Volunteers needed for accessibility heuristic evaluations

Thu May 31 16:03:14 UTC 2007

Hi,
I've used the FANGS plug-in, which is useful, but I would caution in no way a replacement for listening to Jaws or another screen reader. (For instance, a "skip to content" link reads content with a stress on the second syllable, like contentment, whereas "Skip to Content" reads "content" as intended--something you'd never know looking at FANGS output.) 
-Julie

Julie Strothman
Project Manager, Web Developer
Landmark College Institute for Research & Training
River Road. Putney VT 05346
802.387.7137
jstrothman at landmark.edu
>>> "Jonathan Hung" <jonathan.hung at utoronto.ca> 05/30/07 11:15 AM >>>
Hi Jon,

Thanks for the link to the Firefox Accessibility Extension plugin.

I think the key benefit from this extension is that it allows developers to
conveniently see their accessibility issues quickly. I can see how this can
help reduce the "pain" many developers associate with making their work
accessible.

For those wishing to examine this plugin, you can download it here:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1891

Incidentally, I also came across a Firefox plugin called FANGS which allows
you to view a website in text as it would appear in JAWS.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/402

Unfortunately the FANGS plugin hasn't been updated in quite a while.

I'll continue to experiment with FAE. Thanks for bringing this up!

- Jonathan.

On 26/05/07, Jon Gunderson <jongund at uiuc.edu> wrote:
>
> Colin,
> For these types of web applications the University of Illinois is
> developing automated tools for checking for the use of important
> accessibility markup basd on a best practices approach to implement Section
> 508 and W3C WCAG requirements.  The key tool is the Firefox Accessibility
> Extension can send the Document Object Model of the currently loaded web
> application (Sakai, Moodle, uPortal) and send it to FAE for an accessibility
> report.  This can provide a great first pass for developers in adding
> accessibility into their design process and freeing people with disabilities
> to do real usability testing on the technologies.
>
> Developers have been very pleased with the reports because they provide
> specific information on changes they need to make in markup to improve
> accessibility.
>
> Firefox Accessibility Extension:
> http://fae.cita.uiuc.edu
>
> Use the "Tools" -> "FAE Report" option to generate an accessibility report
> from Firefox Accessibility Extension.
>
> Functional Accessibility Evaluator:
> http://fae.cita.uiuc.edu
>
> People may also be interested in a 2 day workshop on June 12th and 13th at
> the University of Illinois on the new W3C Accessible Rich Internet
> Applications (ARIA) specifications.  These specifications are very important
> in making web applications more accessible:
>
> http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/courses/aria/
>
>
> Jon
>
>
>
>
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 19:39:59 -0400
> >From: Colin Clark <colin.clark at utoronto.ca>
> >Subject: Volunteers needed for accessibility heuristic evaluations
> >To: fluid-work at fluidproject.org, accessibility at collab.sakaiproject.org,
> jasig-ue at lists.ja-sig.org
> >
> >Hi everyone,
> >
> >As you have probably heard, the Fluid project is working on a series of
> >heuristic evaluations of uPortal, Sakai, and Moodle. We're looking for
> >volunteers who are interested in helping out with the accessibility side
> >of these evaluations. This includes helping to define the accessibility
> >protocols, mentoring others on accessibility practices, and helping to
> >actually review the software applications.
> >
> >Heuristic evaluations are an easy and low-cost way to assess the user
> >interface of an application, identifying usability and accessibility
> >problems based on recognized principles or heuristics.
> >
> >You can find out more about heuristic evaluations in the Fluid wiki:
> >
> >http://tinyurl.com/2by6c2
> >
> >We've got a great group of accessibility experts--coordinated by Mike
> >Elledge at MSU--who can help with training and advice if you're
> >interested in getting involved but need a bit of guidance in the process.
> >
> >Please let me know if you're interested in helping out,
> >
> >Colin
> >
> >--
> >Colin Clark
> >Technical Lead, Fluid Project
> >Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto
> >http://fluidproject.org
> >
> >----------------------
> >This automatic notification message was sent by Sakai Collab (
> https://collab.sakaiproject.org/portal) from the WG: Accessibility site.
> >You can modify how you receive notifications at My Workspace >
> Preferences.
> >
> Jon Gunderson, Ph.D.
> Director of IT Accessibility Services (CITES)
> and
> Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology (DRES)
>
> WWW: http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/
> WWW: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jongund/www/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> fluid-work mailing list
> fluid-work at fluidproject.org
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>

-- 
Jonathan Hung / jonathan.hung at utoronto.ca
University of Toronto - ATRC
Tel: (416) 946-8312