Portfolio of Accessibility Technologies at California State University
At the California State University at Northridge (CSUN) "Technology and Persons with Disabilities" conference, IBM showcased its portfolio of accessibility technologies and developer tools central to its recently announced $2.3 million agreement with San Francisco State University.
As part of the partnership, IBM will customize the San Francisco State University's new Website to meet or exceed current accessibility guidelines for students and faculty with disabilities, furthering the university's commitment to provide information technology that is easily used by all members of its academic community.
"San Francisco State University is taking a leadership role in accessibility and is committed to opening up the world of the Internet to everyone associated with our university," said Jonathan Rood, SFSU associate vice president for information technology. "We chose IBM to help us with this project after carefully reviewing the accessibility features and compliance status of IBM's products and services."
As part of the agreement, IBM will also update the University's communication technologies, bringing unified e-mail, calendaring, group collaboration and Web conferencing to university students, faculty and staff.
Talking web broser
Home Page Reader, a talking Web browser, is also an effective tool for developers to test Web pages for accessibility early in the prototype/design stage as well as after the content or application has been deployed. Thousands of software developers inside IBM use Home Page Reader to check for usability and accessibility.
Accessibility Testing
aDesigner is a technology that integrates new patented accessibility testing technologies and existing tools for Web developers. It is particularly effective at checking the degree of color contrast on a page, the ability of users to change the font size and the availability of links in the page to promote navigability. The tool also checks the page's compliance with accessibility guidelines. A handy feature: aDesigner's site-wide feature automatically "crawls" through a Website so that developers can check more than one page at a time. A desktop version is available from alphaWorks.ibm.com, while a more robust site-wide version will be demonstrated at CSUN.
Easy Web Browsing
Easy Web Browsing benefits computer users who have low vision and can use the mouse. Organizations and companies are installing Easy Web Browsing to differentiate their own Web sites and make them more accessible to their members, employees and customers. Seniors and first-time Internet users appreciate its simple user interface.
WebAdapt2Me allows people who have low vision, cognitive or mobility limitations to customize the way Web pages are presented. Users can change the size of the text, increase the line spacing, and convert the text and links to high-contrast colors that are easier to see.
www.ibm.com/able
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