Web Axe: web accessibility podcast and blog

Podcast and blog on practical web design accessibility tips.

What is web accessibility? | Email: web axe [at gmail] NOSPAM! dot com

Current Posts

WCAG 2.0 published as Candidate Recommendation

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Today the WCAG 2.0 has been advanced to Candidate Recommendation status. This is a big step in the long W3C guideline development process. What this means is that most people agree on the technical aspects of the much needed update to WCAG 1.0, and we can start using WCAG 2.0 as a guideline as it's "Ready to Test-Drive".

In the words of WCAG:

We are excited to announce that Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
(WCAG 2.0) was published as a W3C Candidate Recommendation on 30 April 2008. The Candidate Recommendation stage means that there is broad consensus on the technical content, and W3C invites you to implement WCAG 2.

Labels: guidelines, wcag

1 comments

Section 508 and Higher Education

Monday, April 28, 2008

In his article 508 and Higher Ed., Jon Whiting at WebAIM has blogged about his findings on college web sites meeting (or not meeting) Section 508 requirements. It's pretty sad how even college web sites, in the most part, do not meet even the most basic web accessibility requirements of Section 508. Jon states that "only three of the one-hundred pages complied with Section 508".

Labels: law, webaim

0 comments

Podcast #63: Reviewing Accessible Ajax Recommendations

Thursday, April 17, 2008

In Webcredible's article AJAX accessibility for websites, a list of recommendations is presented for creating accessible Ajax web pages. In this podcast, Dennis and Ross discuss the accessibility issues and benefits of Ajax, and the recommendations from Webcredible which are:

• Inform users early in the page that dynamic updates will occur
• Highlight the areas that have been updated
• Don't change the focus
• Offer the option to disable automatic updates
• Ensure the site works if JavaScript isn't enabled

Download Web Axe Episode 63 (Reviewing Accessible Ajax Recommendations)

News & Events

• Refresh Detroit meeting April 23 (demo night)
  
• Accessible Online Learning
• Accessible Data Visualization with Web Standards
• Guide to semantic use of HTML elements / Why use semantic XHTML
  
• Everything I know about accessibility I learned from Star Wars (MP3) (Derek Featherstone at SXSW)

Labels: ajax, podcast

0 comments

Why Captioning Sucks

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

As you may know, captioning is required for accessible audio/video presentations. The Open & Closed Project (from Joe Clark) explains the downfalls of captioning on the new web site Captioning Sucks! Reasons cited are as follows (and you'll have to go to the site to fully understand!):

• Not enough of it
• They don't listen
• It's hard to read
• The wrong kind
  
• The fox is watching the hen house
  
• There are no standards

Labels: audio, caption

0 comments

Cognitive Accessibility Survey

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Cognitive disabilities are the least recognized in the world of web accessibility (as opposed to visual, auditory, and motor). The goal of WebAIM's Steppingstones Project is to "help web developers consider issues of cognitive disability in their designs". To assist in this process, WebAIM is inviting people to complete its Cognitive Disability and Web Accessibility Survey. It takes about 10 minutes.

• About the Survey
• Complete the Survey

Labels: cognitive, webaim

0 comments

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Previous Posts

• Podcast #76: Web Accessibility Disasters
• Roundup: Accessibility Links on Twitter
• Accessible YouTube Sites
• Free Browsers for Visual Impairment
• Colorblind, Law, and Lightboxes
• Podcast #75: Jeremy Keith Interview, Google Wave
• ATIA Chicago 2009
• Accessibility Round-Up from Twitter
• Podcast #74: Awards, Events & Back to Basics
• Accessible Twitter Wins Award, Slidedeck

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Related Sites

• Web Overhauls - tune-up your web site!
• Accessible Twitter - superior alternative to Twitter.com.
• 3.7crea.tv - web design and marketing blog.
• Refresh Detroit - regional group for web professionals.
• Detroit Podcasters Network.
• Website Design - seo friendly web design company.

About the Hosts

 

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Web Axe was nominated for "Podcast of the Year" in .net magazine's 2008 and 2009 Best of the Web awards.

To learn more about Dennis Lembree, the founder and main host of Web Axe, visit his web site at www.DennisLembree.com.