The Journal for Undergraduate Multimedia Projects

The Journal for Undergraduate Multimedia Projects

Best Practices for Digital Publishing and Online Multimedia Projects

(Working Document)

Best Practices:

Adapted almost in full from "Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (Section 508)" and other references (see reference sheet below)

Physical:

(a) All functions should be executable from a keyboard ("Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (Section 508)").

Accessibility features/assistive technology:

(b) Applications should not disrupt or disable activated features of other products that are identified as accessibility features, where those features are developed and documented according to industry standards. Applications also should not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product developer ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(c) A well-defined on-screen indication of the current focus should be provided; one that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus should be programmatically exposed so that assistive technology can track focus and focus changes ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(d) Sufficient information about a user interface element including the identity, operation and state of the element should be available to assistive technology. When an image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(e) When electronic forms are used, the form should allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

Visual:

(f) Provide alternative text for any visual content (Heilmann) so that it can be changed into other forms people need such as large print, Braille, speech, symbols, or simpler language (Vanderheiden et. al).

(g) When bitmap images are used to identify controls, status indicators, or other programmatic elements, the meaning assigned to those images should be consistent throughout an application’s performance ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(h) Textual information should be provided through operating system functions for displaying text. The minimum information that should be made available is text content, text input caret location, and text attributes ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(i) When animation is displayed, the information should be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(j) Font should have resizing capability (Heilmann).

(k) Overlapping elements should not obscure each other at larger font settings (Heilmann).

(l) Software should not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

Color:

(m) Provide high color-contrast in graphics and CSS (Heilmann).

(n) Color combinations should be easily distinguishable for the colorblind (Heilmann).

(o) Applications should not override user selected contrast and color selections and other individual display attributes ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(p) Color coding should not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element (i.e. try to avoid CAPTCHAs) ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(q) When a website permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels should be provided ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(r) Web pages should be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(s) Test color with an Accessibility Color Wheel (see Hatem for one example).

(t) If you use CAPTCHAs, these also need to follow guidelines for accessibility for low-vision/color-blind people (one option is to provide an audio version of the CAPTCHA).

Multimedia:

(u) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation should be synchronized with the presentation (i.e. captioning and audio description) ("Electronic and Information Technology”).

(v) Provide alternatives for time-based media (Vanderheiden et. al).

General:

(w) HTML should be semantically correct, logical and valid (Heilmann).

(x) Content should make sense when being read or heard (Heilmann).

(y) Headings and links should make sense outside of their context (Heilmann).

(z) Include an accessibility statement on the home page with the signifier, “Help using this website” (Tomlinson).

(27) Use an Accessibility Validation tool as well as human testers of usability.

(28) If posting/publishing work via pdf documents, only publish accessible pdf documents. ("Guide to Creating Accessible PDF Documents").

(29) Digital media should be adaptable; create content that can be presented in different ways (i.e. simpler layout) without losing information or structure (Vanderheiden et. al).

(30) Digital media should be distinguishable; make it easier for users to see and hear content—including separating foreground from background (Vanderheiden et. al).

(31) Provide users with enough time to read and use content (Vanderheiden et. al).

(32) Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures (Vanderheiden et. al).

(33) Digital media should be navigable; provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are (Vanderheiden et. al).

(34) Digital media should be predictable: make web pages appear and operate in predictable ways (Vanderheiden et. al).

(35) Provide input assistance to help users avoid and correct mistakes (Vanderheiden et. al).

(36) Digital media should be compatible; maximize compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies (Vanderheiden et. al).

References

"Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (Section 508)." Federal Register. National Archives and Records Administration, 21 Dec. 2000. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm>.

"Guide to Creating Accessible PDF Documents." Section508.gov: Opening Doors to IT. General Services Administration, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Center for IT Accommodation, 1 Nov. 2004. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://www.section508.gov/docs/PDFGuidanceForGovernment.pdf>.

Hatem. "Accessibility Color Wheel." WAI Magazine: Making the Web Accessible to People with Disabilities 30 May 2006: n. pag. Web. 4 Feb. 2011. <http://wai.phpmagazine.net/2006/05/accessibility_color_wheel.html>.

Heilmann, Christian. "Seven Accessibility Mistakes (Part 1)." Digital Web Magazine 31 Jan. 2006: n. pag. Web. 4 Feb. 2011.

<http://www.digital-web.com/articles/seven_accessibility_mistakes_part_1/>.

Tomlinson, Leona. "Are Accessibility Statements Useful?" Digital Web Magazine 12 Nov. 2008: n. pag. Web. 4 Feb. 2011.

<http://www.digital-web.com/articles/are_accessibility_statements_useful/>.

Vanderheiden, Gregg, et al., eds. "How to Meet WCAG 2.0: A Customizable Quick Reference to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Requirements (Success Criteria) and Techniques." W3C: Web Accessibility Initiative. W3C, MIT, ERCIM, Keio, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/20101014/Overview.php>.