[nfbcs] Accessibility presentation in my computing ethics class

[Nicole Torcolini]

Some of your questions are very broad , and there is no short answer.
However, I will try to address some of the web related ones.
"What makes a web page accessible vs not accessible with speech?"
Okay, so it depends on what you're definition of "accessible" is. If you
mean, "it can be done, but not necessarily in the easiest way", then I would
say:
1. All images have labels
2. All enabled controls are on the tab order as appropriate (e.g., only the
selected radio button in a group is on the tab order, but this correctly
accounts for the entire group vs. a stand alone button that needs to be on
the tab order)
3. All custom controls have:
A. Correct ARIA roles and attributes that are maintained
B. Correct keyboard handling as specified in the ARIA Best Practices
4. The screen reader is notified of all dynamic changes and alerts
However, to be truly accessible, that is not quite enough, so to add to
that:
5. All visual divisions on a page are marked such that they can be
identified and preferably navigated to by a screen reader (e.g., headings or
ARIA regions)
6. Focus does not trigger actions (e.g., don't change the page as soon as
the selection in a combobox changes without the user first pressing enter or
pressing okay or doing something else that indicates that that is actually
the desired action)
7. Do not use tables purely for layout when their contents is something
other than data. This drives screen reader users nuts.
8. Avoid recurring and uninformative labels such as "Click here" and "Learn
more" as many screen readers have a feature to find and display all of a
certain type of element on a page, but these dialogs are less than helpful
when the elements in them have the same name
That is all that I can think of at the moment, but you might find looking at
the ARIA spec somewhat helpful. There are also other guide lines for making
a website accessible.

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Suzanne Germano
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 9:39 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list; nfbcs at nfbnet.org;
arizona-students at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbcs] Accessibility presentation in my computing ethics class

I am a legally blind computer science student at Arizona State University.
I am currently taking a course in computing ethics. I chose to do my
presentation on computing and the disabled. There are only a couple of pages
in our text about it that talk about accessibility but also talk about
companies deciding not to provide accommodation becasue technology now
allows employees to work remote.

I will be researching the subject but I know that the people on these lists
have vast knowledge so I thought this was the perfect place to ask
questions. I am a user of mac zoom and zoontext so I dont' know a lot about
the specific accessibility issues when using JAWS

So here are some of my questions. Also feel free to offer information on
anything I may have left outs.

What do software developers need to do to ensure the software they develop
is accessible via a screen reader?
Is is just things like in visual studio setting the Accessibility Properties
of a control like a combo box?
When I use ZoomText the insertion point is tracked in some software but not
others. What needs to be done to allow tracking? Does the software need to
expose something?
What makes a web page accessible vs not accessible with speech?
What have been people's experiences with things like blackboard, or other
sites you are required to use in school to access your class, turn in
assignments, take online quizzes/tests etc.
Where can a developer go to learn about requirements for accessibility, what
makes a program or webpage more accessible Does anyone have experience on
the job in which a program you were using was accessible but they came out
with a new version that was no longer accessible? Specific examples would be
really helpful What laws exist concerning accessibility to computers,
software etc?
I would really love to show a demo of someone who is really experienced with
JAWS especially someone who works in the computer science field. Would any
one be willing to provide me with a short video of you working so the
students can see how we work in the field? I would provide a link to my
dropbox for the video. I can do any required editing.

After I present to the class, I am planning on providing my presentation to
the dean of computer science and explain why I believe accessibility should
be taught from the beginning to computer science students. If they learn to
at least think about it when learning to develop software I believe they
will be more likely to do it in practice. I believe most people don't even
think about since it does not affect them or anyone they know.

I also think it would be really cool for the disabled student resource
center to partner with the computer science department to set up a list of
volunteers who are users on screen readers to sit with students and test the
accessibility of their code as a learning experience.

Thank you in advance for your help
Suzanne
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