Workshops
Workshop - An Integrated Approach to Evaluating Web Accessibility – Automated, Manual and User-based Testing
Monday 22nd September
Facilitators:
- Helen Petrie, Christopher Power & David Swallow (Department of Computer Science, University of York)
- Gerhard Weber (Faculty of Computer Science, Technical University of Dresden)
Building accessible sites that are vibrant, dynamic and very usable requires the deployment of good technologies and the careful evaluation. This workshop will discuss a variety of methods for testing web accessibility. Through practical exercises attendees will learn how to conduct automatic, manual and user testing.
The workshop will address the following areas of accessibility testing:
- Identifying needs of blind, visually impaired, deaf, dyslexic and motor impaired users
- Use of assistive technologies
- Reviewing the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (versions 1 and 2)
- Discussing research on the accessibility of web sites
- Demonstrating the use and limitations of automated tools
- Linking guidelines with manual testing techniques
- Demonstrating tools to support manual testing techniques
- Enabling participants to apply methods for evaluation with disabled users
- Providing an outlook to newer web technologies and their challenges for accessibility
Attendees will be able to link accessibility with usability, as our research and experience with real-world websites has shown that an accessible site is more likely to be a usable site.
Workshop - The Inclusive Digital Economy Network: Working towards a Digital Economy inclusive of older and disabled people
Thursday 25th - Friday 26th September
The objective of this Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded network is to raise the awareness of the importance of developing a Digital Economy which is truly inclusive. That is that that all citizens, including older and disabled people and other currently digitally disenfranchised groups, benefit from the advantages of a Digital Economy.
The aim of the York workshop will be to extend the work of the Network. A previous workshop scoped out some of the problems, and the aim of the York workshop will be to start looking at solutions, with a focus on the needs of the users.