Activity 2B
C&I 335
Summer, 1998
Karen Bennett
Glenwood High School
Chatham, IL
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Topic: Special Needs -- BOBBY
Before doing this assignment, I was really unaware of the types of disabilities that might affect users of the web. It really hadn't occurred to me to consider page design accessibility. I truly had my eyes opened as to some of the ways that an assignment to a class might be difficult for some of my students. It certainly was not obvious to me to consider elements such as color, letter size, position of text on the page. I appreciate the enlightenment, and believe I will be more sensitive to these issues because of this assignment!
I ran my personal web page through Bobby. Bobby found 1 accessibility problem. I had created a table in order to center my picture on my web page. The funny thing is I had totally forgotten that I had made a table to do this, so I was surprised to see this message.
In order to remedy this problem, I deleted the entire table (my picture included) and then reinserted the graphic, and centered it in a different way.
On my linked pages, Bobby encountered the same problem. I had made a table to contain the information about my school's hardware. I like the table, personally, so I put some text beneath the table that reads something to the effect of "if tables are difficult for you, you may click here to get the same information in text form". Then I linked the text form to my page 1C. I made it possible for those who wish to avoid the table to do so.
I know that I have probably only scratched the surface in determining the types of disabilities that may make student use difficult or impossible. I certainly will consider the new ideas that I have discovered here (whether designing a page myself, or assigning one for students to research or use). Some of the alternative page design strategies that I have learned about include:
careful selection of color for both background and text (looking for contrast that enhances readability);
caution in using detailed, decorative backgrounds that may distract from, or prohibit readability;
judicious use of graphics, whether for decoration or meaning - realizing that people browsing in Lynx may not see what I see;
explanation (titles) of graphics given so that even if the user cannot see the picture they will know the content and intent of that image;
careful placement of lists of links -- being aware that the location of the links may make their selection difficult for someone using a reader that goes left to right;
avoidance of tables -- I didn't consider that students who need to enlarge letter size in order to read the text, may find that the info doesn't fit into the cells of the table anymore!
In summary, there is so much to consider when designing an accessible page! I realize that there will be more strategies of which I may become aware. As I encounter them, I will increase this list as a reminder to myself to be sensitive to these issues.