SAN DIEGO, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp.  today 
announced
the immediate availability of Microsoft Accessibility Tools & 
Training, a
package of free online accessibility training courses, tools and 
other
resources to help developers worldwide create technology 
products, services
and websites that are accessible to people with disabilities, and 
to enable
business leaders to make more strategic technology decisions.

Microsoft made the announcement at the 26th Annual International 
Technology
and Persons with Disabilities Conference, sponsored by California 
State
University, Northridge (CSUN).  The annual CSUN conference brings 
the
accessibility community together to share best practices and to 
learn about
new and emerging accessibility products and solutions.
Microsoft initially developed the online tools and training 
courses to
increase accessibility awareness and expertise among its own 
developer
groups.  In response to growing customer demand for accessibility 
guidance,
however, Microsoft decided to make the resources available, free 
of charge,
to corporations, governments and nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs) around
the world that want to make technology more accessible.

Microsoft is also offering an accessibility resource guide to 
help
organizations meet the needs of people with all types of 
abilities.  The
guide, which can be downloaded or printed, provides specific 
information
about many types of disabilities, impairments and age-related 
difficulties
and some of the accessible technology solutions that can help 
address them.
The training courses, tools and resource guide are all available 
online;
most of these resources are also available on CD.

"Microsoft is one of the technology industry's leaders in 
accessibility
innovation and developing accessible technology, and we 
continuously work to
improve access to our products and services," said Bonnie 
Kearney, director
of marketing for Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft.  "By making 
these
training courses and resources widely available, we hope that we 
can help
raise the level of accessibility worldwide for people of all ages 
and
abilities."

The seven training courses that Microsoft developed cover a 
general overview
course suitable to both technical and nontechnical audiences, a 
development
overview course, and five courses covering the Windows platform 
technology,
including Windows Forms and the Windows Presentation Foundation.  
With this
content, developers can focus on a range of topics, from general
accessibility development to specific technologies, such as 
Microsoft
Silverlight.  In addition, dedicated, in-depth content on 
Web-development
topics, such as ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) and 
HTML 5, is
available.  The courses and other resources are also designed to 
help
business leaders make more informed decisions about improving the
accessibility of their technology products, Web services and 
internal
processes.  All the training courses stress the importance of 
building
accessibility into products and internal systems from the start 
of the
development cycle.

How Accessibility Training Benefits Businesses, Governments and 
NGOs
Developing and using accessible technology can help organizations 
attract
and retain outstanding employees by enabling them to recruit from 
a larger
pool of talented candidates and to equip them for maximum 
collaboration and
productivity.  As the aging population continues to expand, the 
need for
accessible technology within an organization's customer base 
grows, making
accessible products and services increasingly essential for 
creating and
maintaining a competitive advantage.

In preparing to release the accessibility tools, training courses 
and
resource guide, Microsoft worked closely with pilot-program 
participants in
a variety of countries, including organizations such as Hilton 
Worldwide,
Lloyds Bank in the United Kingdom and Humana Inc.  in the United 
States;
government entities such as the U.S.  General Services 
Administration, the
National Information Agency in Korea and the City of Constanta, 
Romania; and
NGOs such as Vision Australia.  These organizations offered input 
and
feedback to help ensure the materials would meet the needs and 
expectations
of corporations, governments and NGOs worldwide.

"Accessible technology makes it possible for many people to use 
computers
and the Internet who otherwise could not and enables anyone to 
personalize
their computer experiences to help meet their needs and 
preferences," said
Damien McCormack, national manager of Online Accessibility for 
Vision
Australia.  "This training from Microsoft complements and 
supports our
efforts to promote accessibility in the community.  With many 
services going
online, organizations ensuring that their services are accessible 
to the
largest number of people possible is just good business."

How Accessibility Benefits Consumers
Accessible technology is a necessity for a growing number of 
people
worldwide - from people with disabilities or age-related 
difficulties to
those who need temporary assistance because of injury, 
environmental
conditions or other circumstances.  Accessible technology makes 
it easier for
people with a wide range of abilities to see, hear and use 
computers and
other devices, and enables them to access government services and
information, secure and retain employment, and increase or 
maintain their
productivity for as long as they choose to keep working.
According to the United Nations Convention on Persons with 
Disabilities,
disability affects between 15 percent and 20 percent of the 
population in
every country worldwide, and the incidence of disability in 
industrialized
nations is increasing as their populations get older.  A 
Forrester Research
Inc.  study commissioned by Microsoft found that 57 percent of 
working-age
computer users (18-64 years old) would likely benefit from using 
accessible
technology because of difficulties and impairments that may 
affect computer
use.  As the population continues to age, Forrester noted, the 
number of
computer users in the 65-74 age range will increase 
significantly, as will
the number of people who would benefit from using accessible 
technology.

"By making accessibility an integral part of their development 
process, many
organizations worldwide can expand their customer base, improve 
and empower
their workforce, and increase their competitive edge," Kearney 
said.  "By
making this accessibility training available to developers free 
of charge,
Microsoft is not only helping its partners, it is providing 
resources that
have the potential to strengthen the entire industry."

Microsoft Accessibility Tools & Training and the Accessibility 
Resource
Guide can be viewed and downloaded from the Microsoft Developer 
Center
website at http://msdn.microsoft.com/accessibility.

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