Web Accessibility Theory and Practice: An Introduction for University Faculty

Accessibility levels of Portuguese enterprise websites: equal opportunities for all?

“…This was the web accessibility evaluation tool we chose because it is executed according to the following points: For this project we decided that the manual evaluation of the websites of the entire target group was something that we wouldn't be able to achieve in the period of time that we had for the resolution of this project. As a result of this situation we decided not to manually evaluate the referred websites (for example, a WCAG 1.0 guideline such as "Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content" has five checkpoints; another WCAG 1.0 guideline "Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without colour" has two checkpoints, still further, the WCAG 1.0 guideline "Provide clear navigation mechanisms" has ten checkpoints; a total of 14 guidelines are present in WCAG 1.0 to make possible the design and evaluation of accessible Internet websites; this in turn leads to a total of sixty-five checkpoints (Bradbard and Peters, 2010) meaning that a manual evaluation of a significant number of websites, as is the case of our study, was too cumbersome given our project timeline).…”

The Relationship Between Web Content and Web Accessibility at Universities

“…WA is the set of procedures to ensure that web applications are accessible no matter the limitations of the user/device used for access (Bradbard & Peters, 2008, 2010; Chisholm & May, 2008; Lazar, Dudley-Sponaugle, & Greenidge, 2004). WA means overcoming all disabilities that prejudice Internet access: It means that people with disabilities can use it and perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web, and they can contribute to the web (Thorp & Henry, 2014).…”

Designing Online Courses for Screen Reader Users

“…One of their functional units, the Web Accessibility Initiative [15], publishes the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines, now in their second version [16], are frequently used as a guiding framework for designing accessible websites [17,18]. An initiative of Utah State University's Center for Persons with Disabilities is the Web Accessibility in Mind [19] (WebAIM) program.…”

“…Reported barriers included inability to skip repetitive navigational links, missing alternative text for images, poorly labeled form fields, and confusing heading structure. Bradbard and Peters [17] detailed their own attempts to make their instructional websites more accessible. Based on their experiences, they concluded that, while many instructors would identify web accessibility as a worthwhile goal, few have the time or technical expertise to successfully manage the process on their own.…”

“…Using these accessibility checkers is an excellent way to catch overlooked accessibility issues on a web page or within a supplemental file. However, as Bradbard and Peters [17] caution, "the true test of a Web site's accessibility should be undertaken by disabled students" (p. 38). Developers with only a superficial understanding of screen readers cannot be expected to have the thorough understanding of disabled user behavior that design and testing requires.…”