New Influential Trends, May 1, 2001
Volume 3, Issue #9 - Guidelines for Designing Learning Web Sites Accessible to All People

The Full Story

An Interview with Rae Schmidt of Booz Allen & Hamilton, http://www.bah.com

TRENDS: What is Section 508 (US Federal Government) of the Rehabilitation Act and what standards for accessibility does it set forth?
SCHMIDT: In 1998, President Clinton enacted Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibiting federal agencies from procuring, developing, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology (E&IT) that is inaccessible to people with disabilities. All federal agencies, according to the amendment, must comply with this charge by August 7, 2000.

Section 508 simply mandates that federal agencies ensure their E&IT are accessible. It does not state how the laws should be manifest. However, the primary need is not to know what the laws are. Most people can easily locate the regulations--that's where the head-scratching begins, not ends. The need is to help companies translate those legal requirements into meaningful and commercially practical technical options so that they can make strategic decisions--ones that can carry them into a fresher and more creative engagement with commercially successful universal design. At the same time, government purchasers and individuals with disabilities must be able to make similar decisions from the demand side. Thus, the problems is not knowing what the laws or regulations are, but rather how to create products that are more accessible, attractive, usable, and profitable. To read the Section, go to http://www.section508.gov/requirements.html

TRENDS: There are 50-55 million Americans with disabilities. What types of impairments are we talking about?
SCHMIDT: Disabilities include but are not limited to visual impairments, physical or motor skills impairments, cognitive or mental impairments, hearing impairments.

TRENDS: How can designers become more sensitive to designing web sites accessible to all people?
SCHMIDT: Pick up a good book on usability, for starters, or subscribe to Jacob Nielsen's bi-weekly email, Alertbox (http://www.useit.com). With more and more people using the web, more and more studies on both good and bad design are being conducted. Many leading figures are emerging in the field of usability testing and user-centered design: Jacob Nielsen is one of the premiere authors on the subject. Bruce Tognazzini, an interface designer for Apple from about 1987-1992 is also a very important figure in the field (http://www.asktog.com). Donald Norman, who pulls in design features of doors as well as other electronic technology has been a solid voice in the field of design for many years. These are just three of many emerging scholars in the field.

TRENDS: What testing methods need to be used to ensure courseware accessibility?
SCHMIDT: Test the graphical user interface with real users to ensure they can use it. Conduct both rapid prototypes and full usability tests. Test computer-based training using screen readers, eye-recognition software, etc.
Test web-sites using Bobby (http://www.cast.org/bobby/)

TRENDS: Where do we go for more information on keeping up with the rules and regulations of Section 508 and about designing courses accessible to all?
SCHMIDT: Section 508: http://www.section508.gov/. There are also many design sites available for design issues. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a good place to start (http://www.w3.org/). Here are a couple of compiled lists of websites:
http://saber.towson.edu/~bhalle/distext.html
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/sds/links.html

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