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Re: Now that IBM will no longer be supporting HPR

for

From: Emma Duke-Williams
Date: Nov 14, 2006 2:20AM

I'm not sure what "problems that may not surface otherwise" Shane's
talking about, but I find a screen reader useful for proof reading!
We've got Read/Write though across the campus, so that makes that aspect easy.

Emma
On 11/13/06, Shane Anderson < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Hi Josh
>
> Sighted users who test with a screen reader should not do so as a
> replacement to AT user testing but rather in addition to AT user testing.
> Many developers who do have access to AT users for testing, also test with
> screen readers or other AT devices. I test with several other tools not just
> one accessibility evaluator. The reasoning is that you find different issues
> when you look at things from a different angle. When I listen to a web site
> with a screen reader (with the display turned off) I am able to recognize
> problems that may not surface otherwise. It can be very helpful.
>
> Shane
> WebAIM.org
>
>
>
> I don't know how wise it is for designers and developers, who are not
> > normally screen reader users,
> > to do their own testing with demo versions. I would suggest that a
> > better approach for testing it to use real
> > users of the assistive technology (AT), in order to get a clear picture
> > of the accessibility and usability of what
> > you are testing. I would argue that it can be counterproductive to
> > develop a site and test it yourself when you are
> > not familiar with the AT that you are testing with. I would hazard a
> > guess that many users who are on this list
> > who are testing with demo versions of JAWS are spending most of their
> > time getting to grips with using the screen reader,
> > rather than testing how well their site performs.
> >
> > I realise this post may annoy some people, but its better to track down
> > some users of AT who are totally familiar with
> > their devices and then let them test the site.
> >
> > That way the results will not be skewed.
> >
> > My two cents
> >
> > Josh
> >
> >
>
>
>
>


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