Internet Industry Association

 Table of contents:

•     Accessibility Information
•     W3C Content Accessibility Guidelines
  
•     Online automated Tools
  
•     Tools, Utilities and Resources
  
•     Commercial Web Accessibility Providers
  
•     Web Accessibility Speakers
•     Web Accessibility Presentations conducted
•     Web Accessibility Speaker Profiles

Accessibility Information

• Business Benefits of Web Accessibility. Much more than just benefits for people with disabilities
  
• Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. Detailed mark-up examples and explanations
• Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility. How to conduct preliminary reviews and evaluations

W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

•     Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.
  
•     Don't rely on color alone.
  
•     Use markup and style sheets and do so properly.
  
•     Clarify natural language usage
  
•     Create tables that transform gracefully.
  
•     Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully.
  
•     Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes.
  
•     Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces.
  
•     Design for device-independence.
  
•     Use interim solutions.
  
•     Use W3C technologies and guidelines.
  
•     Provide context and orientation information.
  
•     Provide clear navigation mechanisms.
  
•     Ensure that documents are clear and simple.
  

•     Validation
  
•     Glossary
  
•     Tabular Summary of Checkpoints
  
•     Simple List of Checkpoints
  
•     Core Techniques for Web Accessibility Guidelines
  
•     Fact Sheet for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
  

Online Automated Tools
Use these tools with discretion. Think of them like a spell-check, the response they give is not always reliable - remember, they do not see things in context. If you require professional testing of your site please refer below to Commercial Web Accessibility Providers.

•     Bobby is an automatic accessibility validation tool developed by Cast.
  
•     W3C CSS Validation Service.
  
•     Access Enable is an automatic accessibility tool.
  

Tools, Utilities and Resources

•    SETI - Accessible Web Search Engine Technology Interface.
  
•     Acrobat Access - Adobe's Proxy Server to Convert PDF to HTML.
  
•     BETSIE - The BBC's Text-to-Speech Internet Enhancer.
  
•     ILIAD - E-Mail and Web Search Engine by NASA Learning Technologies Project.
  
•     SAMI - Microsoft's Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange Format.
• The Web Access Gateway - Silas Brown's Translation Service for the Visually Impaired.
  
•     Emacspeak - A Speech Output Subsystem for Emacs.
  
•     MAGpie - Build captioned streaming video for all players.
  
•     VisCheck's Online Color-blindness simulator.
  
•     The WAI's HTML Table Linearizer
•    Home Page Reader by IBM.
  
•     W3C HTML Validation Service.
  
•     Jaws - Henter-Joyce's screen reader.
  
•     Lynx is a text-only browser.
  
•     Lynx-me is a Lynx emulator.
  
•     Lynx Viewer is a Lynx emulator.
  
•     pwWebSpeak - by The Productivity Works
  
•     WAI-UA-Support - User Agent Support for Accessibility
  
•     WinVision by Artic
  
•     DVS Descriptive Video Services.
  
•     NCAM - The National Center for Accessible Media includes information about captioning and audio description on the Web.
  
•     Tech Head provides some information about the Fog index described in [SPOOL].
  
•     WAI Evaluation and Repair Working Group
•  
•     WebABLE aims to make the Internet, World Wide Web, and software accessible to people with disabilities.
•     e-bility offers easy access and links to a wide range of information, resources, services and products of interest to people with disability, their families and carers, as well as health professionals and other service providers in the disability sector.

Legal Requirements

•    Disability Discrimination Act 1992
  
•     Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
  
•     NOIE - Accessibility
  
•     Accessibility Web Action Plan - The Internet Industry Association

Commercial Web Accessibility Providers
The following organsations can evaluate your website for accessibility as well as provide additional services to help achieve an accessible website.

e-bility InclusiveIT ®
The focus of InclusiveIT is on universal accessibility, through all stages of web site planning, development, testing, training and documentation. We can assist you in addressing accessibility and usability issues throughout the project cycle, and offer technical expertise combined with practical skills in implementing the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Standards across large, small and medium scale web sites.

For IIA members a 10% discount is offered for all services.

Contact: Sandra Vassallo
Email: s.vassallo@e-bility.com
Phone: 02 9810 2216

Web Accessibility Speakers

Gaynor Gravestock
UQconnect, The University of Queensland, Brisbane
Phone: 07 3365 4281
Mobile: 0401 990 821
email g.gravestock@uqconnect.net

Matt Harris
Morpheum, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9682 2740
email mharris@morpheum.com.au

John McKenna
Telstra, Melbourne
Phone: 03 996 33 989
Mobile: 0419 877 712
email john.mckenna@team.telstra.com

Web Accessibility Presentations conducted

Government Online, 6-7 March 2002, Canberra. Sponsored by Australian Financial Review and NOIE
Presenter: Gaynor Gravestock, Chair Digital Bridge Taskforce, General Manager UQconnect, The University of Queensland
Title: Boosting Internet Accessibility for People with Disabilities

Profiles

Gaynor Gravestock
Gaynor is Chair of the Digital Bridge taskforce and was involved with the development of the Accessibility Web Action Plan (AWAP). Gaynor is also a member of the IIA's Web Development Task Force where Web Accessibility is also addressed. She stresses the importance of increasing the accessibility of the Internet to as many people as possible; regardless of disability . . . or other barriers identified in AWAP. If people cannot access your online information . . . they cannot use your online service. Gaynor addresses her presentation from a user perspective.

Gaynor is General Manager Internet Services - UQconnect, at the University of Queensland, and she can be contacted at g.gravestock@uqconnect.net, or phone 07 3365 4281, or mobile 0401 990 821.

UQconnect and The University of Queensland are members of the IIA.

Matt Harris
Matt has extensive accessibility experience across a broad range of industries including corporate, finance, government and community organisations.

Matthew believes a developer's intent to build accessible sites is often hindered by previous developments and corporate branding guidelines.
However, flexibility and the right approach will ensure developers and organisations alike find their way in deploying such fundamental approaches.

Matthew is an opinion leader in the interactive industry working on such initiatives as the Web Accessibility Action Plan for the Australian Web
Accessibility Task force and consulting to the Australian Taxation Office, City of Melbourne and Australian Antarctic Division on their accessibility obligations and subsequently implementing sites compliant with these guidelines.

Combining his accessibility expertise, technical know-how and business acumen, Matt can speak across a broad range of accessibility and usability issues.

Matt can be contacted at mharris@morpheum.com.au or Morpheum, 106 Canterbury Road, MIDDLE PARK VIC 3206, phone 03 9682 2740.

Morpheum is a member of AIMIA.

John McKenna
John was Chair of the IIA's Web Accessibility Taskforce from 1999 to 2001 and in this capacity was one of the initiators of the IIA/AIMIA Accessibility Web Action Plan.

John is in a very unique position, as he has a significant physical impairment, which has confined him to an electric wheelchair. As such he has experienced first hand how the Internet can assist in maintaining and increasing a person's independence, and he has influenced large corporations and web developers in understanding and meeting the needs of people with disabilities.

John McKenna has had fifteen years experience in marketing, retailing and wholesaling equipment for the disabled. John Mckenna won the first ever anti-discrimination test case in Victoria against a Health & Fitness club.

Some of his key achievements have been:
§ Establishing and marketing 'Independent Living Equipment' meeting the needs of the aged and people with impairments
§ Professional consultant working with business to create positive attitudes towards dealing with the aged and people with impairments

John can be contacted at Disability Services Unit, Telstra Corporate Relations, phone 03 96 34 83 57, mobile 0419 8 777 12, or john.mckenna@team.telstra.com.

Telstra is a member of the IIA and AIMIA.