CSUN Day 2 Notes

Here are my notes for Day Two at the 2016 CSUN Conference. Please excuse any weird spelling, grammar, or formatting errors. Reference to pictures are unavailable within this post as I probably shouldn’t have taken them… but I can’t type as fast as people speak.

Accessible Maps

• speaker: @accessibilityoz at gain@accessibility.com.au
• Inform the user that there is a long description in the ALT text
• “this is the Goal Coast Train line an dits X miles long”
• “there’s a slight incline from the house that such and such built, and you turn left..”
• Long descriptions are visible to everyone, so it can have additional info to the map itself
• ALT should not have additional info
• Developers: label pin markers that are useful “South Fitzroy” etc
• Alternative: provide a list view of maps if you can’t alter the code
• Keyboard/touch accessibility
• “Zoom of zoom” can’t move anything but the map
• Ensure all actions can be completed using mouse, touch keyboard etc
• Google Maps you get are very keyboard accessible now (maps.google.com)
• Press tab to see blue outline, keyboard accessible, see labels
• When you embed Google Maps there are issues, third parties
• Blue green colour blindness is common
• Best practice: colours contrast with white or black and use borders, label sections of map (example: wards)
• Juicy Studio Luminosity Colour Contrast Analyzer (new to me!)
• Ensure users can increase the size of the map and map content (interactive maps online)
• pz.tt/CSUN16-map (speaker slides on maps)
• Google audience member: problem with embedding, can’t tab through everything, update launching in 2 weeks where you can
• Answer to another audience member’s question: native apps are difficult as you can’t access the code. You can’t go to the code and apply a label. In this case, include a long description.
• Work around: link off to Google Maps if your map is not accessible

Diversity Within Accessibility: Workforce and Product Design

• Speaker: Sassy Atwater, work in fashion and advocacy for PwD; Also works in acoustic physics
• Not a lot of companies that cater to where I like to shop; Focus of talk on UX
• We cater to one mindset – not diversity (ex: Stevie Wonder and Braille card at Grammies)
• We need to be the catalyst; we need to be both the dream team and the orange (Whole foods packaged oranges: accessible packaging but wasteful packaging when it naturally has a peel)
• Universal design allows customization; can solve diversity issues for employers
• UX is like underwear: we all use it; all interact with it; we all have that experience
• Does someone with CP know where openings are and how to get it one; does a blind person know what colour/pattern it is [when shopping online alone]
• How do races; minorities; people come into that environment; how does minority experience affect the product you’re development
• Infographic: most people 50+ do not how to use built-in tools; we are designing for a group that cannot utilize the tools we’ve designed for;
• Universal design interacts with ‘common sense design’

Accessibility for UX Designers

• Point of talk: UX Designers need to take on the extra work that accessibility brings; Accessible UX design 101
• Note: the slides were really hard to read even after upping the contrast; body font does not work for distant reading – open, round, thin stroke. Heavy weight worked, light not. Familiar font – look up and note.

The Digital Accessibility Maturity Model

• Note: SSB Bart room has coffee! Round tables too – good to meet new people (Harbour Ballroom I, 2nd floor) Checked with staff: coffee available ALL DAY here
• SWOT analysis: strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
• DAMM (Digital Accessibility Maturity Model) audit digital accessibility process: walk through of existing program; gather primary data; development of findings; discuss and deliver final report
• ICT Accessibility MOOC Course on ICT operations
• SSB Bart has resources on DAMM (Digital Accessibility Maturity Model) on their blog: http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/category/digital-accessibility-maturity-model-damm/
• NASCIO.org Policy driven adoption for accessibility: http://www.nascio.org/pdaa
• Business Disability Forum: http://technologytaskforce.org/accessible-technology-charter/accessibility-maturity-model/
• Audience member from Starbucks point: important for others to double check work, even the best writer needs an editor
• All SSB Bart presentations will be made available online this Friday

Making Non-English Content More Accessible

• Speaker: Elizabeth J Pyatt, Penn State, AccessAbility
• Talk changed topic or title? Not about images for non-english
• Language Codes: ISO-639
• Also, 3 letter codes: ISO-639-3
• Region codes: en-US vs. en-GB (work for spell checker, not doesn’t seem to affect accent)
• WikipediaTend to use 2 letter code; three letter when available
• Not great support for less popular languages (ex: Cherokee)
• Language tags in Word/PPT works well: highlight word Tools > Language > select language used for word)
• PDF: tags do not carry over from Word/PPT (PDF only accepts one language)
• JAWS plugin for languages
• Voiceover: download different voices, but sounds weird is switching back and forth between accents in a document
• Unicode: A B C D E F in Unicode – screenreader will read the letter (Wingdings)
• ASCII
• Do screen readers read symbols: (see pic)
• Need JAWS symbols file: eloq.sbl in settings (see Freedom Scientific) (see pic for URLS)
• Install script to get JAWS to read unicode correctly
• VoiceOver: Speech Tab > Pronunciation > modify for what it should say
• Developing websitess for non-English text: https://t.co/5NeolcUOXl
• Foreign Language Accessibility resourc: https://t.co/pDCNbNRIcd

ARIA

• ARIA is for emergency use only
• Pretend its an image and give a label
• Hide an embedded icon
• If a course, recommend beefing up symbol and font repository
• Accents present a legibility challenge
• Speaker feels that sans serif fonts are more legible when it comes to accents over letters
• Andika is designed for different languages (Others: Charis SIL; Georgia)
• Non-Western characters: mad need to increase font sizes
• Really likes Text/Expander/Beevy: simplifies keyboard sequence; customize; robust; can do whole words

Is it a link or a button: ultimate showdown

• Link vs. Button Examples: http://linkvsbutton.a11yideas.com
• Slides will be made available later

Wearable Assistive Device Development Tool

• University project presentation (Japan)
• AeonKit: development kit without the need for coding language
• Kit focuses on hardware
• See handout for summary of session
• Works on Andrino and Raspberry Pi; mac and pc; Code on GitHub

Accessible Publications with Adobe Digital Publishing Solution

• Speaker: Matt May, Sr. Program Manager, Accessibility, Adobe
• Adobe does not sell product in title anymore; focus on Adobe Experience Manager Mobile (AEM)
• Having a town hall meeting tomorrow
• AEM possibly best program for accessibility (re-enforces this is not a sales pitch; no commission)
• AEM used to be known as CQ; digital management
• Adobe is hiring product dev and managers right now
• AEM and other products in the Marketing Cloud
• AEM publishes content as apps; Individual articles, bind as an edition; manages subscriptions and levels of control; content management

Accessible SVG Charts using ARIA

• Highcharts demo, documentation, downloads: www.highcharts.com
• Interactive charts for web projects
• Free for non-commercial use; open
• JavaScript
• Works in all mobile and desktop
• Can generate tables from SVG content study found that tables were preferred
• complex box plot SVG
• Too many headings = cognitive overload
• Chart types themselves need a description (what is a box plot)
• Data Table usability: if marked up well, they offer more flexibility
• Best practice: offer both a table and an SVG chart for user preference

Digital Accessibility Training Solutions

• Review training engagement
• 5 phase approach: develop plan; dev. design; storyboard; training materials; deliver training; long term strategy
• Training aimed at policy makers; internal team; could work for outside audience, techy or not
• Summary of each phase in slides (posted later)
• SSB Bart does InDesign and Acrobat training
• Felt slides weren’t very effective; found video training more engaging
• Videos should last 3-5 minutes; anything longer looses attention
• Hands-on exercises (Codepen) work well for in-person training to engage the team
• Codepen is not a fully accessible product
• SSB Bart uses Moodle for their backend LMS

Between Session Discussion with Microsoft employee:

• Microsoft Disability Answer Desk: free to PwD, consumer channel
• Answer Desk: aka.ms/accessibilitysupport
• Very patience; trained in common assistive technology
• There is also an Enterprise level for IT teams etc.

Pre-Confference Notes

Itinerary

Thursday, March 24:

Morning:

8:00am:

• First: Interactive maps, from Google to Bing, how do you make them accessible? (Harbor Ballroom F, 2nd Floor, Harbor Tower)
• Second: Smart Signage: Technology Enhancing Indoor Navigation for the Blind (Torrey Hills AB, 3rd Floor, Seaport Tower)
• Third: Promoting the universal design paradigm (Hilcrest AB 3^rd FL)

9:00am:

• First choice: Diversity within accessibility and beyond: workforce product design (Promenade AB, 3^rd FL)
• Second: bbc-a11y automated accessibility tests (Harbor Ballroom F, 2 floor, Harbor Tower)
• Third: Proactive Backwards Design (edu) (Hillcrest AB, 3^rd FL)

10:00am

• First choice: Accessibility for User Experience Designers (Harbor Ballroom A, 2^nd FL)
• Second: The Digital Accessibility Maturity Model: Enabling Accessibility Operations (Harbor Ballroom, 2nd FL, Harbor Tower)
• Third: Strike of the BATS – Blind #A11Y Testers Society (Hillcrest CD, 3rd Floor, Seaport Tower)

11:00am

• First: Accessible Foreign Language and Symbols for Multiple Audiences (Solana Beach A, 3rd Floor, Between Harbor and Seaport Towers)
• Second: EPUB3 – An Accessible, Open, and Portable Document Format (Harbor Ballroom C-IBM, 2nd Floor, Harbor Tower)
• Third: Designing for People (Hillcrest AB, 3^rd FL)

Afternoon:

1:20pm

• First: Is it A Link Or A Button? The Ultimate Showdown (Harbor Ballroom A-Deque, 2nd Floor, Harbor Tower)
• Second: May the Force be Accessible: Providing Access to Innovative Experiences (Torrey Hills AB, 3rd Floor, Seaport Tower)

2:20pm

• First: Wearable Assistive Device Development Tool Kit (Hillcrest AB, 3rd Floor, Seaport Tower )
• Second: Translating Visual Information into Tactile Information (Golden Hill AB, 3rd Floor, Seaport Tower)
• Third: Removing Barriers in the Classroom and Workplace-Success with Low Vision (Harbor Ballroom B-Freedom Scientific , 2nd Floor, Harbor Tower )

3:20pm

• First: Accessible Publications with Adobe Digital Publishing Solution (Torrey Hills AB, 3rd Floor, Seaport Tower)
• Second: Accessible SVG Charts Using ARIA (Golden Hill AB, 3rd Floor, Seaport Tower)
• Third: Improving Dyslexia with Newer Fonts & Technological Apps (Harbor Ballroom G-AT&T, 2nd Floor, Harbor Tower)

4:20pm

• First: Digital Accessibility Training Solutions (Harbor Ballroom I-SSB BART, 2nd Floor, Harbor Tower)
• Second: Wearable Assistive Technology emerging tends and design considerations (Harbor Ballroom E, 2^nd FL)
• Third: Design thinking at Google, methodologies and mindsets for innovation (Harbor Ballroom, 2^nd FL)

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