Education for a Digital World Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around Globe, 2008a

11 – Accessibility and Universal Design
JavaScript: a Web scripting language that can be used
to create interactive content on a web page
learning disability: a psychological or neurological
condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate
and/or learn effectively. Includes conditions such as
dyslexia (reading difficulty), dysgraphia (writing difficulty),
dyscalculia (difficulty with mathematics), and
aphasia (problems comprehending language)
longdesc (long description): a separate HTML document
containing the description of an image or media
when the description is too long to be contained in the
alternative text
Macromedia Flash: a multimedia authoring program
used primarily for web content
Portable Document Format (PDF): a platformindependent
file format developed by Adobe Systems
predictive typing: software that offers the user a
choice of words at each point in a sentence, according to
what words are statistically most likely to appear in a
given context
screen reader: text-to-speech software that reads
aloud what is being displayed on the screen
screen magnifier: software that displays an enlarged
view of the current screen on a standard monitor
Section 508: an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, which states that electronic and information
technology developed or maintained by any agency or
department of the United States Federal Government
must be accessible to people with disabilities
sensory learners: students who prefer fact-based activities
and resources.
sip/puff switch: a two-position switching device that
can be activated by sipping or puffing and allows the
user to control electronic devices
subtitles: on-screen translation of dialogue and onscreen
text
tablet: an alternative pointing device where the user
uses a stylus on a pointing surface, like a pen on paper
trackball: an alternative pointing device where the
user rolls a ball in a holder
transcript: a textual version of audio- or video-based
material, including speeches, conversations, television
and movies
usability: the ease of interaction between a human
and a computer interface
UDL: Universal Design for Learning
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): a group that
establishes specifications, guidelines, software and tools
for various aspects of the Web, including file formats
and scripting languages
WAI: Web Accessibility Initiative
WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines—developed
by the W3C
XHTML: eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language
Appendix
The following is a short ten-point checklist which you
can use to help guide your site towards better accessibility.
This is not a complete list, but draws ideas from Priority
1 and Priority 2 checkpoints.
Examine each of the elements of your site as described
in the chart. Decide for yourself how well they
meet the criteria, then give each item a rating. Low rated
elements should be revisited and improved in order for
your site to be considered accessible.
Rating scale
5 = Excellent. Meets or exceeds the relevant accessibility
guideline.
4 = Good. Meets the guideline, but could be further
improved for better accessibility.
3 = Incomplete. Some effort has been made to meet
the guideline, but not all instances of this item
have been addressed.
2 = Poor. Guideline has been inconsistently or incorrectly
applied.
1 = Failed. Completely ignored or unimplemented.
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