Accessibility 2.0: How to avoid being sued for having an inaccessible Web site [withdrawn]
Stephen Brown, De Montfort University, United Kingdom
Brian Kelly, UKOLN, United Kingdom
This workshop looks at the accessibility challenges emerging in a Web 2.0 environment and provides participants with simple rules of thumb to assess the accessibility of their web sites and inexpensive guidelines for avoiding common design faults that expose their organisation to legal action.
Working in small groups, through guided exploration and discussion, participants will learn:
- About disability legislation and the risk of litigation.
- About the difference between a user-centred approach to Web accessibility and a standards-based approach.
- How to assess the acccessibility of their Web sites easily and inexpensively to meet legal requirements.
- A simple 15 point checklist to identify common Web site accessibility traps.
The workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to compare experiences in providing accessible websites and the difficulties experienced that will lead into the issues to be discussed in the linked professional Forum with the same title.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for designers and museum managers with responsibility for Web sites. If you are already concerned about the risk of being sued and want to know what you can do about it, or if you want to find out about your legal obligations and ways of meeting them then this workshop is designed for you. No previous knowledge of disability discrimination law, accessibility guidelines or website evaluation is required. Participants will be provided with full briefings and assessment checklists.
Why should you consider this workshop?
Museums are legally obliged to provide web sites that do not discriminate against visitors with disabilities. The W3C WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) guidelines were intended to address this but museum Web sites commonly fail to conform to these guidelines. It is apparent that the guidelines are not easy to use and not always effective. A recent international survey of 125 museum Web sites revealed that the level of accessibility of such sites is not high. On average only 25% of museum sites passed a basic technical test of accessibility. Unless your site is one of those 25% then you are running the risk of being sued.
Workshop: Accessibility Guidelines [Morning]
Keywords: accessibility, usability, design, WAI, WCAG, Bobby
