THE WAI AND DISABLED POPULATIONS :: Essays Papers

THE WAI AND DISABLED POPULATIONS Introduction-In a world where the Internet is the fastest growing method of communication and educational resources, it should be available to all of its users. However, it seems that the creators seemed to have left out a certain group of people. This group of people would be the disabled population of the world. It might seem to the "normal person" that this is not a big issue. Contrary to what people might think it truly is. The Web Accessibility Initiative was established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Its promise is to assure all users of the web a fair and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. There are many important reasons why web accessibility is important. Not many people realize how many obstacles the web has for people with disabilities. This affects millions of people throughout the world. Some of these include visual disabilities. For example, web sites that have poorly marked-up table or frames, unlabeled graphics or undescribed videos. People with hearing disabilities also experience problems, such as lack of captioning for audio, and proliferation of text with out visual markers. Other sites on the web are also unfair for people who have cognitive or neurological disabilites. This can cause problems because of flickering or strobing graphics on pages, and highly complicated presentations and language use(Brewer). In October 1994, the W3C was created to lead the information superhighway to it's highest potential by developing a set of guidelines that ensure its evolution, accessibility and understanding by everybody. WAI is sponsored by a mixed group of government and industry supporters of accessibility. It has three different guidelines to address different needs. 1.) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. 2.) Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 3.)User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 Each guideline has specific supporting documents and resources. Some examples of this are checklists, technique documents with implementation detail, curricula, and logos. Research and development can have a major impact on the future of web accessibility. WAI plays a key role in assessing trends in implementations of accessible and inaccessible web technologies. It also helps with devoloping collaborations with research projects to promote awareness of the need for accessibility and benefits of universal design. For people with disabilites the Internet has been a "mixed blessing(Brewer)". Inaccessibility is unfair because the Internet is an excellent source for news, information, commerce, distance learning, email, voting, entertainment and even keeping in touch with family and friends.