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While searching for work I'm noticing a lot of requirement for 'section 508' compliance. From what I've read it's basically the accessibility act of 1998. It sounds like if you write good SEO, then you're basically compliant.
Have any of you worked specifically with it and could you point to a good resource covering standard implementation?
Are you looking to do 508 compliant flash? If so, there's LOTS of upfront design considerations.
If not, you should be able to find a good breakdown of what you need to include at:
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com...1-1044627.html
Good SEO will certainly help with 508, be sure your alt tags aren't just filled with keywords, and accurately describe the content. Use style sheets and provide users a way to change the font size...
Download the free trial of JAWS or Windows Eyes screen readers to test everything.
Hope that helps!
508/HIPAA compliancy... the root of all of my prior frustrations.
Yeah, fun stuff, eh? Especially when you throw flash into the mix...accessible...yeah, right...
The best way to be 100% sure to comply when using SWF is to offer an alternative full HTML-only version that addresses color issues as well.
A very good link from Penn State U.
http://accessibility.psu.edu/section508.html
...Amongst lots of other 508 stuff has a section on color and color blindness, as well as links to some color simulators.
david
No, doing good SEO will not cover your bases. 508 very vague, so it's up to you to figure out how you will account for it. It's a huge pain in the ass.
Typically, if you can provide equivalent alternative content to a screen reader, and have keyboard input, you're covered.
Download JAWS, navigate through your project with it, without using your mouse.
Here's a handy checklist:
http://www.joefreelance.com/508background.html
holy hell that sounds nightmarish! That definitely appears to be the kind of work suited only for those who get a sick pleasure from pulling it off. I could do it but I doubt it would ever feel worth the effort to me.
Thanks a ton for the info and links guys. I'll read through them just so I'm knowledgeable on the subject but I doubt I'll be pursuing seriously any of those positions.
I want 508 pR0n.
pron for the blind? what's that like?
"dot. dot."
"ooh!"
blind pawn talks to you, like phone sex.
...but 508 is not just for the blind, but also occularly variented folk....so special attention needs to be paid to images to address various forms of color blindness, and they should all have <alt> text descriptors.
david
Yes, forgot about alt tag, also making sure frames are named properly, menus are created using sensible markup. (UL/LI tags) and only using tables when presenting tabular data.
There's also some obscure stuff about screen refresh rates too.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it refers to the US constitution only eh?
many countries have laws or guidelines for accessibility -
http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/
david
508 is really big in the educational world. And yes it is as painful as it sounds. (screw water boarding, make them code 508 complaint web sites)
The interesting thing about the HTML page at the link I mentioned above from Penn State is that it is coded for compliance...if you view the HTML source, you will see a pretty good example of compliant HTML coding.
davidp
I am struggling with the best way to present 508 elearning, specifically in the instance of use with a screen reader.
The best experience would be to keep the normal audio (rather than the screen reader using the closed captioning) so I can take advantage of dialoged performance and multiple voices. But there is also content that is text only and I would want the screen reader to read. When you advance to a page the narration normally starts right away and also the screen reader starts to read the accessibility tags on the Flash objects. I think you would agree that 2 simultaneous audio presentations are not desirable.
It is possible to pause the screen reader with a key stroke and I suppose you cold have Flash detect the screen reader and pause Flash audio, but neither of these seems like a great solution.
Anyone found a good way to deal with this?
I've always provided an audio off option within the flash and let the screen reader handle all the content from a closed captioning option...screen readers don't provide any sort of control via flash as far as I know, and forcing someone who uses a screen reader to turn it off isn't part of the 508 standards...
Giving up dialoged performance and multiple voices seems like a big trade-off. Any other ways to approach this?
It all depends on your Flash content. If you have audio in Flash that re-iterates the text on the screen, then don't worry about a screen reader.
Remember that 508 isn't a standard, it's a set of guidelines. You need to discuss the project with the client, spec out the functionality and behaviors in regards to accessibility, and agree on them before sending any time programming.