[WG: Accessibility] Accessibility improvements that could be seen in Sakai 3 over Sakai 2

Mon Jan 4 06:59:46 PST 2010

Thanks Jon! 

I'm somewhat confused about this, as I had read that a grid implied something other than a table elsewhere. But, when reading w3 docs, I noticed that a "table" role is not mentioned in the specs. I'm guessing that this is because a role of "table" is the default for the table element.

JAWS appears to have an algorithm which tries to decide if a table is used for layout purposes or if it is a data table. Unfortunately, JAWS sometimes mistakenly decides that a table displaying data is a table used for layout and doesn't announce the table (even if it contains appropriate markup like row or column headers). Freedom Scientific suggests using the non-standard attributes DataTable="true" or DataTable="1" on the table tag, or using role="grid" to force JAWS to read a table as a data table. I found this information on the WebAIM site: http://webaim.org/blog/jaws-ate-my-tables/ 

Since the W3C's short definition of the grid role as "A grid contains cells of tabular data arranged in rows and columns, like a table", I thought it correct. Apparently, in JAWS 11.0.756 (and hopefully beyond!), JAWS will start paying attention to the presence of table markup (such as headers) in its determination.

Assuming that by the time Sakai 3 is released, most JAWS users would be using JAWS 11 or later, then would it be safe to assume simply giving the role of presentation to layout tables is enough? Or, is there a more appropriate role that can be given a data table?

-Brian

-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Gunderson [mailto:jongund at illinois.edu] 
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 9:27 AM
To: Richwine, Brian L; accessibility at collab.sakaiproject.org
Subject: Re: [WG: Accessibility] Accessibility improvements that could be seen in Sakai 3 over Sakai 2

ROLE="GRID" is not the same as a data table.

ROLE="grid" assumes the table is interactive and that the author has provided keyboard support and other ARIA markup for the rows and table cells.

See example:
http://test.cita.illinois.edu/aria/grid/grid4.php

Jon

---- Original message ----
>Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:48:29 -0500
>From: "Richwine, Brian L" <brichwin at indiana.edu>  
>Subject: [WG: Accessibility] Accessibility improvements that could be seen in Sakai 3 over Sakai 2  
>To: "accessibility at collab.sakaiproject.org" <accessibility at collab.sakaiproject.org>
>
>   I am making a list of accessibility improvement that could be achieved in Sakai 3 over the
>   Sakai 2.x code base. I'm especially interested in including issues that go beyond the "low
>   hanging fruit" and in having a list that addresses issues that are critical to get into
>   the ground floor of Sakai 3's development.
>
>    
>
>   Please email the list with comments and suggestions. Here is what I have so far:
>
>    
>
>Accessibility improvements that could be seen in Sakai 3 over Sakai 2
>
>   .         Explicitly labeling every form element (ARIA can be helpful here)
>
>   .         Make all controls keyboard accessible (ARIA and accessible JavaScript techniques
>   can be helpful here)
>
>   .         Use accessible content authoring tools. Make sure the content authoring tools
>   allow the user to create accessible content (alt text for images, accessible table markup
>   (headers, summary, etc.), appropriate structural elements (headings, paragraphs, etc.),
>   etc.)
>
>   .         Allow users to specify their default WYSIWYG editor preference
>
>   .         Make all link text/titles to unique destinations distinct. Make sure the
>   purpose/destination of each link is clear.
>
>   .         Use of appropriate semantic markup (good heading structure, lists for lists,
>   paragraphs for paragraphs, well marked up data tables with summaries and appropriate
>   headers, etc.)
>
>   .         The use of CSS for layout instead of tables, or have each table's role marked
>   appropriately
>
>   o   Using ARIA: Adding role="presentation" to the table tag causes it to always be treated
>   as a layout table
>
>   o   Using ARIA: Adding role="grid" to the table tag causes any table to be treated as a
>   data table
>
>   .         Eliminating cases where the use of color is the sole means of communicating
>   pieces of information
>
>   .         Better announcement of pop-ups and completed actions (ARIA can be helpful here)
>
>   .         Uniform and logical use of ARIA Landmarks to improve page navigation and purpose
>   discovery by the user
>
>   .         Use of ARIA features as needed to provide necessary contextual information for
>   adaptive technologies (roles, states, change notification, etc.)
>
>   .         Don't use frames/iFrames. If frames are necessary, make sure they are named
>   appropriately to provide necessary contextual  information.
>
>    
>
>    
>
>   Brian Richwine
>
>   Adaptive Technology Support Specialist
>
>   Adaptive Technology and Accessibility Centers
>
>   Indiana University - Bloomington/Indianapolis
>
>   http://iuadapts.indiana.edu
>
>   (812) 856-4112
>
>    
>________________
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>http://collab.sakaiproject.org/mailman/listinfo/accessibility
>
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Jon Gunderson, Ph.D.
Coordinator Information Technology Accessibility
Disability Resources and Educational Services

Rehabilitation Education Center
Room 86
1207 S. Oak Street
Champaign, Illinois 61820

Voice: (217) 244-5870

WWW: http://www.cita.illinois.edu/
WWW: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jongund/www/

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