Watchfire, the company that has provided the web accessibility evaluation tool Bobby, has been bought by IBM.

PLEASE NOTE: As of February 1, 2008 the Watchfire WebXact and Bobby Online products will no longer be publicly available. As an IBM Company, Watchfire will continue to invest in accessibility through the IBM Rational Policy Tester Accessibility Edition solution (previously WebXM Accessibility Module). This enterprise platform leverages the Bobby technology alongside a next-generation scan engine, providing the accessibility community with technology that allows users to scan, test, remediate and understand compliance with current accessibility legislation. Watchfire is working closely with the IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center to continue to evolve this product line to meet this growing market demand. For more information please see ibm.com/software/awdtools/tester/policy/accessibility and ibm.com/able.

If you’ve been in the business of web design as long as I have, you’ve come across the name “Joe Clark.” He is a very outspoken, passionate advocate of web accessibility, and I had the opportunity to hear him at a conference last year.  A few months ago I was surprised to hear he was talking on “When accessibility is not your problem,” and I immediately downloaded the podcast. As always, Joe was enlightening. Essentially he is saying, “If a browser or adaptive technology can or should handle an accessibility issue, I won’t.” Check out his notes on the limits of the designer’s responsibility when designing for accesibility.

In August of 2007, a law was passed in Illinois that requires university web sites be accessible by people with disabilities.  The Illinois Department of Human Services was tasked with creating an updated version of the Illinois Web Accessible Standards that WIU has been using as a guide for the past several years. The goal is to have new standards available for university webmasters by mid February 2008. After the guidelines are established, University web sites will have to be brought up to those standards. You can track developments in this process and find out more information at the DHS web site.

WIU established a web accessibility committee over a year ago to facilitate reporting the status of our web site to government; to provide a forum to discuss and establish guidelines and standards; and to become a resource for training and assistance for people responsible for official University web sites. The committee recently proposed a University Web Accessibility policy that has  been approved. In addition to the guidelines, it lists members of the committee whom you can contact for assistance with web accessibility for your site.

The Center for the Application of Information Technologies (CAIT) and the College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) are offering two 3-hour workshops on creating accessible Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and PDF files. Experience with Microsoft Office 2007 and Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional is recommended, as these are not introductory workshops. Registration for these workshops is required and can be done by emailing your name, department name, department phone number, and the title of the workshop you want to attend to kchambers@cait.org. If you have any questions, please contact us by email at rfauvie@cait.org.

Creating Accessible Word Documents and Powerpoint Presentations

October 15, 2007 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Leslie F. Malpass Library 2^nd Floor Computer Lab
In this workshop, participants will learn how to create accessible Word documents, as well as, Powerpoint presentations. This hands-on workshop will take an in depth look at the use of styles and formatting in Word and Powerpoint. Participants will learn techniques to make Word documents and Powerpoint presentations accessible to those with visual, physical, and hearing disabilities. There will be 25 seats available.

Creating Accessible PDF Files

October 15, 2007 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Leslie F. Malpass Library 2^nd Floor Computer Lab
This workshop is designed to teach participants how to use the built in accessibility features in Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional. Participants will create accessible PDF files from 5 different origins, create accessible interactive forms, and repair an existing PDF file. There will be 25 seats available.

If text does not have sufficient contrast compared to its background, people will have problems.

456 Berea Street has some helpful comments and tools for checking color contrast, which improves readability for all site visitors.

I’ve been working on site documentation, but it tends to take a back seat when in the middle of a busy production period. Nevertheless, I’ve manage to create two new tutorials of WIU web developers.

• Integrating Undergraduate Catalog Program Information on Department Websites
• Displaying WIU Webcalendar Events on Department Websites

The tutorials are intended for web designers with some experience using server side includes and/or a little PHP scripting. They are not for beginners.

You can find these tutorials at www.wiu.edu/web

When making a site accessible, the easiest way is often to start from scratch. Unfortunately that isn’t always an option. Accessites.org offers some advice on reworking a legacy web site.

There is more to creating an accessible web site than including an alt tag on all your images. The recent Boxes & Arrows article Practical Plans for Accessible Architectures provides a nice overview of some of the fundamental planning that needs to take place.

What can you publish on your web site? Can others take your content for their site? What about images? Smashing Magazine has compiled an excellent resource about copyright and the web.

Color correcting and sharpening are the easiest way to improve the appearance of your photos. This video tutorial from the Digital Photography School web site takes you through the process.