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Introduction

Our mission at Independence, Inc. is to empower people with disabilities to control their own lives and advocate for an integrated and accessible community for all. In keeping with our mission we at the Computer Learning Center are working to advocate for a more accessible society. We are now developing a network of concerned citizens and organizations working towards removing barriers from the internet and to prevent new ones. By posting this page we hope to draw attention to accessible web page design. We also will try to encompass issues concerning what's being done to change the Internet so that all persons with disabilities will be granted full, undenied access.

Accessible Web Page Design

• Unified Web Site Accessibility Guidelines as of May 5 1999
  The World Wide Web Consortium’s (WAI) project , Web Accessibility Initiative, has posted on their Web site, a Web page authors guidelines and a authors checklist to be used as a guide in the design of Accessible Web pages. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), in coordination with organizations around the world, is pursuing accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education & outreach, and research & development.
  www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/

• Designing Universal/Accessibile Web Sites
  Another Trace R&D Center page, part of their Designing an Accessible World project (DAAW), dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward building a more accessible Web.
  www.trace.wisc.edu/world/web/index.html

• Making the Web Accessible
  This is a series of three articles written by Mike Paciello, Executive Director of the Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation.
  www.samizdat.com/pac1.html
  
  1. Access for the Blind and Visually Impaired
     www.samizdat.com/pac1.html
     
  2. Access for the Deaf, Hearing and Mobility Impaired
     www.samizdat.com/pac2.html
     
  3. The Web and People with Disabilities: Cutting Edge Developments
     www.samizdat.com/pac3.html
     
• Accessible Web Page Design
  Starling Access Services provides information, tips and techniques on how to make your World-Wide Web publishing as accessible as possible to the widest range of people, including persons with sensory, mobility and learning disabilities, as well as the vast number of people who don't have multimedia computers, or who use text-browsers, or slow modems..
  www.washington.edu/doit

More links pertaining to Accessible Web Page Design

• NCAM - National Center for Accessible Media
  ncam.wgbh.org
  
• ACT Centre Accessible Web Design
  www.washington.edu/doit
  
• Accessibility and VRML
  www.utoronto.ca/atrc/rd/vrml/main.html
  
• Compatibility & Accessibility, Could Helen Keller Read Your Page?
  www.pantos.org/atw/access.html
  
• Dehanced for Lynx
  world.std.com/~adamg/dehanced.html
  
• Usability & Accessibility Working Group (UA-WG)
  The Usability and Accessibility Working Group (UA-WG) is a collaborative group of accessibility and usability professionals, industry leaders and academics. We've come together to encourage the spread of inclusive design within the digital economy. Visitors to this new web site will soon be able to access a comprehensive glossary, as well as news stories and articles covering the usability and accessibility of web sites.
  www.ua-wg.org

Accessibility Tools

A-Prompt Toolkit
A-Prompt (Accessibility Prompt) has been developed to assist Web authors in improving the accessibility and usability of HTML documents. By checking Web pages for barriers to accessibility and making repairs to correct any problems, A-Prompt will ensure that you are reaching the widest possible audience. Version 1 Now Available for Download!
http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/index.html

BOBBY
This program will check any web page for accessibility. Then give developers suggestions on how to update thier page.
www.cast.org/bobby/

WebABLE!
The WebABLE! mission is to make the Internet and World Wide Web accessible to people with disabilities. To accomplish this mission, WebABLE! provides a host of accessibility services to help you make your web site easier to access by people with disabilities.
www.webable.com

Accessibility Issues and Organizations

• Java Accessibility Report
  This detailed report was commissioned by Sun Microsystems, and prepared by Trace R&D Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  trace.wisc.edu/world/computer_access/

• National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) NCAM develops strategies and technologies to make media accessible to millions of Americans, including people with disabilities.
  ncam.wgbh.org/

• Equal Access to Software and Information
  EASI's mission is to serve as a resource to the education community by providing information and guidance in the area of access-to-information technologies by individuals with disabilities.
  www.rit.edu/~easi/

• Giant Disability Resource Page
  Jerry Vogel's page is great if your looking for information about any kind of disability, This is one of the biggest disability resource pages on the net.
  www.independenceinc.org/ability.html

  The need to consider accessibility for users with disabilities continues to be an afterthought rather than a guiding principle in the rapid evolution of the internet.

  Prepared By James D. Spitzer, C L C VISTA

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