Software Accessibility Guidelines from WGBH
January 2001
Editor: WGBH has long been at the forefront of the effort to provide
access to people with hearing loss. They are probably best known for
their captioning program, but are also involved in many other aspects of
the accessibility arena. Their latest effort concerns ensuring that
computer software is accessible to people with hearing or vision loss.
Portions of their press release are reproduced below.
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Educational software publishers interested in making electronic
textbooks and other instructional materials useful to as many students
as possible will be aided by a new publication from the CPB/WGBH
National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM). "Making Educational
Software Accessible: Design Guidelines Including Math and Science
Solutions" is the result of a three-year, National Science
Foundation-funded effort by NCAM which offers a wealth of information
for educational designers and developers.
The guidelines are also expected to aid efforts by publishers of
Web-based media seeking to comply with existing and pending
accessibility regulations on Federal and state levels.
In this document, readers will find:
- a review of current policies requiring the use of accessible
educational software;
- a basic understanding of the needs of users with different
disabilities;
- a summary of various approaches to serve users with different
disabilities;
- specific solutions for designing more accessible software;
- guidelines with specific checkpoints and detailed techniques for
implementation.
Technical information covers common development environments and
includes references to more detailed accessibility guidelines. In
addition, specific guidelines on educational materials are included.
"Making Educational Software Accessible: Design Guidelines
Including Math and Science Solutions" is available free of charge
in print and on the World Wide Web. Request print copies (bulk orders
accepted) through Mary Watkins at:
617 300-3700
617 300-2459 TTY
Mary_Watkins@wgbh.org
access.wgbh.org
You may also read the guidelines online at: ncam.wgbh.org/cdrom.
