Still time to sign up for Monday's workshop!

Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 14:35:33 -0400
From: Prof Norm Coombs <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Web Design for all including Students with Disabilities

Barrier-Free Web Design

This four-week workshop is designed to demonstrate how to create web pages
that
are both visually appealing and fully accessible to users with print
disabilities. In this context, accessibility means that the menus are readily
navigable and that the content itself is in a format that users with
disabilities can "read" independently. This workshop is largely self-paced,
but
it also includes frequent interaction with instructors and
other HTML learners. It includes multimedia slides with narrated audio, video
clips, audio discussions and text and graphic materials. Besides teaching
universal web design, it is intended to model how to use multimedia on the
web
in ways that enhance access for all users. By combining multiple
communication
modes, the workshop increases its accessibility for everyone. The recent
guidelines announced by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Access Initiative
are included in the course. To qualify for CEU's, participants will have
to create a web page using tools used in the class.

It includes multimedia slides with narated audio, video clips, audio
discussions and text and graphic materials.  Besides teaching universal web
design, it is intended to model how to use multimedia on the web in ways
that enhance access for all users.  By combining multiple communication
modes, the workshop increases its accessibility for everyone.  The
guidelines recently announced by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Access
Initiative are included in the course.  The workshop focus is on
accessibility features in web design rather than being an in-depth course
in HTML.  It is aimed at people who know web design and want to understand
accessibility issues, and for those wanting to understand access issues to
better talk with designers.

Beginning August 23

Taught by instructors with extensive experience in adaptive computer
technology:
Richard Banks and Norman Coombs, Ph.D.

Registration includes the free coupon for a team-mate.
To register or for more information, go to:
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/workshops.html

Lesson Contents:

Lesson 1.  Introduction:
This will include: advantages of the web for people with disabilities;
problems of the web; the law and web access; the WAI (Web Access
Initiative; and instructors' and participants' introductions.

Lesson 2. Dealing with general design principles for accessibility:
This will include: layout for clarity and simplicity; design for rapid
comprehension; and layout for navigation;

Lesson 3.  Dealing with graphics and other visual features:
This will include: graphics; pictures; icons; graphical links; use of
colors; and how to provide accessibility for users who are blind, low
vision or have learning disabilities.

Lesson 4. Dealing with audio and the audio portion of video content:
This will include: the need to provide text transcriptions for deaf and
hard-of-hearing; the use of synchronized text with audio and video; and the
use of descriptive video.

Lesson 5. Dealing with W3 style sheets and mark up features:
 This will include: cascading style sheets; HTML 4.0 markup features in
general but especially those enhancing accessibility.

Lesson 6.  Dealing with older browsers and with special screen reader
features:
This will include how to use new HTML features in ways that gracefully
transform pages when accessed with older browsers or by special adaptive
software that reformats pages based on its HTML coding.

Lesson 7.  Dealing with user control issues:
This will include an explanation of how to use the user control features of
HTML 4.0.

Lesson 8.  Validation for HTML and for accessibility features:
This will include: how to validate your HTML code; how to check your pages
for accessibility; submitting a page to qualify for continuing education
units.

You can also write Norman Coombs for information: [log in to unmask]