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Thread: Accessibility training and certifications
Number of posts in this thread: 20 (In chronological order)
From: Marc Seguin
Date: Wed, Dec 01 2010 2:48PM
Subject: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hello All,
I am creating a wish list of certifications and training that a person specializing in accessibility should complete. WebAIM, I believe, has training coming up in March. What else does anyone recommend or suggest avoiding? Quality matters more to me than location or costs. I appreciate any suggestions and feedback you may have.
Sincerely,
Marc
From: Webb, KerryA
Date: Wed, Dec 01 2010 3:00PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Marc asked:
>
> Hello All,
>
> I am creating a wish list of certifications and training that a person
> specializing in accessibility should complete. WebAIM, I believe, has
> training coming up in March. What else does anyone recommend or suggest
> avoiding? Quality matters more to me than location or costs. I
> appreciate any suggestions and feedback you may have.
>
Any specific country?
I attended a good Vision Australia workshop in Canberra a few weeks back.
Kerry
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From: Jennifer Sutton
Date: Wed, Dec 01 2010 3:27PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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WebAIM folks:
Some might like to know about Knowbility's training
opportunities. To see information about an upcoming sample event at
San Jose State, to be held from January 10 -- 12, please go to this page:
<http://www.knowbility.org/accessu-west/>;http://www.knowbility.org/accessu-west/
Best,
Jennifer
At 01:47 PM 12/1/2010, you wrote:
>Hello All,
>
>I am creating a wish list of certifications and training that a
>person specializing in accessibility should complete. WebAIM, I
>believe, has training coming up in March. What else does anyone
>recommend or suggest avoiding? Quality matters more to me than
>location or costs. I appreciate any suggestions and feedback you may have.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Marc
>
From: Denis Boudreau
Date: Wed, Dec 01 2010 5:00PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hello Marc,
Are you specifically looking for online training and certifications?
If not, where are you located?
/Denis
On 2010-12-01, at 4:47 PM, Marc Seguin wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I am creating a wish list of certifications and training that a person specializing in accessibility should complete. WebAIM, I believe, has training coming up in March. What else does anyone recommend or suggest avoiding? Quality matters more to me than location or costs. I appreciate any suggestions and feedback you may have.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Marc
>
>
From: Marc Seguin
Date: Thu, Dec 02 2010 1:06PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hi Kerry,
Thank you for letting me know about Vision Australia. I am based in the United States, but am interested in hearing about opportunities elsewhere also.
Thanks,
Marc
From: Marc Seguin
Date: Thu, Dec 02 2010 1:18PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hi Denis,
I am looking for both online and face-to-face. The United States is where I am located, but I also am interested in opportunities in other countries.
Thanks,
Marc
From: Marco Maertens
Date: Thu, Dec 02 2010 1:24PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hi Marc,
One that comes to mind immediately is EASI training and certification
with the Univ. of Southern Maine:
http://www.easi.cc/workshops/certificate.htm
EASI training some twelve years ago got me started in accessibility, but
I did not the complete the full set of classes to get the USM
certificate. I don't think it was available then, but I'm not sure anymore.
I've seen that the NFB has a Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification,
but I don't know much more than that.
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Web_accessibility_consultants.asp?SnID=1940909702
Will you be posting the results of your information gathering?
-Marco.
On 12/1/2010 16:47, Marc Seguin wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I am creating a wish list of certifications and training that a person specializing in accessibility should complete. WebAIM, I believe, has training coming up in March. What else does anyone recommend or suggest avoiding? Quality matters more to me than location or costs. I appreciate any suggestions and feedback you may have.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Marc
>
>
From: Denis Boudreau
Date: Thu, Dec 02 2010 4:12PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hi Marc,
I'd invite you to come to ours up north in Quebec, but for starters it's colder, it's in french, we eat poutine and that might be a problem. :)
I'm confident you would be better served in the US with organizations such as WebAIM.
Besides formal training, I'd look at unconferences and stuff as well, and I'd make sure to attend CSUN in march, which is worth a zillion times more than any training session I can think of.
/Denis
On 2010-12-02, at 3:14 PM, Marc Seguin wrote:
> Hi Denis,
>
> I am looking for both online and face-to-face. The United States is where I am located, but I also am interested in opportunities in other countries.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Marc
>
>
From: John Foliot
Date: Thu, Dec 02 2010 5:06PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Denis Boudreau wrote:
>
> Hi Marc,
>
> I'd invite you to come to ours up north in Quebec, but for starters
> it's colder, it's in french, we eat poutine and that might be a
> problem. :)
Sessions in French, maybe. Eating Poutine? Never (be sure to wash it down
with a Pepsi!)
And if you do go to Montreal, insist that Denis take you to Schwartz's - a
cultural and gastronomic experience of the highest order. (3.5 weeks and
counting...)
>
> I'm confident you would be better served in the US with organizations
> such as WebAIM.
There is also (in the near future) AccessU West, the "premier web
accessibility training conference"
Date: January 10-12, 2011, San Jose, CA
Website: http://www.knowbility.org/accessu-west/
Good speakers and a full 2 day curriculum.
>
> Besides formal training, I'd look at unconferences and stuff as well,
> and I'd make sure to attend CSUN in march, which is worth a zillion
> times more than any training session I can think of.
Yes, CSUN is certainly an immersive experience, although some prior
understanding/knowledge certainly makes the experience that much richer.
But even for the initiate, it is a wonderful and intense 'deep-dive'. I
echo Denis' sentiment... if you can attend, do so.
Registration apparently opens in January
Date: March 14-19, 2011, San Diego, CA
Website: http://www.csunconference.org/index.cfm?EID=80000300
JF
===========================John Foliot
Program Manager
Stanford Online Accessibility Program
http://soap.stanford.edu
Stanford University
Tel: 650-468-5785
---
Co-chair - W3C HTML5 Accessibility Task Force (Media)
http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/HTML/wiki/Main_Page
============================
From: Andrews, David B B (DEED)
Date: Fri, Dec 03 2010 7:24AM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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The NFB Non visual Certification is for websites, not individuals.
Dave
From: Marco Maertens
Date: Fri, Dec 03 2010 10:18AM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hi Dave,
Thanks for the clarification. The NFB does, however, appear to have a
process of qualifying practitioners to be "Web Accessibility Consultants
(WACs)" on the same page. Again, I have no first-hand experience with
it. There are more details on the NFB site.
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Web_accessibility_consultants.asp?SnID=1940909702
-Marco.
On 12/3/2010 09:22, Andrews, David B B (DEED) wrote:
> The NFB Non visual Certification is for websites, not individuals.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
>
From: Andrews, David B B (DEED)
Date: Fri, Dec 03 2010 10:36AM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Thanks for updating me -- it looks like I was wrong.
Sorry.
Dave
From: Hoffman, Allen
Date: Fri, Dec 03 2010 12:06PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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I must point out that this would be generally focused on two categories
of disabilities, not all categories, so is limited in scope.
From: Cliff Tyllick
Date: Fri, Dec 03 2010 12:30PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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I wondered whether the NFIB ( http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Web_accessibility_consultants.asp?SnID=1940909702 ) certification as a web accessibility consultant is worth getting. So I checked out their site. Here's an excerpt, rearranged to put the introductory statement before the list of requirements:
If the answer to all of these questions is a resounding YES, then you may be qualified to become a Web Accessibility Consultant (WAC) for the National Federation of the Blind Nonvisual Access Certification program for Web applications:
Do you have experience with nonvisual access technology?
Have you used screen access technology in testing Web applications for accessibility?
Do you own licenses for at least two screen reading programs?
Are you familiar with Section 508 requirements and W3C guidelines?
Are you willing to provide examples of applications that have undergone your testing process, and are you willing to submit your Web application audit process to be certified by the National Federation of the Blind?
Are you committed to creating Web-wide nonvisual access? [End of excerpt]
The process seems simple enough, except maybe for owning licenses to at least two screen reading programs. That requirement raises some questions:
At the bottom of the page, they feature JAWS and Window-Eyes, including a link to each respective vendor's site. So do those two screen reading programs have to be JAWS and Window-Eyes? If so, can I count my agency's licenses? After all, I use them now and then. (They're on one machine in a classroom where we can teach accessibility and do some testing of documents and applications for accessibility.)
Shouldn't the copy of NVDA on my netbook at home count?
What about VoiceOver?
How about Read Out Loud?
Is anybody from the NFIB on this list? (If you are and I do or should know you, I apologize for not remembering that you are on *this* list.) I'd love to know the answers.
Thanks!
Cliff
>>> On 12/3/2010 at 1:05 PM, in message < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >, "Hoffman, Allen" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
I must point out that this would be generally focused on two categories
of disabilities, not all categories, so is limited in scope.
From: Marc Seguin
Date: Fri, Dec 03 2010 4:33PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Hi Marco,
Thank you for both suggestions! I will do my best to organize and post everything that I am able to gather. So far I have been a leeching off the WebAIM wealth of knowledge, but hope to contribute some back as well. I am still working on an accessibility best practices guide for Adobe Connect and hope to be able to share that soon also.
Sincerely,
Marc
From: Marc Seguin
Date: Fri, Dec 03 2010 4:48PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Thanks Denis,
*smile* I will admit I am not a fan of the cold, but poutine would get a thumbs up from me. My grandparents came from Canada, but sadly never French is not a language that was passed down to me. One day I hope to pick it up. CSUN sounds awesome.
Marc
From: Accessibility India
Date: Sun, Dec 05 2010 11:18PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Not sure if any one of you come accross this certification. May help you...
http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/web-accessibility
Thanks & regards
rake
On 12/2/10, Marc Seguin < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I am creating a wish list of certifications and training that a person
> specializing in accessibility should complete. WebAIM, I believe, has
> training coming up in March. What else does anyone recommend or suggest
> avoiding? Quality matters more to me than location or costs. I appreciate
> any suggestions and feedback you may have.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Marc
>
>
From: Hoffman, Allen
Date: Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:12AM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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The real issue with this is if you are attempting to demonstrate:
Conformance with coding practices designed to ensure that assistive
technologies "should" work because the information they need is
provided;
Or
If a list of screen readers, and a list of those associated
functions work with a set of identified content;
the second description is really limited in scope interoperability
testing for a combination of products at a specific point in time, not a
test for coding which works, based upon specific definition of
functionality.
I don't know of any certifications which are widely accepted for the
first description, but the NFB certification is in use for the second
description. For anyone hiring people to do such "accessibility"
assessments, there are some key concepts required for applicants which
lead to a conclusion about their fitness for the task:
Understanding of basic HTML and CSS coding practices and principles;
Understanding and experience applying Section 508 and/or WCAG 2.0
standards and guidelines to Websites, Web applications, and occasionally
to non-HTML content;
Understanding of, and experience with Web coding inspection tools;
Understanding of, and experience with, formalized assessment and
reporting procedures;
Understanding and experience with how assistive technologies, including
screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech input systems operate;
I hope this helps.
From: Marc Seguin
Date: Mon, Dec 06 2010 4:12PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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Rake,
Thanks, I had not learned of this one yet. The Web Usability and Accessibility certificate looks interesting if they are still offering it.
Until Jennison clued me in, I hadn't realized the amount of the training that CSUN offers outside of the annual conference http://www.csun.edu/cod/training/index.php. One thing that caught my attention was that they are now offering a Master's Degree in AT.
"AT Masters' Program
CSUN has launched a new Master's Degree in Assistive Technology and Human Services (ATHS) this past Spring and will be launching a new Master's Degree in Assistive and Rehabilitative Technology (ATR) in Spring 2011. For more information on the two new Masters' Degrees in Assistive Technology, please visit the Assistive Technology Program web site."
Has anyone heard anything about this?
Jennison also shared with me a Google group http://groups.google.com/group/itaccessibilityevents that I think will prove useful.
Sincerely,
Marc
From: Liz Layman
Date: Mon, Jan 03 2011 12:51PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility training and certifications
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I have received a certification from an online course available through Georgia Tech:
http://www.catea.gatech.edu/accessibility/web_accessibility_certified.php
Additionally, if you register and attend any of the Accessibility Online courses you can request a free certificate of attedence: http://www.accessibilityonline.org/
I also attended the WebAIM training, which was very good!
Twitter: 508ingGirl
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