Activity 2B
C&I 335
Summer 1998

Christy Kindel
Jefferson Elementary School
Springfield, Illinois

After finding Bobby's homepage and reading a little about what bobby uses would be, I began to check each of my web pages. As I continued through the process I realized that the program made many valid points. Therefore, I began the process of correcting each page to be Bobby approved.

I checked each page that I currently had working on the server. The following is a list of pages that were checked and the problems that were encountered and corrected.

• index.html - After checking this page Bobby alerted me to several errors. One error concerned the graphics that were located within my page. The graphics contained no alternative text descriptions. I correct this problem by adding alternate text descriptions for each graphic on my page. These alternative text descriptions would allow a visually impaired person to hear the image rather than to see it to read it. This corrected the majority of errors and I was able to be awarded 4 stars and become Bobby approved. However, even though I received 4 stars Bobby still mentioned some areas that could be improved. For example, it noted that tables were often incorrectly read by screen readers and background images can often create some confusion. Another mention was to use alternative text links for each page that would allow a visually impaired individual the option to access the page without graphics.
• Activity 1c.html -After initially checking this page Bobby only awarded it 3 out of 4 stars. The problems with this page were a little different. Bobby pointed out that when there are a list of adjacent links that a text reader will often read the links incorrectly. In order to solve this problem, I simply went back to the document and inserted bullets to indicate links this separated the links and made them easier to decipher. This not only made the page more accessible, but made the page have a more organized look. After making this change Bobby awarded the page 4 stars.
• The remainder of the pages I checked were immediately given 4 stars and required no corrections. Bobby did point out again to avoid using tables and to include alternative text links for each page.

As a concluding note during my search, I noticed that graphics seemed to to create the most problems in making a page handicapped accessible. I realize that graphics and tables are difficult for individuals that are visually impaired, and I fully agree that we should do our best to allow these individuals equal access to the Internet. However, I think that Bobby might make some people hesitant to use graphics or to organize information by the use of tables. This would create many difficulties for individuals who are hearing impaired, learning disabled, our have other developmental disabilities. As a teacher of students who have learning and developmental disabilities, I feel this would be a huge disservice to this population. Graphics are extremely effective in motivation and tables are the perfect form of organization for students with learning disabilities. Therefore, I think it is important for everyone to note that some handicaps may not be properly represented by this specific program. After saying this, I do think Bobby and programs similar to Bobby are great resources and I am thrilled that the public continues to be concerned accommodating individuals with disabilities.