2. Being accessible
Accessibility benefits everyone. But how can we tell whether or not content is accessible? And how can we make it more accessible for everyone?
Universal design
‘Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability.’ (Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, 2014)
Universal design is the idea of designing with everyone in mind. There are a lot of things in our daily lives which have been designed for specific groups of people for reasons which may no longer be relevant.
For example, historically many tools used to be designed only for right-handed people – you still might need to buy special scissors if you’re left-handed. Universal design principles suggest that scissors are badly designed because of this right versus left-handed problem and because they require you to use repetitive movements to use them.
Some research suggests that design may not be equitable for different genders. Read The world is designed for men by Kat Ely on Medium.
Can you think of anything you’ve tried to use which didn’t work for you because the designer didn’t have you in mind?
Another way of thinking about universal design is as inclusive design. This involves thinking about your users and trying to remove systematic barriers which prevent them from using the environments, tools and platforms that you may take for granted.
Experiencing accessibility
While universal design is a great concept, it can be hard to understand what issues you should be considering if you haven’t experienced accessibility problems for yourself. If you want to familiarise yourself with some of the access problems experienced by certain groups of people, there are simulators available online. The Web Disability Simulator (Chrome extension) tries to simulate how people with disabilities experience the web.
Perhaps the most commonly discussed web accessibility problems are experienced by people who are blind or who have impaired vision. Developers have a greater understanding of ways to make content accessible for people with visual impairments because of the availability of screen reader software.
Screen readers read digital content aloud and allow for navigation of content via keyboard. They are very specialised software and require a lot of practice to become proficient. The Overview of screen readers (LinkedIn Learning, 2m52s) has a great explanation of what screen readers do.
Using a screen reader (YouTube, 7m45s) demonstrates the use of a screen reader on an accessible and inaccessible website.
How would using a screen reader make your online experience different?
Try using Voiceover (on Mac and iOS), TalkBack (Android) or NVDA (Windows) to look at one of your favourite websites. Is the website you chose accessible?
Screen readers aren’t the only tools available to help check accessibility. Funkify, a free extension for the Chrome browser, allows you to select different simulators to view the web from different perspectives, including as someone with a visual impairment, dyslexia, or poor motor control. This provides pretty extreme examples to give you an insight into the obstacles many people have to overcome online.
Accessible web content
It is essential that all people are able to access the internet.
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) identify four key principles of accessibility relating to web content:
- Everyone should be able to access the website and information on it.
- Everyone should able to use the website and navigate around it.
- Everyone should be able to understand the website and information on it.
- All websites should be consistent across different platforms, so that equitable information is provided whether you are using a browser window or a screen reader.
Read Principles of accessible design from Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM).
How many of these principles have you noticed in action on websites that you use regularly?
Accessibility and the law
Accessibility isn’t just part of being a good digital citizen, it’s also a legal responsibility. View the timeline or use the text only version.
Accessibility at UQ
UQ is committed to delivering high quality blended learning through a digital uplift program (involving both systems and capabilities). Digital learning transformation requires improvements to our technology and changes to our teaching practices. The Digital Teaching Framework is an initiative that seeks to describe the minimum and ‘best practice’ standards for digital teaching, one of which is accessibility and inclusivity.
Services available at UQ
- UQ Student Support provides access to specialised software and assistive technology, as well as access to information and assistance available at UQ.
- The Library offers services to make our collections more accessible to library clients with disabilities.
- The Assistive technology rooms at Central Library contain special software and equipment that are available to students who have been authorised by their Student Adviser.
Text version of Accessibility and the law
Timeline of accessibility laws and policies for UQ, Queensland, Australia and Worldwide.
1991 – Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld)
This Act aims to protect people in Queensland from unfair discrimination, sexual harassment and other objectionable conduct and provides a means to bring a complaint and have it resolved.
1992 - Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)
This Act aims to eliminate discrimination against a person due to disability in Australia. It covers work, education, accommodation, facilities, services and more. It also aims to promote recognition and acceptance within the community that persons with disabilities have the same fundamental rights as the rest of the community.
2005 - Disability Standards for Education 2005
The Standards clarify the obligations of education and training providers in Australia, and seek to ensure that students with disability can access and participate in education on the same basis as other students.
2006 – United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
The CRPD protects the rights and dignity of people with disabilities and closed the gap in protecting human rights. Article 9 of the CPRD says that we should remove barriers to people with disabilities accessing the internet and ‘promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies and systems, including the internet’ (CRPD, 29.2.g). Article 21 of the CRPD states that people with disabilities have a right to freedom of access to information.
2014 – UQ Disability Policy 1.70.08
The UQ Disability Policy 1.70.08 aimed to ensure an inclusive environment for people with a disability participating in work and study at the University.
2018 — 2021 – UQ Disability Action Plan
The Disability Action Plan presents a framework of principles, objectives and operational action items to ensure that UQ is a disability-confident organisation that is inclusive and accessible for people of all abilities.
2021 – Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Behaviours Policy
UQ has policies around disability and discrimination which are guided by national and state legislation. The UQ Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Behaviours Policy aims to ensure a thriving, diverse community where all staff, students and members of the UQ Community feel welcome, included and safe.
Return to the section after the timeline or continue on to the next chapter.
