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From: Nancy Johnson
Date: Wed, May 14 2008 6:50AM
Subject: Re: WebAIM-Forum Digest, Vol 38, Issue 7
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I had never heard of VPAT, but just read up on it. It's interesting,
however, it is only any good if its enforced.

My only experience is with older Blackboard (2000-2005) as I was a
primary administrator, support person and trainer for this product. It
may not be relevant for this conversation. At that time Blackboard was
pure javascript and not real accessible. However, I remember a link
to either information on accessibility or an accessible version.

Nancy

On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 2:00 PM, < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Send WebAIM-Forum mailing list submissions to
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://list.webaim.org/mailman/listinfo/webaim-forum
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of WebAIM-Forum digest..."
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Accessible Applications (Kara Zirkle)
> 2. Re: Accessible Applications (Travis Smith)
> 3. Re: Accessible Applications (Darian Glover)
> 4. Re: Accessible Applications (Karl Groves)
> 5. Re: [SEC508] Accessible Applications (Karl Groves)
> 6. Re: [SEC508] Accessible Applications (Kara Zirkle)
> 7. Re: [SEC508] Accessible Applications (Darian Glover)
> 8. Re: [SEC508] Accessible Applications (Cliff Tyllick)
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Kara Zirkle < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> To: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , Korey J Singleton < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 15:01:18 -0400
> Subject: [WebAIM] Accessible Applications
> Is anyone using any of the following applications or products and if so could you please give me some input on whether or not they are accessible to individuals with disabilities or meet Section 508 Compliance? Also, if anyone has done research on similar applications and chose not to go with one of the following applications what application did you go with that was more accessible?
>
> Applications such as:
>
> Adobe Breeze; Townhall; Blackboard; Respondus; CMS' Droople, Paperthin, Commonspot and Figleaf; Luminous; Hawkeye software assets tracking; Email applications GoogleApps, Microsoft Live or Exchange Labs; various Blog Platforms (ex. Wordpress); various Survey Software; Banner and other Sunguard applications; SkillPort; iTunes U Podcasting; Accordent Capture; SharePoint 2007; Microsoft VISTA; ILLiad (interlibrary loan management system); VuFind; Basecamp; GMPLS (generalized multiprotocol label switching); AppWorx; and Touchnet software
>
> Also, has anyone contacted vendors directly asking for changes to be made in response to accessibility if contract language wasn't originally in the picture? Can anyone make any suggestions about this?
>
> Thanks,
>
> --
> Kara Zirkle
> IT Accessibility Coordinator
> Assistive Technology Initiative
> Thompson Hall RM 114 Mail Stop: 6A11
> Fairfax Campus
> 4400 University Drive
> Fairfax, VA 22030
> Phone: 703-993-9815
> Fax: 703-993-4743
> http://www.gmu.edu/accessibility/ati/home.html
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Travis Smith < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 15:15:07 -0500
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Accessible Applications
> Hi,
>
> I read your list, and the only one that I use is Blackboard. Well, that is my reader uses it for me. I am a student at the community college in Lafayette La, and my school uses blackboard. A large part of the program is accessible sort of. I mean I can navigate it ok. I can read links and headers and things like that. However, a large problem is that the forms that are used to submit assignments, e-mails, discussion board responses is not readable by screen readers. This is a real problem as I am taking two online classes this semester and that is how I am supposed to submit assignments. I have sent an e-mail to the company, and never received a response, and the problem has slipped my mind, but I will have to get after them about this because I have another online class next semester. If you have any further questions about blackboard, feel free to contact me @ = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
>

From: Access IT
Date: Sun, Jun 08 2008 8:30PM
Subject: Re: WebAIM-Forum Digest, Vol 39, Issue 6
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Nancy Johnson mentioned earlier that she was an administrator for Blackboard
- does anyone know where that was? Thanks.

On 6/8/08, = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> Send WebAIM-Forum mailing list submissions to
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://list.webaim.org/mailman/listinfo/webaim-forum
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of WebAIM-Forum digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Speech output for a Trip Planner Table (Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis)
> 2. Re: labeling question (Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis)
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> To: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , WebAIM Discussion List <
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:08:33 +0100
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Speech output for a Trip Planner Table
> Tom Kort wrote:
>
>> I am working on the accessibility of trip planners.
>>
>
> Trip planners are notorious for accessibility problems. Would you mind
> explaining in what capacity you are working on them? Are you developing
> one? Testing one?
>
> In my work I am currently using the Job Access to Work (JAWS) screen
>> reader program on the Vancouver translink.bc.ca website.
>>
>
> A link to the precise page, or a description of how to get there, would
> be helpful. Are you talking about:
>
> http://tripplanning.translink.bc.ca/
>
> Also, is this trip planner a planner you are developing, retrofitting,
> or simply one you are using as an example for your own work?
>
> Some (slightly) better examples you might like to look at include:
>
> http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/
>
> http://traintimes.org.uk/
>
> When I access the trip planner for Translink I get something like:
>>
>
> A readout of the top navigation bar ("link graphic bus schedules nav
>> slash five", etc) A readout of the main graphic ("link graphic South
>> Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority") A readout of the
>> bottom navigation bar ("link graphic home nav slash five", etc)
>> ....readout of some more graphics... A readout of the table name A
>> readout of the headers ("link graphic trip options, link graphic
>> start, link graphic trip end", etc.) A readout of the first table
>> row: "Detail Expo Line 5 15p 5 19p 4min 00 point 62 k m dollar 2
>> point 5 0" The output I ultimately want is "Press for Details,
>> Transit Line Expo Line, Trip Start 5 15pm, Trip End 5 19pm, Duration
>> 4 min, Transfers 0, Walk 0 point 62km, dollar 2 point 5 0"
>>
>>
>> Question. Is there a good method to produce my desired speech output?
>>
>> While it's reasonable to think about aural rendering on a micro
> level, e.g. how different date and time formats are read, your focus on
> a macro level needs to be on strategies users with different abilities
> employ to navigate the web, the transactions a given web resource is
> intended to facilitate, and how the features provided by the web
> technology stack, taking into account both specifications and
> implementations, can best support them.
>
> W3C's "How People with Disabilities Use the Web" is a good starting point:
>
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/Overview.html
>
> as is the BBC Access 2.0 blog's series of interviews with people with
> disabilities:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6k2zsq
>
> I'd recommend the following videos about how people use assistive
> technology:
>
> http://del.icio.us/benjaminhawkeslewis/video%2BuserStrategies%2Bdisabled
>
> Doug Geoffray's talk on screen reader technology is also useful:
>
> Doug Geoffray: From the Mouth of a Screenreader (Part 1)
> http://video.yahoo.com/watch/357221
>
> Doug Geoffray: From the Mouth of a Screenreader (Part 2)
> http://video.yahoo.com/watch/357221
>
> I'd recommend looking through draft WCAG 2.0 as a starting point guide
> to using web features to meet those needs:
>
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag20
>
> There are good introductory guides to form and table accessibility
> issues on the WebAIM site:
>
> http://www.webaim.org/techniques/forms/
>
> http://www.webaim.org/techniques/tables/
>
> In terms of complex forms programming, perhaps the most important
> additional insight is to keep instructions for using a form in fieldset
> legends or field labels or field TITLE attributes or before the FORM
> element, since if you place it elsewhere inside the FORM element (in a
> heading or paragraph element for example) it may be missed entirely if a
> JAWS user moves from form control to form control in JAWS forms mode (or
> the equivalent in other screen readers).
>
> Finally, involve end-users in testing your solution by asking on
> end-user discussion groups:
>
> Freedom Scientific JAWS users:
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://www.freelists.org/list/jfw
>
> Dolphin HAL users:
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/dolphinusers/
>
> GW-Micro Window-Eyes users:
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://www.gwmicro.com/Support/GW-Info_Archives/
>
> Apple VoiceOver users:
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover/
>
> GNOME Orca users:
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
>
> NVDA users:
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://www.freelists.org/list/nvda
>
> Thunder users:
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://www.freelists.org/list/thunder
>
> Can JAWS or any other popular screen reader program filter out the
>> "p" on the time (5:19p)?
>>
>
> Why is there a "p" there in the first place? What does it mean? Why
> isn't it correctly written as "5.19 p.m."?
>
> Can JAWS read the column of a table as it traverses a row?
>>
>
> There's a good introduction to JAWS's table navigation facilities at:
>
> http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/Surfs_Up/Tables.htm
>
> The manual has further details under the "HTML Tables" topic, including
> the following:
>
> When you move to the next or prior cell in the same row using table
>> navigation commands such as ALT+CTRL+RIGHT ARROW, JAWS reads the
>> column header and the data in the cell and announces the column
>> number.
>>
>
> http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_support/doc_screenreaders.asp
>
> Tom continues:
>
> One weird thing happens... When I get the trip planner results,
>> sometimes I get the readout of the previous page, instead of the
>> current page, Why is this?
>>
>
> To answer this, we'd need instructions on how to reproduce the problem.
> If I had to guess, I suspect that the page was actually being
> dynamically updated by JS in a way that does not cause JAWS to update
> its virtual buffer. See discussions (from various points of view) at:
>
> http://del.icio.us/benjaminhawkeslewis/ajax%2BscreenReaders
>
> --
> Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:09:01 +0100
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] labeling question
> Nancy Johnson wrote:
>
>> It uses empty label tags. Would that be considered an acceptable
>> alternative?
>>
>
> No. There's no guarantee that user agents will incorrectly treat the
> TITLE attribute of a LABEL element as its content.
>
> --
> Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis
>
>
>
>