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how screen readers navigate by headline

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From: Angela French
Date: Sep 1, 2011 3:45PM

I am aware that screen readers (at least JAWS) provide a means for users to navigate by heading. I am also aware of the benefits of choosing the correcting heading level to provide the reader a clear sense of document structure. What I'm wondering though is, by what means does the screen reader user have of getting the big picture sense of document structure other than navigating through? As a sighted user, I ascertain a document's structure by the logical, relative use of headline font size and design.

When a page is being navigated by headlines, how much importance do you place in the actual heading level that is read to you, or are you more interested in the content of the headline to get context? In other words, how important is proper heading levels to you? Or do you just ignore them?

I am preparing some accessibility training for our site's content editors (we use a CMS) and I am aiming to give practical examples of obstacles that are presented to users when content isn't marked up correctly.

Thank you,

Angela French
Internet Specialist
State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
360-704-4316
<EMAIL REMOVED>
http://www.checkoutacollege.com/