Indiana University
School of Library and Information Science

L595: Workshop for Librarians and Information Professionals

Web Accessibility Ð 1.5 credit hours

Course information and instructor contact information will go here

Description:

This Workshop will address the following topics: defining web accessibility, interpreting accessibility-related laws, accessibility-related organizations, how current web standards address accessibility concerns, common accessibility pitfalls and issues, tools and techniques for evaluating web sites' compliance with current accessibility guidelines, techniques for producing accessible content, and current accessibility-related news/opinions.  The focus of the workshop will be centered more on general issues related to accessibility, rather than advanced technical procedures.

Objectives:

• Understand common definitions of web accessibility.
• Strengthen knowledge of HTML.
• Become familiar with prominent accessibility guidelines and legislation.
• Become familiar with tools to aid in the development of accessible web content.
• Acquire skills related to the identification and remediation of web accessibility issues.
• Acquire skills for making web content accessible.
• To become familiar with information sources relevant to the construction of accessible web sites.

Prerequisites:

L571 or equivalent experience (with instructor approval).  Students should have a solid understanding of basic HTML.

Assignments:

• Participation (20%)
  • Active participation in class discussion, participation in classroom exercises, and weekly posts to class discussion list reflecting on workshop readings or about accessibility-related news and/or resources.
  • Grading criteria: Quality of commentary, punctuality of posts, and participation in classroom exercises.
• Marked up commentary (5%)
  • A ~250 word commentary on any of the workshop's readings marked up in either HTML 4.01 Strict or XHTML 1.0 Strict.
  • Grading criteria: Quality of commentary and validation of (X)HTML file.
• Web accessibility evaluation (15%)
  • Each student will be provided with a section of a web site and will evaluate the site's accessibility.  Students can select a site of their own choosing with instructor consent.  The final product will be a ~1500 word commentary on the site's accessibility problems, citing relevant accessibility standards and guidelines.  Documents will be marked up in either HTML 4.01 Strict or XHTML 1.0 Strict.
  • Grading criteria: Percentage of accessibility flaws identified, accuracy of problem identification, and quality of analysis.
• Accessible web site redesign and presentation (redesign: 25% presentation: 10%)
  • An accessible version of at least 5 web pages from the site used for the evaluation assignment.
  • Grading criteria:  Percentage of accessibility flaws corrected, effectiveness of the corrections, and ambition of the project.
• Final (25%)
  • A 90 minute, short answer test covering topics mentioned in the class lectures, discussion list postings, and selected assigned readings.  A listing of materials students will be expected to be knowledgeable of will be provided a week before the final. 
  • Grading criteria:  Students' displayed knowledge of workshop material

Topic Outline:

Required textbook:

Clark, J. (2002).  Building Accessible Websites.  Indianapolis: New Riders.

(all online readings last accessed on 2004.02.26
final citations will be in APA format)

Week 1

• Class introduction
• Review of syllabus
• Defining web accessibility
• Accessibility laws
• Prominent accessibility guidelines
• Sign up for class news/discussion list

Please review the following before the first class:

What is web accessibility?
http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/online-course/defined.htm

And browse the rest of Web Accessibility 101
http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/online-course/

Supplemental readings:

(If you haven't done much with HTML lately you may want to brush up by reviewing the following sites)

A Beginner's Guide to HTML
http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimerAll.html

Dave Ragget's introduction to HTML
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/

Week 2

Due (1 day before class): The URL of the prospective site for accessibility evaluation assignment. (if you wish to evaluate a site of your choosing)

• Accessibility-related organizations
• Accessibility guidelines in depth
• Common accessibility problems on the web
• Distribution of web sites for evaluation assignment

Required readings:

Clark: chapters 1-4

Please look over the following documents as well:

WebAIM Section 508 Checklist
http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist

Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/

Understanding Accessibility
http://www-306.ibm.com/able/access_ibm/disability.html

Why Make Web Sites Universally Accessible
http://www.mardiros.net/univ-accessible.html

Supplemental readings:

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm

Section 508 web site
http://www.section508.gov/

Comparison WCAG and Section 508
http://www.jimthatcher.com/sidebyside.htm

State accessibility laws
http://www.ittatc.org/laws/stateLawAtGlance.cfm

Accountability of Accessibility and Usability
http://www.digital-web.com/features/feature_2002-11.shtml

Accessible Web design - a definition
http://www.starlingweb.com/webac.htm

Building a Barrier-Free Web
http://www.newarchitectmag.com/documents/s=2450/na1202c/

Thatcher, J. (2002). 1. Web Accessibility for Section 508. Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center. Georgia Institute of Technology.
http://www.jimthatcher.com/webcourse1.htm

How to Save Web Accessibility from Itself
http://alistapart.com/articles/saveaccessibility/

Week 3

Due:  Marked up commentary

• Web accessibility evaluation tools
• How W3C standards address web accessibility
• Alternative web access devices

Required readings:

Clark: chapter 5

Zeldman, J. (2003). Designing With Web Standards. Indianapolis: New Riders.
Chapters 1 & 2

Accessibility testing on a budget
http://accessify.com/articles/accessibility-testing-on-a-budget_intro.asp

Please review the following sites as well:

Accessibility-checking favelets
http://accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/accessibility-checking-favelets.asp

Tips for managing Section 508 testing
http://builder.com.com/5100-6315-5031866.html

Watchfire's Bobby Online
http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/index.jsp

UsableNet's LIFT Online
http://www.usablenet.com/

WebAIM's WAVE
http://www.wave.webaim.org/index.jsp

Vischeck
http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckURL.php

Week 4

Due:  Web site accessibility evaluation

• Discussion of web accessibility issues found in assignment
• Assistive technology
• Techniques for making web content accessible
  Basic text formatting, lists, images, and document structure
• In class exercise

Required readings:

Clark: chapters 7-9

Web Accessibility for Section 508
http://www.jimthatcher.com/webcourse1.htm
(sections 1-6)

Supplemental readings:

Semantics, HTML, XHTML, and Structure
http://www.brainstormsandraves.com/articles/semantics/structure/

Facts and Opinion About Fahrner Image Replacement
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/fir/

An Introduction To Accessible Web Design
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/952

WebAIM accessibility techniques and concepts
http://webaim.org/techniques/

ISU Accessibility Guidelines
http://www.indstate.edu/webguide/5_access/

Usability.gov Accessibility Guidelines
http://usability.gov/accessibility/

Dynamic image replacement techniques
http://www.stopdesign.com/also/articles/replace_text/

Dive Into Accessibility
http://diveintoaccessibility.org/

Week 5

• Techniques for making web content accessible continued
  Forms, quotations, and tables
• Making site navigation accessible
  Navigation "skipping" and accesskeys
• In class exercise

Required readings:

Clark: chapters 10-12

Web Accessibility for Section 508
http://www.jimthatcher.com/webcourse1.htm
(sections 7-12)

Supplemental readings:

Creating Accessible Tables
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/tables/

Creating Accessible Forms
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/forms/

IBM Web Accessibility Developer Guidelines
http://www-306.ibm.com/able/guidelines/web/accessweb.html

Week 6

• Techniques for making scripts, multimedia, and PDFs accessible
• Web authoring tools' accessibility features
• Questions about web site revision assignment
• In class lab to work on web site revision assignment

Required readings:

Clark: chapter 13

access.adobe.com
http://access.adobe.com/

Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Techniques
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/

Supplemental readings:

FrontPage 2003 Accessibility
http://www.microsoft.com/office/frontpage/prodinfo/accessibility/default.mspx

Using FrontPage 2000 to Create Accessible Content
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/frontpage/

Macromedia Accessibility
http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/accessibility/

How to Make Accessible Web Content Using Dreamweaver
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/dreamweaver/

Week 7

Due: Accessible revision of web pages

• Presentations
• Review for Final

Week 8

• Class wrap-up
• Class evaluations
• Final

Grades:

The following definitions of letter grades have been defined by student and faculty members of the Curriculum Steering Committee and have been approved by the faculty as an aid in evaluation of academic performance and to assist students by giving them an understanding of the grading standards of the School of Library and Information Science.

A	4.0	Outstanding achievement.  Student performance demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations.
A-	3.7	Excellent achievement.  Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner.
B+	3.3	Very good work.  Student performance demonstrates above-average comprehension of the course materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course syllabus.
B	3.0	Good work.  Student performance meets designated course expectations, demonstrates understanding of the course materials and performs at an acceptable level.
B-	2.7	Marginal work.  Student performance demonstrates incomplete understanding of course materials.
C+  C	2.3  2.0	Unsatisfactory work.  Student performance demonstrates incomplete and  inadequate understanding of course materials.
C-  D+  D  D-	1.7  1.3  1.0  0.7	Unacceptable work.  Coursework performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree.  For the course to count toward the degree, the student must repeat the course with a passing grade.
F	0.0	Failing.  Student may continue in program only with permission of the Dean.

Academic Dishonesty:

This workshop will follow Indiana University and School of Library and Information Science policies on academic dishonesty. Students found to be engaging in plagiarism, cheating, and other types of dishonesty will receive an F for the workshop. For further information, please see the Code of Student Ethics at http://campuslife.indiana.edu/Code/index1.html.

Late Assignments:

All assignments must be completed by midnight of the date listed.  If you are unable to complete any assignment, contact the instructor as soon as possible. The instructor may choose to reduce the grade for any assignment turned in late.

Grades of <I> (Incomplete) may be given for this workshop in extreme cases, and only after discussion with the instructor.  The instructor may choose to reduce the final grade for any student given an incomplete.