Communicating Web Accessibility to the Novice Developer: From User Experience to Application

Susan A. Youngblood Auburn University

Abstract

Novice Web developers and other technical communicators need to learn not only accessibility standards but also factors that make designs usable to audiences with disabilities. One challenge of teaching accessibility to novices is creating exigency; another is emulating experiences of users with disabilities. This article tackles teaching novices to create Web sites for visually impaired audiences using a five-stage, recursive approach. Teaching best coding practices is only one stage: Instructors should create exigency by introducing real users and their experiences. They should also check for accessibility and emulate screen-reader output using tools such as WAVE and FANGS, respectively. Furthermore, novice developers should examine how different tools can be used in combination to provide a variety of feedback.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2013-04-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651912458924
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (23)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Show all 23 →
  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Written Communication
  4. College English
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Communication Design Quarterly
  7. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  8. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  9. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  10. Pedagogy
  11. Communication Design Quarterly
  12. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  13. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  14. Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  16. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  17. Technical Communication Quarterly
  18. Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (44) · 6 in this index

  1. 10.1080/13691180802552940
  2. American Foundation for the Blind. (n.d.). About the AFB center on vision loss. Retrieved from http://www.afb…
  3. Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110–325, §§ 1–7, 122 Stat. 3553.
  4. Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. ch. 126 § 12101 et seq …
  5. Anderson A., Ewers N. (Producers). (2001). Introduction to the screen reader [video]. Madison, WI: Instructio…
Show all 44 →
  1. Barnum C. (2008). An interview with Carol Barnum. Interview by Adlin T. Retrieved from http://www.adlininc.co…
  2. 10.1007/11788713_24
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. 10.1007/978-0-387-89022-7_9
  5. 10.1145/1268784.1268810
  6. Universal design in the classroom
  7. 10.1145/1632149.1632155
  8. 10.1080/09687590701659527
  9. International Organization for Standardization 9241. (1998). Ergonomic requirements for office work with visu…
  10. 10.1509/jppm.28.1.16
  11. 10.1007/s10209-009-0159-y
  12. 10.1080/10447310701771472
  13. National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corporation, 452 F. Supp. 2d 946 (N.D. Cal. 2006).
  14. Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Technical Communication Quarterly
  16. Pederick C. (2011). Web developer: Add-ons for Firefox [Application]. Retrieved from https://addons.mozilla.o…
  17. 10.1145/1240624.1240688
  18. Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq . (1998).
  19. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794.
  20. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  21. Computers and Composition
  22. 10.4017/gt.2006.05.02.007.00
  23. College English
  24. Stanicek P. (2010). Color Scheme Designer 3 [Online application]. Retrieved from http://colorschemedesigner.com/
  25. Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104–104, 3 Jan. 1996. 110 Stat. 56.
  26. Constructing accessible Web sites
  27. 10.1145/947226.947227
  28. Theofanos M. F., Redish J. (2003b). Guidelines for accessible and usable Web sites: Observing users who work …
  29. U.S. Census Bureau. (2009, December). Population estimates: Annual estimates of the resident population for t…
  30. Vischeck. (n.d.). [Online application]. Retrieved from http://www.vischeck.com/
  31. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. (2005). Selecting Web accessibility evaluation tools. Retrieved from http:/…
  32. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. (2008a). Complete list of Web accessibility evaluation tools. Retrieved fro…
  33. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. (2008b). Web content accessibility and mobile Web: Making a Web site access…
  34. WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind. (n.d.). Introduction to Web accessibility. Retrieved from http://webaim.or…
  35. WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind (Producer). (2004). Web accessibility issues: Experiences of students with …
  36. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). (n.d.a). CSS validation service [Online application]. Retrieved from http://…
  37. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). (n.d.b). W3C markup validation service [Online application]. Retrieved from …
  38. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). (1999, May). Web content accessibility guidelines 1.0. Retrieved from http:/…
  39. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). (2008, December). Web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Retrieved…