a11y (digital accessibility)

I enjoyed reading this article and I hope that these overlay companies get exposed as scams in the future or rework their tools to help developers quickly identify and fix inaccessible code. Also, we are making real progress it just takes time. Hopefully a tipping point will be reached soon where foundational accessibility barriers like missing alt text become a thing of the past.

These tips can be applied to accessibility testing. It is important to ensure that you can easily reference the issue, screenshot or record an example of the barrier, and be able to explain to someone less technically experienced why the accessibility issue should be remediated.

Accessible hyperlinks benefit a wide range of users. Descriptive hyperlinks are compatible with assistive technology and describe the landing page of the link in roughly 2-5 words. This is much more accessible than writing out the full URL, which will probably be read like a word salad by screen reading software. Accessible hyperlinks are also visually more appealing and easier to navigate than listing out the full URL.

Ross highlights specific accessibility strategies game developers can use to make their video games more accessible.

This model is provided by the W3C and provides a framework for assessing accessibility maturity. This examines an organization's policies, training, and tools related to digital accessibility.

This study highlights strategies to help faculty gain awareness and learn more about digital accessibility. Some key findings are that providing flexible training, hands-on practice, and involving students with disabilities can help faculty incorporate digital accessibility strategies.

Currently, there is a focus on subtitles and captions. For example, the WebVTT report does not focus on creating audio descriptions. Video players like YouTube do not have a toggle option for AD. Creators need to make separate videos with and without audio descriptions. Safari supports AD in HTML video. However, it is not supported in Chrome or other web browsers. Hopefully, this will change soon as more people become aware of the importance of providing AD. AD is becoming more common in subscription video players like Apple TV and Netflix.

Check out Part 2 and Part 3 of the drag-and-drop mini-series. This series covers how to create drag-and-drop interactions that are accessible.

I appreciate Lainey highlighting the inequities of this panel session. It is important when creating a panel to include a wide range of diverse perspectives and people from different backgrounds.

Apple's Podcast App now supports the posting of edited transcripts. It will also produce an auto-generated transcript, which can be downloaded, edited, and reuploaded. I wish they had done this sooner because songs have displayed song lyrics for a couple of years. Yet, this is a big step forward because many podcast hosting platforms do not support transcripts, creating a major accessibility barrier. If you know of any accessible podcast platforms please share them.

This can be a helpful tool if you're a developer and are trying to find accessibility issues within your code.

I shared Eric's test on Beyond Meat earlier. This is his response to Level Access purchasing the overlay company Userway.

This tool uses HTML (video) instead of (iframe) to allow content authors to add captions to a third-party embedded YouTube video. This should be helpful because it is not possible to add a caption file to YouTube videos that you do not own. This makes it possible to add an edited captions file to an embedded YouTube video.

Abledocs has recently acquired Grackle Docs. Grackle is a plugin that adds additional accessibility features to Google documents. Google does not provide a built-in accessibility checker. Also, Google documents converted to PDF using Google Drive are not accessible. A remediated Grackle document can be exported as an accessible PDF.

If you are looking for tips and advice about how to support people with disabilities in the workplace this can be a good resource. In their training section they cover different assistive technologies and how to discuss workplace accommodations. I have mild cerebral palsy and ADHD. I use a trackball mouse and a standing desk at work.

This article highlights why a radio group or checkboxes should be used over toggles.

This post highlights how screen reading software reads aria differently. This also highlights that accessible descriptions should not be trusted as the only means to convey dynamic information to the user because of the variations between screen reader software. I also recommend checking out Adrian Roselli's article Accessible Description Exposure.

The Policy Driven Adoption for Accessibility (PDAA) is a model that can be used to assess the accessibility of a vendor. Check out Accessibility in IT Procurement Part 1 and Accessibility in IT Procurement Part 2 for more information.

This is a free virtual conference hosted each year by Deque. This can be a great way to learn about web accessibility strategies and how to build partnerships in your organization to support digital accessibility initiatives.

Audio descriptions are now being incorporated into theatrical dances to make them accessible for people with vision loss. Hopefully, it will continue to become more common in dance and theatrical shows. If you're interested in learning more about audio description for theatrical events I recommend checking out Performing Arts With Audio Description.

This GitHub page provides a lot of resources for creating accessible emails.

The University of Rochester is implementing a digital accessibility policy. This policy is focused on ensuring their websites are accessible. Having a policy is the best predictor of an accessible website so this should be an impactful move. Higher education institutions should consider extending their digital accessibility policies to focus on creating accessible instructional materials. Hopefully, that will be the next step that occurs in the future.