Rehearsal of a talk on "From Web Accessibility to Web Adaptability" given at Techshare 2009 conference on 17 September 2009.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/conferences/techshare-2009/
On National Teacher Day, meet the 2024-25 Kenan Fellows
From Web Accessibility to Web Adaptability
1. From Web Accessibility to Web Adaptability Techshare 2009 conference, 17 September 2009 Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath, UK UKOLN is supported by: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/conferences/techshare-2009/ This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (but note caveat) Acceptable Use Policy Recording/broadcasting of this talk, taking photographs, discussing the content using email, instant messaging, blogs, etc. is permitted providing distractions to others is minimised. Tag for del.icio.us ‘ techshare-2009 ' Email: [email_address] Twitter: http://twitter.com/briankelly/ Blog: http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/
A framework for applying WCAG in the real world (of flawed browsers, limited resources, etc) was described at W4A 2005 in a paper on “ Forcing Standardization or Accommodating Diversity? A Framework for Applying the WCAG in the Real World ”. This framework sought to applying WCAG in the real world of flawed browsers, limited resources, etc.
The application of our work in a wider context (e.g. access to cultural resources) was described at W4A 2007 in a paper on “ Accessibility 2.0: People, Policies and Processes ”. The paper provided example to illustrate the complexities - for example the paper included a visual image which could be interpreted as a duck or a rabbit - providing alt descriptions would take away the ambiguities of this image. The paper introduced the stakeholder model and coined the term ‘ Accessibility 2.0 ’ to describe this user-centred approach.
The limitations of WAI guidelines have been acknowledged. In a paper on “ Accessibility of Emerging Rich Web Technologies: Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web ” presented at the W4A 2007 conference Michael Cooper, who works for W3C WAI said: “ However, we recognize that standards are slow, and technology evolves quickly in the commercial marketplace. Innovation brings new customers and solidifies relationships with existing customers; Web 2.0 innovations also bring new types of professionals to the field, ones who care about the new dynamic medium. As technologies prove themselves, standardizing brings in the universality of the benefit, but necessarily follows this innovation. Therefore, this paper acknowledges and respects Web 2.0, discussing the issues and real world solutions. ”
A video clip shows Judith, a user with cerebral palsy, using Second Life with a headwand. She was asked: “ Do you think that this will be a really useful tool for people who are unable to get around, who have problems of mobility in real life? ” Her response was “ Yes, because you can have friends without having to go out and physically find them ”. There is a danger that organisations will ban Second Life as they feel if fails to comply with accessibility guidelines. This would deprive users such as Judith of the benefits they seek.