[WG: Accessibility] Sakai Accessibility Goals

[Mary Stores]

Hello,

I like Modified Version 2 in the way that it is worded because it is 
straightforward.

Mary

Quoting "Richwine, Brian L" <brichwin at indiana.edu>:

> Hi,
>
> The holiday probably interrupted some of the momentum from the last
> meeting. I'd like to propose that we get the accessibility statement
> proposal rewritten for Eli this week if possible so we can move on to
> getting the accessibility goals written.
>
> As a start, some of us at the ATC have been mulling over the first
> paragraph to the proposed Sakai accessibility statement from the last
> meeting. We came up with two different versions as an attempt to
> include the suggestion in Eli's comments. They are listed below. What
> do others think? Please feel free to offer rewrites or comments!
>
> Modified version 1:
> The Sakai foundation's goal is to be the most innovative and powerful
> collaboration and learning environment; opening the teaching and
> learning experience to the entire world. The world includes potential
> users of varied abilities who may employ "assistive" technologies to
> receive and interact with information. With this in mind, the Sakai
> Community commits to keep accessibility for all users foremost in all
> information design decisions.
>
> Modified version 2:
> Consistent with our goal to make Sakai the most innovative and
> powerful Collaboration and Learning Environment, the Sakai Foundation
> is committed to making Sakai's features accessible and available to
> all, including users with disabilities. It only makes sense that in
> designing Sakai, a tool with communication and collaboration features
> that open the teaching and learning experience to the entire world,
> that the Sakai Community is keeping accessibility constantly in mind
> to enable Sakai's usability for people with disabilities either
> directly or by supporting the use of assistive technology.
>
> Original First Paragraph from last week:
> Consistent with our goal to make Sakai the most innovative and
> powerful Collaboration and Learning Environment, the Sakai Foundation
> is committed to making Sakai's features accessible and available to
> all. It only makes sense that in designing Sakai, a tool with
> communication and collaboration features that open the teaching and
> learning experience to the entire world, that the Sakai Community is
> keeping accessibility constantly in mind.
>
> Eli's Comment:
> This is the right idea. As much as we understand what "accessibility"
> is, in a policy statement I think that we need to introduce the term.
> Our introduction is also a way to hit briefly on the reality that
> people of different abilities exist and that they need special
> support.
>
> Sincerely,
>  -Brian
>
>
> Brian Richwine
> Adaptive Technology Support Specialist
> Adaptive Technology and Accessibility Centers
> Indiana University - Bloomington/Indianapolis
> http://iuadapts.indiana.edu
> (812) 856-4112
>
>
>
> From: accessibility-bounces at collab.sakaiproject.org
> [mailto:accessibility-bounces at collab.sakaiproject.org] On Behalf Of
> Richwine, Brian L
> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 2:02 PM
> To: Sakai Accessibility WG
> Subject: [WG: Accessibility] FW: Sakai Accessibility Goals
>
> Here are the ideas Eli and have working on...
>
> From: Eli Cochran [mailto:eli at media.berkeley.edu]
> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 1:48 PM
> To: Richwine, Brian L
> Cc: Eli Cochran
> Subject: Re: Sakai Accessibility Goals
>
> Brian,
>
> I have a few comments inline.
>
> - Eli
>
> On Nov 18, 2009, at 9:25 AM, Richwine, Brian L wrote:
>
> Hello Eli,
>
> I didn't want the two weeks since the last Accessibility Working
> Group teleconference go by without making some effort towards
> developing Sakai's Accessibility Goals.
>
> I struggled a bit on how to get started, and eventually decided to
> write something like the ideal accessibility statement I could
> envision the Sakai Foundation publishing about Sakai. I figure that
> if that existed as a guiding vision, then the accessibility goals
> could be more easily derived.
>
> I looked at accessibility statements from similar level projects
> (Desire2Learn, Moodle, Blackboard, etc.) and then searched for other
> guiding documents like the National Center on Disability and Access
> to Education's Best Practice Indicators for Institutional Web
> Accessibility and the IMS Guidelines for Developing Accessible
> Learning Applications.
>
> I think of the accessibility goals as being broad statements that
> voice support for the philosophy and inclusive nature of accessible
> design principals, the standards being embraced, and includes
> reference to the process/plan and its implementation.
>
> I envision that the following all work together:
> *         An Accessibility Statement
> *         The Accessibility Goals
> *         An Accessibility Plan
> *         Documents needed for and supporting the plan (Guidelines,
> checklists, protocols, documentation, etc.)
> *         A Process for Implementation of the Plan
> *         Progress evaluation
> *         Results Assessment and Reporting
>
> This is right on. I don't know if we have time to produce all of
> this, but for Sakai 3, we should hit each of these milestones.
>
> I'm not a copywriter or have much experience at determining policy
> statements, but just wanted to make a try at capturing some  ideas
> and working towards writing them into goals. Here is the 'ideal'
> accessibility statement I have so far:
>
> Consistent with our goal to make Sakai the most innovative and
> powerful Collaboration and Learning Environment, the Sakai Foundation
> is committed to making Sakai's features accessible and available to
> all. It only makes sense that in designing Sakai, a tool with
> communication and collaboration features that open the teaching and
> learning experience to the entire world, that the Sakai Community is
> keeping accessibility constantly in mind.
>
> This is the right idea. As much as we understand what "accessibility"
> is, in a policy statement I think that we need to introduce the term.
> Our introduction is also a way to hit briefly on the reality that
> people of different abilities exist and that they need special
> support.
>
> The Sakai Community is designing Sakai to high standards of
> accessibility, exceeding necessary legislative requirements (such as
> Section 508 in the USA). To maintain this standard, Sakai implements
> accessibility design principals found in recognized international
> standards. We are working towards having Sakai meet all of the
> relevant WCAG 2.0 Level A Success Criteria, while striving to meet
> WCAG 2.0 Level AAA compliance and the relevant parts of the Authoring
> Tool Accessibility Guidelines(ATAG).
>
>
> This is good but is going to scare some folks.
>
> Besides meeting and complying with the accessibility standards, the
> Sakai Community is going further to ensure Sakai's design is usable
> and accessible to all. By keeping up with emerging standards and best
> practice design techniques (such as the WAI-ARIA Suite), the Sakai
> Community is ensuring Sakai will work with existing and emerging
> assistive technologies. To keep accessibility principals in the minds
> of the developers, accessibility guidelines and checklists are
> available for easy reference.  Access to accessibility experts in the
> Sakai community is available through the Sakai Accessibility Working
> Group. Every tool in the Sakai product undergoes several usability
> and accessibility evaluations throughout the design process to make
> sure it not only meets the accessibility design principals found in
> the standards, but also that it is both useable and functionally
> accessible. The results of the Sakai accessibility evaluation efforts
> are available that show Sakai's current accessibility. Accessible
> documentation for Sakai administrators and end-users alike is
> available on maintaining and using Sakai's accessibility features.
>
> This last paragraph talks about what we are planning to do as if we
> have done it. We should rephrase at this point.
>
> Sorry this is so brief, I wanted to get it to you before the meeting.
>
> - Eli
>
>
> I want to get your feedback before putting much more time into this,
> so I don't travel too far down a path that isn't in line with what
> you are thinking. Is this going anywhere you were expecting?
>
> Sincerely,
>  -Brian Richwine
>
>
> Brian Richwine
> Adaptive Technology Support Specialist
> Adaptive Technology and Accessibility Centers
> Indiana University - Bloomington/Indianapolis
> http://iuadapts.indiana.edu
> (812) 856-4112
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . .  .  .   .    .      .         .              .
>                    .
>
> Eli Cochran
> user interaction developer
> ETS, UC Berkeley
>
>
>