Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility Resource Roundup
Below are links to resources on ICT accessibility that address many different aspects of the topic. Each has a brief description that captures some of the highlights that you will find in the website that the link points to.
The fact that one resource is linked and another is not does not mean that AT3 endorses any of the products or information below.
General ICT Accessibility Information
- Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Getting Started by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Great information for those starting out with ICT accessibility. Includes links to articles about accessibility
techniques, how people use the web (including the fantastic Web Accessibility Perspectives videos)
and developing a business case for ICT accessibility.
- WebAIM Introduction to Web Accessibility
Similar to the W3C Getting Started page, but with some unique information and another set of videos that
help to introduce ICT accessibility concepts.
- Introduction to Web Accessibility for Developers By Google
This is an online course that includes information for developers that are just beginning to get to know ICT
accessibility. The course includes different formats, including some captioned video.
- Microsoft Developer Network Introduction to Web Accessibility
A great entry point for developers and web designers. Information that is useful to anyone, but like the
Google page above this is aimed primarily at
web designers and developers.
Accessibility in Procurement and Use
One of the biggest places that organizations can make quick improvements is in procurement and use decision making. Accessibility should always be one of the considerations that goes into these decisions.
- Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology
PEAT comes from the Department of Labor and while it focuses on the Workforce, its resources
are fantastic for anyone accounting for accessibility. This article on procurement includes
guidance
from Jeff Kline from Texas and points to additional resources, too.
- Section 508 Buy Accessible Wizard
A set of links and information, including the Buy Accessible Wizard. While Section 508 applies to federal
agencies and contractors only, it does
apply to what AT Act Programs provide with AT Act funding.
Regardless of whether Section 508 applies to the work or
not, the Buy Accessible Wizard and Links
provide procurement language and process information that is helpful for any organization.
- New Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)
One of the tools that you can use as part of a procurement or use decision making process is a Voluntary
Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT.
With the release of new Section 508 standards at the federal level
comes a new format for the VPAT itself. Read up on the changes and find the new VPAT here.
Accessibility Testing and Assessment
Testing websites for accessibility is a service that is in very high demand. These tools will help you to test web and non-web content for accessibility. As of January, 2018, all of the tools below are free to use. Disclaimer: no automatic tool catches everything. Manual testing is necessary, and information about manual techniques is in the list below as well.
- World Wide Web Consortium Accessibility Evaluation Resources
A fantastic set of resources from the W3C. From a set of Easy Checks to get you started on to a report
generator and template for reports, these are incredibly helpful.
- World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool List
Part of the Evaluation Resources above, this lets you select the set of accessibility standards that you want
to check, languages, page types and other criteria and then shows you tools that fit your needs.
- WAVE Website and Browser Add-ons
From WebAIM, the WAVE uses algorithms to test websites for accessibility. A great tool for websites
without a lot of interaction, and a good tool for web applications as well. The WAVE tests for structure,
reports things like alternative text for images and points out places where
JavaScript or ARIA might be
on a page. It also tests color contrast.
- The Paciello Group Colour Contrast Analyser
A small but incredibly flexible tool that lets you select a foreground color and a background color. The tool
then tells you the contrast ratio between the two and shows whether the ratio meets Web Content
Accessibility
Guidelines. The tool will work on web pages as well as Office and
PDF files. If you can open
something on your
computer then this tool will let you check it.
Accessible Multimedia
- WebAIM on Captions, Transcripts and Audio Descriptions
A primer on accessible multimedia that discusses video captions, audio transcripts and audio descriptions.
This provides examples as well.
- The National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)
Part of WGBH in Boston, which was the first broadcast network to caption a television program. NCAM has
resources and information about creating
high quality, accurate captions. Look for their new, free
captioning tool, CADET.
- Captioning Key from the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP).
While focused on educational content, the best practices under Captioning Key are informative for anyone
that oversees or creates captions. Use the navigation buttons at the top of the main content to read the
standards.
Accessible Non-Web (PDF, Office)
Accessible Social Media
- DigitalGov Social Media Accessibility Toolkit
An easy-to-use reference that details how to create more accessible social media posts. Not every social
media platform lets you create fully accessible content. This Toolkit gives a lot of tips about the most
common platforms to help you to do everything that the platform supports. It also gives you information
about how to make sure that people can contact you if they need to, which is critical when a platform does
not support accessibility.