Accessibility
By Mike Gifford
on 25/10/2010
I'm happy to announce that the video of my presentation is now online. Thanks DBNStudios for recording it. I'd also like to thank @cobalt123, @Chris Devers, @Let Ideas Compete, @OlsenWeb, @crizzirc, @mcbeth, @liber, @leshoward, @willem velthoven, @nickhall, @Stefan, @cobalt123, @Kalense Kid, @Kalense Kid, @PhillipC, @United Nations Photo, @ChrisGoldNY, @Norma Desmond, @Sara G..., @Dan Kunitz, @Gabor Hojtsy, @Christolakis, @Don Solo, @cobalt123, @Rene Ehrhardt, @patrick h. lauke, @m.gifford, @, @NJLA: New Jersey Library Association licensing their images under a creative commons license so...
By Mike Gifford
on 29/09/2010
I've taken the notes about the process we are going through for our own site & attached it to this Drupal Accessibility Group Wiki Page. Please feel free to edit it.
We have gotten a number of RFP's in the past that have stated WCAG 2.0 AAA compliance as one of the requirements that they would like to have in their response. It is great when folks are aware enough about accessibility issues that they can state of of their goals is to achieve the highest level of accessibility for their site. Really, who wouldn't want to have their website be universally accessible to their users?
However...
We have gotten a number of RFP's in the past that have stated WCAG 2.0 AAA compliance as one of the requirements that they would like to have in their response. It is great when folks are aware enough about accessibility issues that they can state of of their goals is to achieve the highest level of accessibility for their site. Really, who wouldn't want to have their website be universally accessible to their users?
However...
By Mike Gifford
on 10/09/2010
The list of issues here I'll try to keep updated to reflect the changes in accessibility issues in Drupal 7 prior to release.
It's really amazing to see the improvements for accessibility in Drupal 7 over the last two years. There have been some really impressive improvements that are making this an even more inclusive framework for any web development project.
I just took a look at the number of issues that have already been fixed & are part of Drupal 7 already and there are 67 (as of Sept 16). That amounts to hundreds of hours of discussion & dialogue about how to make Drupal...
It's really amazing to see the improvements for accessibility in Drupal 7 over the last two years. There have been some really impressive improvements that are making this an even more inclusive framework for any web development project.
I just took a look at the number of issues that have already been fixed & are part of Drupal 7 already and there are 67 (as of Sept 16). That amounts to hundreds of hours of discussion & dialogue about how to make Drupal...
By Mike Gifford
on 10/09/2010
I was invited by Dennis Lembree and Ross Johnson to contribute some audio for their 84th podcast celebrating the Web Axe 5-year anniversary. They have had a huge impact on the community over that time and really appreciate the work they put into raising awareness about accessibility. Please subscribe to the Web Axe podcast if this content is interesting to you.
The following is the text prepared for the podcast. I want to thank Cliff Tyllick for his help on preparing this:
My name is Mike Gifford and I am the president of OpenConcept Consulting, an Ottawa-based Drupal shop working closely...
The following is the text prepared for the podcast. I want to thank Cliff Tyllick for his help on preparing this:
My name is Mike Gifford and I am the president of OpenConcept Consulting, an Ottawa-based Drupal shop working closely...
By Mike Gifford
on 09/08/2010
Everett Zufelt & I have agreed to present a webinar entitled Introduction to Accessibility and Planning for an Accessible Website. We'll be posting links to the archive when it's up, but wanted to ensure that the presentations were available online (along with a PDF version) before it went live in case people wanted to follow along this way.
This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Share-Alike license so please feel free to enhance/distribute it.
For those that missed it there is now a video archive of the presentation available.
Questions from the end of the presentation....
This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Share-Alike license so please feel free to enhance/distribute it.
For those that missed it there is now a video archive of the presentation available.
Questions from the end of the presentation....
By Mike Gifford
on 01/04/2010
This is a reprint of the post I wrote for GovFresh. It's mostly a re-write of the earlier blog post I wrote specifically for the Canadian government.
Most western governments have in the last decade developed an accessibility strategy for their websites, often based on WCAG 1.0. At the end of 2008, the WC3 announced the final version of WCAG 2.0 and the public sector is now struggling to keep up. In Canada there was a recent announcement about a revised Common Look and Feel (CLF). In the USA the Section 508 is in its first of six revisions, part of which will be to adapt to the new approach...
Most western governments have in the last decade developed an accessibility strategy for their websites, often based on WCAG 1.0. At the end of 2008, the WC3 announced the final version of WCAG 2.0 and the public sector is now struggling to keep up. In Canada there was a recent announcement about a revised Common Look and Feel (CLF). In the USA the Section 508 is in its first of six revisions, part of which will be to adapt to the new approach...
By Mike Gifford
on 22/03/2010
Very recently Canada's Treasury Board announced that the Common Look and Feel (CLF) for the Internet 2.0 Standard is being updated. Now, for those folks who don't spend a lot of time on Government of Canada websites it's not something that you are likely to notice. However for both people with disabilities & the Canadian tax payer at large it could be a very big deal.
Improved Design
I want to first point out some of the good work done rethinking the CLF. Thomas Bradley's Proposal for CLF3.0 predated the public announcement for the update and presents a neat vision. More recently...
Improved Design
I want to first point out some of the good work done rethinking the CLF. Thomas Bradley's Proposal for CLF3.0 predated the public announcement for the update and presents a neat vision. More recently...
By Mike Gifford
on 22/03/2010
OpenConcept is pleased to announce the release of an Accessibility White Paper. We have been actively promoting accessibility in Content Management Systems for the last two years and are happy to be able to provide some insights.
This document is especially relevant if you are involved in web communications for government agencies or for organizations within the province of Ontario.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at accessibility@openconcept.ca.
This document is especially relevant if you are involved in web communications for government agencies or for organizations within the province of Ontario.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at accessibility@openconcept.ca.
By Mike Gifford
on 25/11/2009
I was listening to a podcast by AbilityNet in the UK the other day and liked what they were doing so I sent them a note on Twitter suggesting that their community might find the developments in Drupal interesting. I got into a conversation with them and ended up producing an MP3 with the following introduction to Drupal 7. After Drupal 7 is released we'll have to do a piece highlighting all the pieces that got in, but for now this is a good introduction.
Looking at the right end of the problem
The Internet is an increasingly important tool for citizens around the world. There are millions...
Looking at the right end of the problem
The Internet is an increasingly important tool for citizens around the world. There are millions...