Applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw.
You are currently browsing the recent entries for November, 2006
Web Accessibility Course
Well, I finally gave that web accessibility workshop on behalf of SOCITM. Six hours, nine delegates, me and Powerpoint.
Thankfully, my worst fear was never realised. I didn’t actually bore anyone to death. Well, not noticeably anyway. No one left part way through or fell asleep. In fact, there was enough feedback and comments from the attendees to suggest that most of them actually enjoyed it and found it helpful. There’s even talk of scheduling another workshop early next year.
Designing For Dyslexics: Part 3
In the final article of this short series on accessites.org, I’ve tried to provide a quick summary of some of the relatively small changes that can be made to increase web accessibility for dyslexics. I’m not convinced that it’s an exhaustive list, though. So I’d be very interested in hearing about any other issues that could be addressed.
I’m also convinced that these changes will probably increase page readabilty for all sighted users. If implemented thoughtfully, they also shouldn’t impact on visually-impaired users.
As ever, it’s all about balance in design.
Joe Clarke Micropatronage Project
Joe Clark is seeking funding through micropatronage whilst he starts up a research project.
Micropatronage is a form of fundraising in which many donors give small amounts of money. People can donate as much or as little as they want to support Joe for a limited period of time (nominally, four months) as he tries to raise about $7 million Canadian for an accessibility research project. The donations won’t fund the project. They’ll fund Joe (i.e allow him to eat) while he tries to raise the money for the project.
What’s the project?
Web Design Humour
Just a bit of fun for a change…
Web Design Humour: continue reading …
Accesskeys: Where Are We Now?
Access keys are a way of defining keyboard shortcuts which, in theory, allow users to jump to, for example, the Search item on the web site navigation menu by selecting ALT+s. Depending on the browser being used, the user may then have to press ENTER to activate the link. The designer can define which keys, in conjunction with ALT (or CTRL on a Mac) relate to which links by means of the accesskey attribute.
However, there are problems associated with defining accesskeys on a site as they can over-ride pre-existing keyboard shortcuts in the user’s software.
Tabindex At Your Peril
Tabindexing allows a designer to specify the order in which links or controls receive focus on a page when using the TAB key to move around.
For example:
<ul>
<li><a href="one.html" tabindex="1">Item 1</a></li>
<li><a href="two.html" tabindex="2">Item 2</a></li>
</ul>
Elements on a page that do not have an associated tabindex will have a ‘natural’ ordering (ie they will follow the order that they appear in the markup). If you mix the two, the elements with a specified tabindex will come first, in their specified order, followed by unindexed elements in their natural (markup) order.