Newsletter 11

18 June, 2012

In this issue

  1. Web Accessibility Essentials Training Course
  2. WebAim Screen Reader Survey 2012
  3. Vision Simulator iPhone and Android app
  4. Stat of the week

Web Accessibility Essentials Training Course

The University of Melbourne has over 1000 students and 1000 staff with a disability.

This 3 hour course examines the various ways people with disabilities use the University of Melbourne web site, the problems they face, and what we can do to help.

The latest standards and techniques for improving web accessibility will be discussed, together with tools that can be used to evaluate websites.

Course Dates

  • Monday, 9 July 2012, 9:30 am, Level 1 / 780 Elizabeth St, Parkville Campus.
  • Wednesday, 11 July 2012, 9:30 am, Level 1 / 780 Elizabeth St, Parkville Campus.
  • Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 9:30 am, Level 1 / 780 Elizabeth St, Parkville Campus.
  • Thursday, 19 July 2012, 9:30 am, Level 1 / 780 Elizabeth St, Parkville Campus.

Enrolment

This course is offered free of charge to University of Melbourne Staff. Bookings can be made in Themis by clicking on 'UOM Staff Self Service' > 'Training and Development' and searching for 'accessibility'.

Further information is available here

WebAim Screen Reader Survey 2012

WebAIM have released the results of their latest screen reader user survey.

iOS devices are now the mobile platform of choice for 58.5% of users, compared to 8% on Android. The survey authors suggest that the difference is caused by the lack of accessibility or interest in Android devices.

I am not sure that lack of usage equates to lack of accessibility. In the 2010 WebAIM survey, Nokia devices accounted for 42% of usage, compared to 33% for iOS. Surely that difference was not caused by the inaccessibility of iOS. Some screen reader users may just be slower adopters of new technology.

The full survey is available here

Vision Simulator iPhone and Android app

Developed by the Braille Institute of America, VisionSim is a free app for iPhone and Android which simulates a range of common eye conditions.

Included are simulations are two conditions currently being addressed by the work of Bionic Vision Australia, namely Retinitis Pigmentosa and Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Stat of the week

  • 35% of screen reader users believe that web content has become more accessible in the last year.
  • 40% think that it has not changed.
  • 25% believe that web content has become less accessible.

Previous Issues

Previous issues of the Web Accessibility Newsletter are available here.

Contact Andrew Normand, Web Accessibility Program Leader
Email: anormand@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9035 4867