Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | * EASI: Equal Access to Software & Information |
Date: | Thu, 19 Jul 2001 11:42:32 -0400 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
Catherine:
Thanks for posting the link to 508 how-to's.
Jim
(Toronto, Canada)
----- Original Message -----
From: Catherine Alfieri <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 7:46 PM
Subject: CURR: GENFW: Webmasters get online 508 how-to's
> Catherine Alfieri
> 7 Summer Tree
> Pittsford, NY 14534
> 716-586-1682
> Monroe County Women's Disability Network
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.mcwdn.org
> VirtEd
> http://www.mcwdn.org/VirtEd2.html
> Personal page
> http://www.mcwdn.org/AlfieriMain.html
> "See with your heart, Speak with your heart!"
>
>
> Webmasters get online 508 how-to's
>
> FCW's Dot-Gov Thursday feature
>
> BY William Matthews
> July 19, 2001
>
> Web page designers - and their bosses - who aren't sure how to create
pages
> that meet the accessibility standards spelled out by Section 508 of the
> Rehabilitation Act now can turn to an online training course for advice.
>
> A series of online lessons developed by Interactive Media Corp. for the
> General Services Administration are up and running and receiving favorable
> reviews.
>
> The lessons begin with a 19-page explanation of the Section 508 law
> requiring that when federal agencies buy information technology, they must
> buy technology that can be used by people with disabilities. The law
applies
> to Web pages as well as to office equipment.
>
> There are eight lessons, and the longest one is a 52-page practicum on
> designing Web pages to meet 508 standards. It could take several hours to
> complete. A less detailed overview is designed to take two to three hours
to
> complete.
>
> Other lessons deal with such matters as:
> * How to use frames and style sheets.
> * Alternatives to multimedia presentations.
> * Scripts and applets.
> * How to handle online forms and PDF files,
> * How to verify that the finished Web site is 508-compliant.
>
> It's a "super course," said Don Barrett, an accessibility expert at the
> Education Department.
>
> "The site is very concise and very accurate. The content is excellent,"
said
> Patrick Sheehan, a computer specialist in the Office of Information
> Technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
>
> The online tutorial is likely to be most useful to Web designers who are
> familiar with Section 508 but want more detailed instructions on how to
make
> specific elements of their Web pages accessible. For example, a designer
> might want specific instructions on how to create accessible tables,
Sheehan
> said. The training course "will walk you through it," he said.
>
> The lessons were intended by GSA to train federal Web designers, but are
> available to anyone who wants to take them. A link to the lessons has been
> added to the federal accessibility Web site (www.section508.gov).
>
> Because Section 508 is enforced through federal procurement regulations,
GSA
> is planning to add courses to the site to train government procurement
> officers in the details of the law. Other planned additions include
training
> courses for human resources personnel.
>
> Copyright 2001 FCW Government Technology Group
>
|
|
|