Web Accessibility Resources

Some files are in PDF format and will require the free Adobe Reader.

College Accessibility Policies/Programs

• California Community Colleges

  • Community College Web Accessibility Resources

• California State Universities

  • CSU Accessible Technology Initiative

• University of California

  • UC Davis Policy Statement
  • Electronic Accessibility at the University of California

• Other Education Resource Sites

  • EDUCAUSE Accessibility
  • ATHEN - Access Technologists Higher Education Network

Discussion Forums

The following discussion lists include information focused on the accessibility of web technologies, accessible web authoring and other related topics.

• Accessibility Mail Lists
• The Web Accessibility Initiative Interest Group (WAI IG)
  Provides a forum for discussion of issues relating to Web accessibility, particularly issues related to WAI activities.
• WebAIM Web Accessibility Forum Mailing List
  The Web Accessibility Forum mailing list is for anyone interested in discussing Web accessibility issues. Individuals from all organizations and specialties are encouraged to join.
• WebAIM List of Accessibility Blogs

Government

• General

  • Addition to the Record: House Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing on "The Applicability of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to Private Internet Sites"
    Comments submitted to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the House Judiciary Committee for inclusion in the record of its Feb. 2000 hearing on "The Applicability of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to Private Internet Sites."
  • Policies Relating to Web Accessibility
  • US DOJ Opinion on Web Accessibility

• California State Agencies

  • State Accessibility Guidelines
  • California Department of Rehabilitation Web Accessibility Resources

• Federal

  • Usability.gov
    Resource for designing usable, useful and accessible Web site and user interfaces.
  • U.S. Access Board - A Federal Site
  • NSF - Web Accessibility
  • Accessible Technology Services Center - Home

Section 508

• Federal IT Accessibility Initiative information on Web Accessibility and Section 508 (Section508.gov)
  The Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative is a Federal government interagency effort to offer information and technical assistance to assist in the successful implementation of Section 508.
• 508 standards
• Policies: Maintain Accessibility
• Section 508 - Web Content Managers Toolkit
• Section 508 Checklist

W3C Guidelines

• Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
• User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
• SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language)

Organizations and Projects

• Adobe/Macromedia Accessibility
  Information about Adobe/Macromedia's efforts to incorporate accessibility into their Web authoring tools and developing accessibility strategies for the use of Portable Document Format (PDF) files on the Web.
• Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education Center (AWARE)
  Part of the HTML Writer's Guild, AWARE serves as a central resource for web authors for learning about Web accessibility.
• Association of Accessibility Professionals
  The AAP embraces representatives from web design companies, advertising agencies, colleges, technology vendors, management consultants and charitable organizations. Together we represent a united body of dedicated professionals who are committed to developing and supporting accessible, usable design for all.
• Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
  CAST is a not-for-profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities.
• CPB/WGBH National Center on Accessible Media (NCAM)
  NCAM focuses on a wide variety of projects having to do with web and multimedia access.
• Information Technology Technical Assistance & Training Center (ITTATC)
• Knowability.org
  Mission is to support the independence of children and adults with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology.
• The Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (ATRC)
  ATRC, part of the University of Toronto, works to advance technology to meet challenges faced by people with disabilities.
• The Universal Design / Disability Access Program (UD/DA) for Advanced Computational Infrastructure
  Works with the The National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI) program on infrastructure development by and for the application of advanced computational techniques.
• Trace R&D Center
  Trace works in conjunction with other Web Accessibility groups around the world to promote the design of more accessible and usable Web sites.
• Usability Professionals' Association
• Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM)
  WebAIM seeks to improve accessibility to online learning opportunities for all people; particularly to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities who may have a difficult time getting access to postsecondary online learning opportunities.
• Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
  WAI is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Initiative that pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.
• World Institute on Disability
  WID is a nonprofit, international public-policy center dedicated to carrying out cutting edge research on disability issues and overcoming obstacles to independent living.

Resources

• General

  • Accessibility Design Links
  • Accessibility of the Internet in Postsecondary Education: Meeting the Challenge
  • Accessibility Resources
  • Accessiblenet.org
    Web Accessibility portal containing around 503 links about accessibility.
  • Accessible Web page Design: Resources
  • Designing More Usable Web Sites
  • WAI Resources on Introducing Web Accessibility
    A resource for learning and understanding Web Accessibility.
  • How People with Disabilities Use the Web
    An introduction to use of the Web by people with disabilities. It illustrates some of their requirements when using Web sites and Web-based applications, and provides supporting information for the guidelines and technical work of the W3C WAI.
  • Human-Computer Interaction Bibliography: Accessibility Links
  • WebAIM Articles on accessibility
  • Jim Thatcher's Accessibility Resources
  • Washington University Accessibility Resources
  • WAI Quick Tips
    An introduction to the key concepts of accessible web design.
  • IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center
  • Adaptive Technology Resource Centre
  • Microsoft Accessibility Resources
  • Curb Cut
  • Center for an Accessible Society

• Javascript and AJAX

  • AJAX Accessibility Articles
  • AJAX and Accessibility
  • AJAX and Screenreaders
  • Accessible DHTML
  • Accessibility of AJAX Applications
  • Creating Accessible Javascript
  • Framework for 508 Compliant AJAX
  • Improving AJAX Form Accessibility
  • Is AJAX Accessible?
  • Javascript Accessibility Issues
  • Javascript and Screenreaders
  • Javascript Tests
  • Scripting Languages and Accessibility
  • Usability and Accessibility with AJAX
  • XMLHttpRequest Usability Guidelines

• Color Blindness

  • Colorblind Design Evaluation
    This online tool provides 3 ways to see what colors used in HTML code look like to the color blind.
  • Colors for the Color Blind
    This site describes color deficiency, as well as its causes and effects. It also furnishes a set of color charts to aid the color blind in working with computer colors, especially on the Internet and in Web sites.
  • The Color Laboratory
    Project at the AWARE Center that allows designers to to select colors and see how they appear next to one another, and in various foreground/background combinations under simulated color blindness scenarios.
  • Vischeck
    This online tool allows you to upload an image file and check the visibility of your graphics and text. This tool can show you what your image looks like to people who are color blind, people with glaucoma or macular degeneration, elders and children.

• Multimedia

  • Accessibility Features of SVG
    W3C note about the accessibility features of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), a language for describing two-dimensional vector and mixed vector/raster graphics in XML.
  • Making VRML Accessible
  • Media Access Generator (MAGpie)
  • Automatic Sync WebCast captioning
  • Creating Accessible Macromedia Flash Content
  • Flash Accessibility design guidelines

• Screen Readers

  • Low Vision Disability Simulation
  • Screen reader simulation

• Statistics

  • Blindness and Low Vision: Statistics
    This collection from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) contains many useful numbers related to both blindness and low vision.
  • Blindness Statistics
    National Federation of the Blind (NFB) information on the prevalence of blindness in the US. The page also includes information about the cost of blindness and employment rates of the blind.
  • Computer and Internet Use Among People with Disabilities (PDF File)
    Information from the Disability Statistics Center on the prevalence of Internet use by people with disabilities.
  • Disability and the Digital Divide HTML PDF
    Information from the Disability Statistics Center about the relationship between disability and the digital divide issue.

Tools

• Author Tools

  • Adobe Product Accessibility
  • Accessibility-Prompt Toolkit
  • AskAlice
  • WebXACT - Web Page Accessibility Verifier from Watchfire
  • WebAIM Evaluation Tools
  • W3C Tool Links
  • HTML Tidy
  • Dreamweaver Check Page for Accessibility Extension
  • WAVE - Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator
  • Web Developer Extension for Firefox and Mozilla
  • Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar
  • Web Accessibility Tools Consortium Tools
  • Accessible Drop Down Menus

• User Tools

  • Designing More Usable Documents - Navigation and reading tools
  • Large Print Web Viewer
  • Tablin: an HTML Table Linearizer
  • BBC Accessibility user help
    Tips to help a user make their browser, computer, keyboard and mouse more accessible.

• Accessible Browsers

  • VisionCue Homepage
  • MozBraille
  • Emacspeak --The Complete Audio Desktop
  • GW Micro, Inc.
  • JAWS for Windows Overview
  • Lynx Browser
  • Lynx for Macintosh
  • Amaya

• Other Browser Resources

  • Braille Displays
  • Sensus Internet Browser
  • ZoomText Xtra - Screen magnification

Tutorials/Classes

• Accessible Design Course
• Crittur.com Web Accessibility Workshop
  This introduction to Web accessibility illustrates the importance of accessible Web design and provides resources for authors
• EASI
  Certifications in web accessible technology
• Introduction to Web Accessibility
• Web Accessibility for Section 508
• Web-Savvy