Norm,

Wikis are becoming very popular and on our campus we are using the Confluence Wiki, but there many other developers.  There are two main issues from my view navigation and oreintation and authoring.

Problem 1
Wikis have alot of structural relationships that are not clearly identified in the markup through headers and the use of lists.  So they can be very difficult to navigate.  They allow users to change the "view" or organization of information so that compounds the orientation issues.  They also have several menus or navigation bars which are not labeld very well for screen reader users.

Problem 2
Wikis allow users to create and define relationships between content.  These authoring tools often do not directly support creating accessible content and there are a wide number of tools they use to allow people to create content.

We have been working on making the confluence wiki more accessible at UIUC, more information can be found at:

http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/collaborate/wiki/issues.php

Hope this helps,
Jon





---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 06:06:14 -0700
>From: Prof Norm Coombs <[log in to unmask]>  
>Subject: Accessibility of Wickies and Blogs  
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>I am looking for help.
>
>Frankly, I had thought of blogs and also wickies as so much teen-age 
>kibitzing.  Now, I am picking up clear messages that not only k-12 schools 
>but a number of colleges and universities are integrating them into courses 
>in a big way.  I was wrong again!  It seems I need to both change my mind 
>and to learn about them.
>I am looking for someone who is at a school actively using them to talk to 
>me about what they are doing and how they work.  I also really need any 
>help in learning the accessibility issues of both wickies and of blogs.
>How do they work with screen reader software?
>How do they work with screen mag software?
>Do they work using keystrokes or do the require a mouse?
>How do they work for students with learning disabilities?
>
>I hope there are at least a handful of people who I can talk to and learn from.
>
>If you reply to this discussion list, please also copy me directly as the 
>list mail frequently gets trapped in one of my folders.
>Norm Coombs
>[log in to unmask]
>
>Thank you.
>
>
>
>
>- - - - - - - -
>EASI Courses New and Revised:
>September: Barrier-free Information Technology:
>http://easi.cc/workshops/adaptit.htm
>
>4-part live Web conference series on Accessible Podcasting starting 
>September 12 http://easi.cc/clinic.htm
>
>Norman Coombs, Ph.D.
>CEO EASI http://easi.cc
>Phone (949) 855-4852 ** Pacific time!!


Jon Gunderson, Ph.D.
Director of IT Accessibility Services
Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services (CITES)
and 
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Disability Resources and Education Services (DRES)

Voice: (217) 244-5870
Fax: (217) 333-0248
Cell: (217) 714-6313

E-mail: [log in to unmask]

WWW: http://cita.rehab.uiuc.edu/
WWW: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jongund/www/