Accessibility and-or Usability in the Context of Web Design and Computing

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) assists Ontarians by “developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities…”. This act creates a standard that must be met through all facets of society. Whether it be in an in-store customer experience, in the workplace or online, AODA lays a framework that will assist in the day-to-day lives of Ontarians with disabilities. This act greatly impacts the IT field, in that it changes the way IT professionals utilize technology, in order to assist and accommodate disabled citizens. Disabled Ontarians occupy a significant population within all of Ontario, “15.5% of Ontario’s population has a disability and this

It is however not an easy feat. For accessibility to the fullest capacity to be to be established, organizational systems require funds to be pumped in. these funds will go towards making infrastructural and operational modifications to the system so that it caters to all needs. Also, application/recruitment and selection processes will need to be brought up to standard as well. These cannot only be planned; it has to be implemented to be function. Afterwards which the organization will have to regulate, monitor and make improvements to the system as required by the results they get. For example, for an organization to high a qualified blind candidate to join their team, the must first ensure accessibility by providing funding for a Braille machine, afford the candidate the opportunity of receiving correspondence or documents in Braille, ensure all other members of staff pass documents to him/her in Braille, maintain or improve on the process of communication

Even with the legislative measures taken to assist those who are blind, those with significant visual impairments still face oppression. According to Iris Marion Young, oppression “designates the disadvantage and injustice some people suffer not because a tyrannical power coerces them, but because of the everyday practices of a well-intentioned liberal society” (Adams, p 36). People who are blind face oppression when navigating the internet. There are many programs that aid those with vision issues- Braille keyboards and audio and text converters. However, these programs do not always work with websites. At the moment, no government standards exist in the United States (Williams). This is a problem because the internet is a very large part of society. The internet holds the keys to financial needs, educational advancement, and social interactions. Therefore, legislation needs to be passed to make the digital world as

Usability is a critical portion of web design that one must be ever mindful of when constructing websites. Whether creating a personal web space or building multiple pages for a large corporation, it is the burden of the designer to guarantee people can access that content. According to the United Nations, disabled people compose roughly 10 percent of the world’s population (United Nations, 2010). Many regulations and standards have been set forth to provide disabled people with the same opportunities to access content available on the World Wide Web, as it is most of the World’s population.

To ensure, users do not experience any issues particularly with users with disabilities when accessing the website, the guidelines set by W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the most broadly adopted Web accessibility standard. They are set a set of guidelines that specify how to make content accessible, including devices. The guideline covers many areas, including alternatives for auditory and visual content, navigation mechanisms, ensure that documents are clear and simple, design for device independence, and many

One of the current social policies in place that protect the rights of the Deaf and hearing impaired is the Americans with Disabilities Act. (The Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 ) The ADA is a body of laws and policies that bans discrimination against those with disabilities. This includes the deaf and hearing impaired population. The ADA has four sections that cover: employment, public accommodations, government and telecommunications. In order to be compliant with the ADA, employers are compelled to inquire about the types of accommodation needs the deaf employee has so that they may work alongside others with the least amount of distractions or interruptions.

The web designer must also use multimedia formats that have synchronized captioning to also aid disabled users access the interface freely and holistically. This is crucial and of great importance in section 508 as users should be able to access all information on the site freely and with minimum effort.

The City of London Accessibility Plan, for the case, assumes a controlling part in executing the administrative necessities which were proposed to expulsion existing hindrances and anticipated potential obstructions to the Londoners with incapacities. Accessibility components are intended to individuals with disabilities utilizes innovation all the more effortlessly. For instance, a content to-discourse highlight may read the message so everyone

The use of technology in educating children with special needs has widely grown in the past few decades, and has since has changed the way people with disabilities live, work, and learn” (Winzer, 2002, p. 98). Individuals with special needs are unique and all have different areas in which they need assistance. Due to the advancements in assistive technology, computer programs, software, and other technology tools, have helped people to find useful and easier ways to become educated.

Following the amendment and reauthorization of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Microsoft Corporation began an initiative to research, develop, and market software, hardware, systems, and services that would assist and appeal to people with disabilities. The corporation also turned its attention to attracting, hiring, and retaining people with disabilities who have the qualifications to work at Microsoft a division for accessibility and disabilities was formed by the company. The goal going forward was to make valuing diversity and accessibility an article of faith at Microsoft.

When a product is created, a wide range of people will have access to the product. Many of these people may process a disability, either physically, or mentally. The product that is released for sale, should be function, for both people with and without disabilities. This paper is designed to show the importance of universal design, and its principals. Universal design is defined as “

The use of technology in educating children with special needs has widely grown in the past few decades. Individuals with special needs are unique and all have different areas in which they need assistance. Due to the advancements in assistive technology, computer programs, software, and other technology tools, it has become much easier for people to find useful and easier ways to become educated. Because of this, “technology has changed the way people with disabilities live, work, and learn.” (Winzer,98)

The Human-computer interaction (HCI) has evolved through the years, which has set the stage for users to participate in the interaction design process. With the participation of end users, corporations have listened to their issues and concerns in developing a user friendly product to accommodate most, if not all of their preferences and suggestions. This paper will define and discuss the Human-computer interaction (HCI), Jakob Nielson’s 7th heuristic, and introduce three interactive items correlating between the two. Applying the HCI and Neilson’s first heuristic with the three interactive items from the user’s point of view and experience will produce an applicable feedback to focus on further development of future components of similar stature.

If the website is accessible that means that people with disabilities can use it. A blind person using a screen reader or a talking browser can navigate the information and interact with it. A deaf person will not have

For Thailand, since 2007, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology have seen the problems with accessing websites for the disabled. Therefore, they have produced the "Thai Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2010” (TWCAG 2010) to combat this problem. In addition to this, they have also encouraged different parties to improve their websites such that it accommodates, the disabled and elderly, such that they can access websites easily. They have used the WCAG 2.0 as a starting point and modified it to suit a circumstance in Thailand (Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, 2010).