Accessible Event makes meetings and seminars open to all participants, no matter their disability

I’ve been waiting on the following unveiling for a while and am impressed by the results, not to mention, the potential this offers for the future.

The folks at
Serotek
Have rolled out their latest accessibility tool.

As its name implies,
Accessible Event
Makes meetings, seminars, conferences, and other events where participation is contingent on the accessibility to all the participants, truly open to everybody.

You can check out the June 23
press Conference ,
which is, of course, presented as an Accessible Event.


And, if that isn’t enough and you’d like another demonstration of how this neat tool works, check out the Serotek demo of a
staff meeting.

This is a service Serotek is offering to people who have a need to make their program accessible. It is something that I can see a distinct need for for at colleges, universities, and even public schools. There are also the distinct commercial applications at trade shows and conventions. If you’re a presenter and want to sure accessibility, check out Accessible Event. It will provide the ultimate delivery of your message to all audience members.

Computer and web accessibility: All About Attitude

I once envisioned having my Chevy Silverado tricked out with a custom fade paint job and lots of sporty features from wide tires and rims to wood-trimmed interior with smoked glass. This truck was also going to feature an appropriate phrase emblazoned across the tailgate. The rear graphic would have a large, capital letter “A” and have three words running off it which read, “All About Attitude.”

Aside from being just a splashy paint job reflecting my thoughts on my ride, that phrase can also be applied to the area of computer and web accessibility. If a developer begins with the attitude that something cannot be done, such as making an application accessible to assistive technology, then how hard will he/she really try to make that take place?

On the flip side, though, if developers approach their work with the attitude that accessibility can be achieved, then isn’t that going to be more likely to work towards more positive solutions for everybody?

It is not being a pollyanna, but approaching one’s work with a positive attitude towards accessibility which leads one to conclude that the developer is willing to take that extra time to seek solutions and not throw in the towel at the first sign of resistance. If one believes that something can be achieved, then it seems logical that they will work diligently to reach that goal.

Of course, I’m not on a soapbox without cause. I just read an interesting post on the BarrierBreak blog regarding
making Flash accessible.
This post emphasized the importance of that same attitude in realizing the achievements of this consulting firm.


From the blog post:
“I’ve just come back from CSUN, 2008 and again had the same thoughts through most of my meetings. Mos people didnt even think that flash could be made accessible.”

“I was sitting there and wondering why is this the case? Accessible Flash is surely a possibility and actually is not as painful as most people think it to be. I think largely the problem is not knowin what is possible and then not knowing how to implement it.”

The author of that post, Shilpi Kedia, then goes on to offer a link to illustrate some examples of accessibility that BarrierBreak has achieved.

So, if they can make Flash accessible, why can’t others?

I find it interesting, and a bit discouraging, that the author was at CSUN, the showcase for accessibility solutions and that she found that negative attitude to be so pervasive. Instead of saying, “We can’t make it accessible,” developers can learn a lot from that one simple, but very noticeable point in the BarrierBreak blog post: Accessibility is all about attitude.

Flash animation and assistive technology

Is it just me, or has there been a recent explosion by web designers to incorporate Flash plug ins on their websites?

Perhaps Macromedia, the makers of the Flash animation product, have put on a full court press to promote a broader use of their application.

Whatever the reason, Flash seems to be flourishing on the web in the past several weeks. On top of that, in most cases, the controls for the Flash features are just the generic buttons with no description to what their functions are, leaving blind users of screen readers wondering what in the heck those buttons do. So, not only is Flash spreading like wildfire, the ignorance about accessibility is being incorporated in the fold as it does so.

I don’t think that most web designers have any idea that Flash is a difficult speedbump for users of screen readers. It is so much of a problem that Freedom Scientific’s JAWS screen reader includes a function to disable Flash animation when using the web browser.

Speaking purely anecdotally, I have noticed a large number of websites in just the past month that have begun embedding Flash animation as a means to spiff up their sites. I notice it because it makes it difficult for me to read their site’s content. On one newspaper’s site, if I had not been reading the site for the years that I have, I would have not known how the site was laid out and, as a result, when they employed Flash animation about three weeks ago, I would not have been able to read the news without taking a slow and time-consuming method of reading one line at a time with the down arrow. Even then, I don’t know how well the Flash animation would have interfered with JAWS.

Don’t misunderstand my complaint. I’m not a new JAWS user who might be unfamiliar with the program’s operation. I’ve been using this product for more than 10 years and am using the latest version. Also, I’m not a rookie in understanding how to maximize the efficiency of JAWS. I have often been called upon by friends who are also JAWS users for technical assistance.

I’m just noticing a glut of embedded Flash animation that is making my life difficult. I can’t speak for users of other assistive technology software such as screen magnifiers or other brands of screen readers, but I would think that this is affecting their access to web sites as well.

I just read an interesting post related to this subject on a new blog called ,
Aspirants.
It is only the second post on the blog, but seems well written and offers good insight to understanding web design.

Hopefully, future web designers will initiate some insight and think about the users of their products as somebody besides the typical, sighted consumer. Universal design would make their web pages readable by a broader audience. Isn’t more traffic what most creators of web content want? There are methods for creating accessible Flash animation. I’ve posted about some training on this specific subject here on previous occasions.

Finally, so you don’t think this post is purely a personal vent, look at your school’s web pages. Are they employing Flash as part of their effort to have the latest in whiz-bang technology? Is it accessible? Does it meet Section 508 standards?

Pardon any self indulgence on this subject, but it is a concern that I see as a growing trend and not dissipating in the near future.

My hope is that the understanding that Flash can be used successfully and also be accessible will begin to spread as fast as the use of Flash has been on the web.