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Submitted by kgoughnour3 on January 16, 2018 - 6:58pm
December 2017 – In partnership with the Internet Society (ISOC), W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has released a video detailing new web accessibility features. According to the video, approximately 15-20% of the population, over one billion people, have a disability. Shadi Abou-Zahra, Accessibility Strategy and Technology Specialist at W3C, on their mission said, “Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the web equally. For example, somebody who cannot use their arms and uses a mouth stick to type. Or someone who cannot hear well, and uses captions to watch videos. Or someone who cannot see well, and uses a screen reader to read aloud what’s on the screen. People with age-related impairments, such as reduced dexterity, benefit. In fact, everyone has a better user experience with improved layout and design.”
Web standards and codes from W3C such as HTML code and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide support for many accessibility features that can be built into the underlying code of websites and applications. The WCAG are shared guidelines for web content accessibility that are built around four core principles: “1) perceivable: so that people can see the content or hear it, for example, 2) operable: so people can use the computer by typing, voice or other input, 3) understandable: so people receive content in language they can understand, and 4) robust: so people can use different assistive technologies.”
In addition to WCAG, W3C provides Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) which “defines requirements for content management systems, code editors, and other software.” The video ends with Abou-Zhara saying, “Implementing accessibility standards is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all.” The video is available here: https://www.w3.org/WAI/videos/standards-and-benefits
Source: Global Accessibility News
