You Are Here: NYS Forum IT Accessibility Committee
June 2009 Newsletter
### Edited by Joel Obuchowski
Articles and ideas for future newsletters? Please e-mail them to Debi Orton dorton@goer.state.ny.us and Joel Obuchowski jobuchow@ins.state.ny.us
NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING
June 11, 2009, 2:30pm - 4:00pm
NYS Forum Offices
24 Aviation Road, Colonie
Directions? Please e-mail Debi Orton dorton@goer.state.ny.us and Joel Obuchowski jobuchow@ins.state.ny.us
- Among the items on the agenda are:
- Review of outline for "How to Create Accessible PDF Documents" course
- Discussion of progress and scheduling for "Writing for the Web" course
- Review of the year's accomplishments
- Discussion of next year's goals
Remember, we have a NEW location for our meetings. If you need directions, please e-mail Debi Orton and Joel Obuchowski
Conference calling will be available for those who are interested, but please be sure to let us know at least a day in advance if you'd like to attend the meeting via conference call, so that we can reserve the resource.
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 2009 - The NYS Forum Annual Strategic Planning Meeting
Every year the NYS Forum's leadership and members participate in a half-day planning session that is geared to shape The Forum's committee programs in the coming year. It is a very important event for The NYS Forum and it is your opportunity to suggest ideas and participate in prioritizing the new initiatives for the 2009-2010 Program Year. http://www.nysforum.org/events/calendar/events.aspx?date=7%2f10%2f2009
September 11 - 2009 Forum Annual Meeting
Quick, Easy & Insightful: Conducting Usability Testing in the Wild ($50 for government)
http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/wmu/spring2009/quickeasyinsightful.shtml
Upcoming New Media Webinars for Government:
http://www.nysforum.org/events/calendar/events.aspx?date=9%2f11%2f2009
RECENT NEWS
The Federal Government and Web 2.0
The Center for American Progress has released a paper looking at the challenges the Obama administration will face when trying to extend its use of new technologies and social networking into the government arena. The paper, entitled "Six New Media Challenges: Legal and Policy Considerations for Federal Use of Web 2.0 Technology." The six challenges cited are:
- Privacy
- Access for those with disabilities
- Commercial endorsement and advertising
- Terms of service agreements
- Paperwork Reduction Act and public records requirements
- Security concerns and agency restrictions on staff Internet use
The paper is a quick read and provides lots of food for thought.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/06/web2.0_challenges.html
FEATURE ARTICLE
Accessible Social Networking
by Jeff Bennett, NYS Office For Technology
The users of screen reading software, like everyone else, are interested in social networking websites. Sites such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com are quite challenging for the screen reading user. The social networking site which is the most promising for screen reading users is Twitter found on the web at http://www.twitter.com.
The Twitter website is quite accessible for screen reading users. There is a skip navigation link at the top of the page, and all graphics and links are appropriately labeled.
The only problem that the user of screen reading users will encounter is the signup process. This site uses Recapcha. The screen reading user must be able to enter a series of words in to an edit box. These words cannot be read by screen reading software. There is an alternative, the screen reading user can listen to a phrase, and enter what is heard. This can be rather challenging.
If you use Firefox, there is an addin from a company called Webvisum found on the web at http://www.webvisum.com. This addin will capture the Capcha image, and place that image in the user's clipboard. The user will paste that image in to the edit field. Once this has been accomplished, the user can successfully accomplish the task of signing on to Twitter.
Twitter has an open source API, which allows the creation of Twitter applications. One of these applications is McTwit. This application allows the screen reading user the ability to use Twitter without entering the Twitter website. The program produced by Jamal Mazrui, can be found at the following link http://empowermentzone.mtsetup.exe.
This program has been designed for the screen reading user, with full keyboard support. The program is well documented, with the documentation easy to read and understand.
If you use the registered version of Microsoft Outlook, another program that screen reading software users can use is Twinbox. This program allows the user to use twitter within the Outlook client.
Another website for Twitter users is Accessible Twitter found on the web at http://www.accessibletwitter.com. This site is fully accessible, and has even more accessibility features than the Twitter website.
This is just a brief look at the Twitter social networking site.
If you need further information, please contact Jeff Bennett in OFT at jeff.bennett@oft.state.ny.us.
RESOURCES
provided by Mike Hritcko, NYS Insurance Fund
Accessibility Analysis for MakingHomeAffordable.gov
http://jimthatcher.com/making.htm
Accessibility Analysis for WhiteHouse.org
http://jimthatcher.com/whitehouse.htm
CAPTCHAs, CAPTCHAs everywhere
http://jimthatcher.com/captchas.htm
iPhone 3 GS - Voiceover Screen Reader.
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html
Law Office of Lainey Feingold, A Disability Civil Rights Law Firm
http://lflegal.com/#recent_news
Opera MAMA
http://my.opera.com/ODIN/blog/2009/05/19/opera-mama-a-sneak-peek-at-headings-images-and-summary
Recovery.gov
Accessibility Analysis for Recovery.gov
http://jimthatcher.com/recovery.htm
A PostScript on Recovery.gov
http://jimthatcher.com/news.htm#postscript
Refreshable Braille and the Web
http://www.dingoaccess.com/accessibility/refreshable-braille-and-the-web/
Worldspace (an accessibility analysis tool to identify errors with Section 508 and WCAG Guidelines)
http://worldspace.deque.com/wsservice/eval/checkCompliance.jsp