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Re: how screen readers navigate by headline

for

From: Iza Bartosiewicz
Date: Oct 2, 2011 6:45PM

Hi Angela,

Have you seen the results from the screen reader surveys by WebAIM?

http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey/#headings
http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey2/#problems
http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey3/#headings

While the results from the first survey confirm that heading structure is very important, the results from that last survey are particularly interesting, and may help answer your question (at least as far as the heading level one is concerned).

cheers
Iza

----- Original Message -----
From: "Angela French" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2011 2:47 PM
Subject: [WebAIM] how screen readers navigate by headline


>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/
>
>