Techniques

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Facebook turns new leaf on accessibility

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Facebook has begun touting its accessibility credentials to developers and consumers alike, announcing that it has launched a new Accessibility Toolkit and that it is creating an accessibility culture.

HACK logo with American Sign Language hand signs

Taxonomy: 
Web
News
Practical web accessibility
Disability
Blind or vision impaired
Deaf or hearing impaired
Inclusion
Digital media and technology: 
Section 508
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Techniques
Social media
Facebook

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ACMA releases data on Australians’ internet use

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Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are becoming the preferred method for Australians to access the internet, according to new data from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Apple iPhone and Microsoft Surface resting on a laptop. All three devices display the same website.

Taxonomy: 
Web
News
Practical web accessibility
ACMA, Australian Communications and Media Authority
Digital media and technology: 
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Techniques
Technologies
Web browsers
Social media
Devices
Smartphones

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Empathy and the accessible web experience

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Have you considered taking an empathy-based approach to identifying how your organisation can make itself more accessible for people with disabilities? Perhaps you should.

Man using a laptop while sitting cross-legged on a sofa

Empathy training and developing emotional intelligence are gaining in popularity as ways to better understand customers, improve collaboration with colleagues and to develop better leaders.

Taxonomy: 
Web
News
Practical web accessibility
Disability
Blind or vision impaired
Deaf or hearing impaired
Mobility
Solutions
Inclusion
Digital media and technology: 
Section 508
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Techniques
Technologies
W3C
Web browsers
Assistive technology
Screen readers

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#CSUN15 wrap up

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The world’s major accessibility conference, the Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference (#CSUN15) is close to wrapping up. If you missed some of the big sessions or want a handy recap on hot accessibility (#a11y) topics this year, check out Media Access Australia’s interviews with some of the key presenters.

Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN) logo

Taxonomy: 
General
Digital technology
Web
News
Practical web accessibility
Disability
Sensory impairment
Blind or vision impaired
Deaf or hearing impaired
Solutions
Inclusion
Digital media and technology: 
Accessible gaming
Policy
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Techniques
Technologies
Web browsers
Assistive technology
Mobile operating systems
Devices
Tablets
Smartphones

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NVDA 2015.1 screen reader released: hands-on first impressions

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NVDA, the free screen reader for Windows which is one of the world’s most popular, continues to receive significant improvements with the latest version, 2015.1. Dr Scott Hollier provides a hands-on review and initial impressions of the latest software update from NV Access.

Headset resting next to a Windows-based laptop

While not a proficient screen reader user, I find it useful from time to time when trying to read web pages, documents and emails which are text-heavy, so I was interested to take the new version of NVDA for a spin on my Windows 8.1 machine.

Taxonomy: 
Web
News
Practical web accessibility
Disability
Blind or vision impaired
Audio description
Digital media and technology: 
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Techniques
Technologies
Assistive technology
Screen readers
NVDA
Microsoft Windows

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iPads, and improved access to education

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Media Access Australia spoke to Lyn Robinson, Assistive Technology Teacher and Principal Researcher in the iPad Project about how tablet computers are helping students with disabilities better access education.

Row of iPads with numbered labels, all connected via 30-pin USB cables

Taxonomy: 
Education
Digital technology
News
Learning support
National Curriculum
Student
Teacher
Disability
Blind or vision impaired
Inclusion
Digital media and technology: 
Techniques
Technologies
Safari
iOS
iPad

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Bloggers encouraged to audiocast their posts

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A campaign has been launched to encourage bloggers and other online content creators to provide audiocasts with their posts. Speak Your Word, an initiative driven by filmmaker, photographer and writer Miguel Cano, seeks to provide the global blind and vision-impaired community with a more human experience of the web.

Speak Your Word logo

Audiocasts, also known as podcasts, are audio files commonly presented as voice recordings and broadcasts available to stream or download via the internet.

Taxonomy: 
General
Web
Disability
Blind or vision impaired
Inclusion
Audio description
Digital media and technology: 
WCAG
Techniques

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Harvard & MIT sued over lack of captions

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Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are being sued for the alleged discrimination against people who are Deaf or hearing impaired by failing to caption the videos they provide online, such as in the universities’ popular Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Exterior shot of Harvard's Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, students walking around nearby

Taxonomy: 
General
Web
News
Disability
Deaf or hearing impaired
Disadvantaged
Captions
Inclusion
Digital media and technology: 
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Techniques

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Think ‘Smart’ – IEP goals for access

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Part of the core work for teachers is to create learning goals for their students, on a class and at times individual basis. It is imperative that teachers include goals for all students in regard to access to media and technology, to ensure access to the curriculum.

Young boy in a classroom pressing down on a tablet device

Taxonomy: 
Education
News
Education Terms
Learning support
Student
Teacher
Disability
Blind or vision impaired
Deaf or hearing impaired
Captions
Audio description
Digital media and technology: 
Techniques

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