Newsletter Archives - February 2004
Note
This newsletter is maintained here for archival purposes. The content presented here may be outdated, may contain out-of-date links, and may not represent current best practices or represent the opinion and recommendations of WebAIM. For up-to-date information, please refer to the WebAIM web site.
Featured Article
Captioning your Audio
A WebAIM article
Abstract: Captions are text versions of the spoken word. On the Web, synchronized, equivalent captions should be provided any time audio content is present. This obviously pertains to the use of audio and video played through multimedia players such as Quicktime, RealPlayer, or Windows Media Player, but can also pertain to such technologies as Flash, Shockwave, or Java when audio content is a part of the multimedia presentation. Full Article: Captions
On Target Tip
Have you checked your site for color?
When checking your site for accessibility, remember to think of those that have color deficiencies. Roughly 10% of the male population suffers from some form of color blindness. Web site design should incorporate colors that have sufficient contrast that allow people with visual impairments and color blindness to easily access your content. Besides considering color contrast, color should never be used as the sole method for conveying content. Good color design is good usability for everyone. See WebAIM's tutorial on color-blindness for more information.
Other Resources
Vischeck is a program that will simulate what your images or Web page would look like to a person with various types of color-blindness. The service is available for free either online or for download. It is a quick and easy way to see if your color scheme is accessible.
ColorMatch Remix has put together an online colorpicker that can generate color schemes for you. For those of us that have a hard time getting just the right colors for our Web pages or are trying to put together an accessible color scheme this is a great place to start. The site mentions that the colorpicker is compatible with most browsers and has the ability to export your color scheme in various formats.
On Target Resource
Web Publishing Accessibility Wizard for Microsoft Office
The Illinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility has created an accessibility wizard that will simplify and automate much of the process of converting standard Microsoft Office documents to accessible HTML. The wizard can convert Word documents, PowerPoint Presentations, and Excel charts that are imported into either Word or PowerPoint. If you use Microsoft Office and want to have accessible HTML versions of those documents this is a great way to simplify the process.
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