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Changing the View of Accessibility and the Web

by Christy Blew, IT Accessibility Specialist, Disability Resources and Educational Services

For more than 50 years, the mission of theDivision of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) has been to meet accessibility needs by ensuring "that qualified individuals with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the curricular, co-curricular and vocational opportunities available at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through the collaborative promotion, provision and/or pursuit of innovative accommodative and educational services, and interdisciplinary disability research".

There are a couple of thoughts that generally come to mind when hearing the word "accessibility." The most familiar refers to physical accessibility features such as ramps, elevators, and width of entry ways. When you add "web" to the equation, the thoughts seem to float between ideas of bland, text-only pages, to blank looks.

The merger between "web" and "accessibility"  happens at theIllinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility (iCITA), a division of DRES, Directed by Dr. Jon Gunderson (a 2007 recipient of the Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence Award). The goal of iCITA is to work with individuals and companies to make electronic resources more accessible and usable by everyone, including people with disabilities.

U of I students and staff have implemented many of the iCITA initiatives. The Illinois Accessible Web Publishing Wizard for Microsoft® Office allows Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents to be put on the web in accessible HTML—a format that accommodates a wide variety of output devices including PDA devices and cell phones, as well as the needs of blind users with screen readers. Evaluation tools such as the Functional Accessibility Evaluator allow web pages to be checked for accessibility while providing tutorials and training on how to update problem areas. Additional resources include the Mozilla/Firefox Accessibility Extension, software collaborations, and training. iCITA continues to work with those at Illinois as well as educators nationally to promote the importance of web accessibility.

Expelling the Myths

Changing thoughts and views is never easy. We are creatures of habit and not always keen on trying new things even if the outcome is positive. Step one is extinguishing many of the "web accessibility" myths.

Myth #1: An "accessible" web page means a text-only web page.

Truth: Accessibility does not equal text-only. Functionally accessible web pages can be aesthetically pleasing and interactive.

Myth #2: I can just make another page that doesn't have all of the extra stuff on it.

Truth: Not only are you doubling your time to post information, you are restricting access to information by removing items. By using correct styling methods, one site can be available to everyone.

Myth #3: I only need to make my site accessible if I have a disabled student.

Truth: Sites that are developed with accessibility in mind reach a far larger audience than just those with disabilities. The web is being accessed on cell phones, PDA devices, and monitors with various resolutions. Sites are being viewed on a myriad of browsers on different machine platforms. Some users are accessing information with graphics and styling turned off for speed or convenience.

Myth #4: Making my information accessible takes a long time.

Truth: In reality, applying the techniques of universal design and understanding the best practices of posting documents and presentations to the web will save you time in the end. It may take some extra time in the beginning as you learn, but the methods are simple and quick.

The "Commitment to Try"

You are not left alone to figure out web accessibility. Individuals from iCITA are available to help you along the way. Join us for training in universal design, best practices, and posting documents and presentations to the web. Hands-on workshops and online seminars provide step-by-step development training. Web accessibility resources are available at www.cita.uiuc.edu. Additional information or questions about training can be directed to Christy Blew at clblew@uiuc.edu. We invite you to make the commitment!