Accessible Web Design

Maine CITEWelcome

Over the years Maine CITE has offered a number of workshops on Accessible Web Design (AWD) and we built this site as a support to those events. But the materials have become rather popular so we've kept them here and invite you to feel free to poke around and use what you find. Please also check out the jebswebs blog for more current information about this topic.

There's lots of stuff here and we are always looking to add new things. Please feel free to contact John Brandt with ideas and suggestions.

Interesting Stuff

Below are some articles and resources discovered over the past few years related to AWD that are some of the better resources.

Getting Started with Practical Web Accessibility

This is an on-line primer for web designers interested in learning about web accessibility. According to its author Jukka Korpela (Yucca), "...It can be read as a standalone primer, or used as the basic material for a short course. After finishing it, you will know a useful set of rules, the reasons behind them, and how to apply them in authoring. You can then proceed to a wider and more detailed look at web accessibility, e.g. using the WebAIM site." Read Getting Started with Practical Web Accessibility...

The Importance of Human Evaluation
by WebAIM

The two basic approaches to accessibility evaluation are:

  1. Use a software tool
  2. Use a human evaluator

Usually the best approach is to use both a software tool and a human evaluator. Each approach has strengths and weaknesses which complement the others and form a more complete approach to web accessibility evaluation. People with disabilities can be especially valuable as accessibility evaluators. Read The Importance of Human Evaluation

Seven Accessibility Mistakes (Part 1)

This is a blog entry from Christian Heilman in Digital Web Magazine. It's a bit technical and probably written for those working primarily in the "business world." So the concerns raised may not be relevant to your work. Perhaps the most important "mistake" is the trust we put into the technology to solve the problem. While Heilman is referring to trust in our authoring software or CMS, this is also true regarding the various on-line "tools" and "validators" that can be used to check accessibility. The good old human brain is still the best tool. Accessibility can only be improved when we think about what we're doing and test with real people. Read Seven Accessibility Mistakes by Christian Heilman

24 ways to impress your friends

If you really have a lot of time on your hands, you want to head over to the 24 ways to impress your friends website and see all of the neat things people are doing with web design elements using CSS, AJAX and JavaScript. It will make your head spin. They update the site annually and this past year re-did the site as an Advent Calendar! Visit 24 ways to impress your friends

Workshop Resource: Highlights/References

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General Web Design Resources

See also the Links to Accessible Web and Universal Design found here on the Maine CITE web.

Listservs

Web Resources from The AccessIT Web Design and Development Course

Below we have provided a set of websites that provide a full range of free instructional content on web design and related topics. Exploring these sites is a great way to extend the content of this curriculum, particularly for advanced students. Many of these sites are additionally linked throughout the curriculum.

Instruction/Tutorials

CSS Resources

Technical Specifications

Usability and Accessibility

Color

Graphics & Copyright

Validators

 

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