Accessible IT Resources

Accessible IT Organizations

Centerfor Applied Special Technology (CAST)

Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST has earned international recognition for its development of innovative, technology-based educational resources and strategies based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

National Center on Accessible IT in Education (AccessIT)

The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) at the University of Washington serves to increase the access of individuals with disabilities to information technology in educational institutions at all academic levels nationwide. It is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education and is located at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center - ITTAC

The Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC) is charged with providing accessibility training and technical assistance related to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. We want to help our audiences – industry, state officials, trainers, and consumers – to understand the requirements of Sections 508 and 255 and to achieve success in their efforts to develop, market, and buy accessible E&IT. ITTATC, which is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), is located at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.

Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)

Since 1992, CoSN has been a guiding light for educators interested in effective use of information technology in the classroom and has the national voice on use of the Internet and information technologies to improve K-12 learning. Our membership includes key technology leaders from school districts and states as well as leading corporate partners. Their core belief that accessible technologies and the close collaboration of Assistive Technology (AT) and Instructional Technology (IT) services at the school district level will enhance and facilitate learning for all students – those with disabilities and those without disabilities.

Accessible Technologies for All Students Project

An initiative of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), whose goal is increased achievement and success for all students through the unlimited and effective use of accessible technologies.

ADA and Accessible IT technical Assistance Centers

Ten regional centers that provide information, training, and technical assistance to employers, people with disabilities, and other entities with responsibilities under the ADA and Accessible IT.

Assistive Technology ( IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI )

Illinois Assistive Technology Project

Assistive Technology Through Action in Indiana (ATTAIN)

Michigan Assistive Technology Project

Minnesota Star Program

Assistive Technology of Ohio

Wisconsin Assistive Technology Program (WisTech)

PACER Center

Ability Hub - Directs you to adaptive equipment and alternative methods available for accessing computers

Infinitec

CAST

RESNA

Distance Learning Accessibility

Illinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility

Video Captioning Tools

MAGpie (free)

A free authoring tool for making their materials accessible to persons with disabilities geared toward developers of Web and CD–ROM based multimedia.

IMS Guidelines for Developing Accessible Learning Applications

A set of guidelines developed by the IMS Accessibility Working Group that provide a framework for the distributed learning community. This framework sets the stage for what solutions currently exist, what the opportunities and possibilities are for implementing them, and the areas where more development and innovation are still needed in educational technologies to ensure education that is truly accessible to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Hardware Accessibility Checklist from IBM

A free checkilist developed by IBM to help assess the accessibility of information technology hardware. Use this checklist for, copiers, printers, fax machines, or similar types of products which are designed such that the user cannot attach or install assistive technology.

Captioning QuickTime

A WebAIM authored resource that gives step–by–step instructions on captioning with Quicktime.

Captioning Windows Media

A WebAIM authored resource that gives step–by–step instructions on captioning with Windows Media.

Captioning RealPlayer

A WebAIM authored resource that gives step–by–step instructions on captioning with RealPlayer.

Media Players – An accessibility comparison

A study published by WebAIM that compares accessiblity features in 3 major media players.

Electronic Text

Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Techniques from WebAIM

Adobe PDF Online Conversion Tool

Adobe Accessibility

Microsoft Word Accessibility

Texas Text Exchange - A Texas A & M University project that allows higher education institutions to share accessible textbooks

National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)

BookShare.org

Project Gutenberg

The Internet Public Library (IPL)

IT Accessibility Policy and Related Laws

Overview of State Accessibility Laws, Policies, Standards

Accessible Design Statements and Standards in Colleges and universities - A State-by-State listing

Disability Discrimination - Summary of civil rights of the disabled

Disability Law Update - Site includes disability case summaries and links to related resources.

Accessible Distance Education Requirement

The New Mexico legislature passed House Bill 708, which requires that distance learning courses offered by public schools and institutions of higher learning be usable by students with disabilities using assistive technology and offered in an HTML format.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA)

Illinois Web Accessibility Standards

Libraries

Access e-Learning (free online training on accessible instructional techniques)

National Center on Disability & Access to Education

Accessible Libraries and Computer Lab Environments

Barrier-Free Education - devoted to Universal Access

Accessible University Mock Site - allows accessible design of online educational resources by example

Publications

The following is a list of some resources related to accessible IT and universal web design.

e–School News

e–School News Provides information, news, and stories realted to education, and technology. e–School news occasionally mentions items on Accessible IT, assistive technology, and related topics.

Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) Publications on Universal Design

Various articles and other media by CAST on applications of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Software Accessibility

Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) Reference

Microsoft Active Accessibility 2.0 SDK Tools

IBM Guidelines for Writing Accessible Applications Using 100% Pure Java™

IMS Guidelines for Developing Accessible Interfaces and Interactive Environments

Developing Accessible Applications for GNOME (Linux)

Linux Accessibility Resource Site

MacOS Accessibility Features

IBM Developer Guidelines for Accessibility

Web Accessibility

Action Plan: Evaluating Your Website for Accessibility

A checklist from WebAIM, it is a 7–step process that is designed to help you to evaluate the level of accessibility of a Web site using a variety of easy–to–use tools and methods.

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative

The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) commitment to lead the Web to its full potential includes promoting a high degree of usability for people with disabilities. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops its work through W3C's consensus-based process, involving different stakeholders in Web accessibility. These include industry, disability organizations, government, accessibility research organizations, and more.

Trace Center: Designing More Usable Websites

A section of Trace Center's Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward building a more usable Web for all.

WebAIM

WebAIM has provided comprehensive Web accessibility solutions since 1999. These years of experience have made WebAIM one of the leading providers of Web accessibility expertise internationally. WebAIM is a non–profit organization within the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University.

Accessibility Checkers

Below is a lost of several accessibility checkers, and are either web-based, stand-alone, free, or commercial.

WAVE Online

A product of WebAIM, the WAVE accessibility checker evalutates web pages for several known accessibility issues. It does NOT necessarily use any aingle accessibility standard or guideline, but rather a collection of issues that would affect functional performance and accessibility of a web page.

AccMonitor Online

A web–based accessibility evaluator by HiSoftware that allows you to check individual web pages against Section 508 standards and W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Priority checkpoints 1, 2, and 3.

A–Prompt

A–Prompt (Accessibility Prompt) is a software tool designed to help Web authors improve the usability of Web pages created in HTML format. A–Prompt first evaluates an HTML Web page to identify barriers to accessibility by people with disabilities. A–Prompt then provides the Web author with a fast and easy way to make the necessary repairs. The tool's evaluation and repair checklist is based on accessibility guidelines created and maintained by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium.

NILS Accessibility Toolbar for Internet Explorer

The Web Accessibility Toolbar is provided by the Accessible Information Solutions (AIS) team at the National Information and Library Service (NILS), Australia. The Web Accessibility Toolbar has been developed to aid manual examination of web pages for a variety of aspects of accessibility. It consists of a range of functions that identify components of a web page, facilitate the use of 3^rd party online applications, simulate user experiences, provide links to references, and additional resources.

UsableNet, LIFT

A server application that facilitates guideline compliance for all website content including static and dynamic, internet and intranet pages.

REHAB711NC: Designing Universally Accessible Web Resources for People with Disabilities

This course is designed for web content developers to learn about the disability access issues faced by people with disabilities in using the web and how web resources can be designed to improve accessibility. The course provides a foundation on how people with disabilities access information on the web using mainstream browsers and specialized assistive technologies like speech renderings. Participants will learn about the two main standards for web accessibility, the W3C Web Content Accessibility Standards and the Section 508 requirements for web materials. The strengths and weaknesses of different evaluation and repair tools will be presented to help participants understand how to use the available tools to evaluate and repair their web resources. Participants will learn about common HTML accessibility problems, and HTML and CSS techniques that can be used to improve accessibility. Captioning of multimedia materials is also covered for Microsoft Media Player, Real Player and Quicktime, and the accessibility of non–W3C technologies like PDF and Flash will also be discussed.

Training:: http://cita.rehab.uiuc.edu/courses/
Description:: http://www.webaim.org/discussion/mail_thread.php?thread=2134