without text alternatives

JavaScript and Interactive Elements

• JavaScript used for automatic page redirects, to create pop-up windows, to remove toolbars from browser windows, and on forms that automatically send users to a different page without requiring that they click ³Submit²
• Form elements without descriptive labels
• Dynamic HTML (DHTML) elements, such as expandable menus, without text equivalents that can be accessed by keyboard
• Applets that are not written to support Java Accessibility API or that do not include text descriptions