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WikiCED manual: Difference between revisions
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As new systems are implemented, organizations should be aware of the unexpected positive benefits. We're going to examine this with the “cut curb principle.” | As new systems are implemented, organizations should be aware of the unexpected positive benefits. We're going to examine this with the “cut curb principle.” | ||
As many are aware, navigating the world as a person with disabilities often results in frustration or complete denial to everyday services. | As many are aware, navigating the world as a person with disabilities often results in frustration or complete denial to everyday services. Resolving these problems one step at a time yields unexpected benefits. When a curb is cut for wheelchairs, blind people can use sidewalks more easily. Navigation is also made easier for those with baby strollers, bicycles and inattentive walkers. The same is true of ramps and elevators - making a change for disabled persons improves the situation for everyone. This leads to a shift in thinking towards [[wp:universal design]] - the idea that instead of treating accessible design as a necessary afterthought, it is instead a way to lead overall design. | ||
Using technology, this is enabled by the fact that most information is stored in one way or another in text format. Email is text, Web pages are generally text. The low level format of Web pages is HTML, which accommodates accessible features. Suddenly, individuals with mobility or vision problems (estimated to be 700 million people around the world, or one in seven Canadians) are on an equal footing with everyone else - they're tremendously enabled. | |||
Consider a well implemented Web page. The page separates presentation from content. Headings are used to indicate sections. A person with vision disabilities, whether it's very common colour blindness, contrast problems, or acute focus problems, can use a variety of techniques to access this information. They can change the font size in their browser, they can replace colours. They can use a screen reader, which reads the document using text to speech, treats headings as a table of contents, and allows the individual to easily scan the page rather than forcing them to read it top to bottom. This carries over to everyone - someone with a large screen or a small screen, like the increasingly popular mobile browsers, can reasonably access well designed content. | |||
This is not true for poorly designed content. Individuals have few ways to alter content. Screen readers may have to read long passages of "content" that describes useless elements - the presentation, rather than the content. Mobile browsers and older computers will not be able to access the content at all, in many cases. | |||
There are no mysteries involved why this happens. People like "Flashier" web sites, and web design firms will often hire designers to create "sexy" first impressions, meanwhile using outdated approaches to low level design. | |||
[http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/ WCAG] is an international standard for accessible web page design. | |||
==Side effect risks== | |||
The most important risk to consider when implementing technology is privacy. Collecting masses of personal information in one place presents an incredible risk if not managed carefully. Careful policies and training for any individuals with access to this data must ensure it is kept off networks as much as possible, and always encrypted when not possible. | |||
The second risk is around "intellectual property." It is an unfortunate fact that many organizations, including public and social organizations, create "proprietary databases" featured in grant applications and for other purposes. This results in silos that can be developed using public funds for social benefit, yet fiercely legally protected from re-use. The benefits of protecting this "property" vs the benefits of sharing or building on information with other organizations must be managed legally, and using technical means, particularly considering cases were information may be publish information without clear terms of use. | |||
Modern developments to consider in this area include [http://www.creativecommons.ca Creative Commons], a system where organizations may choose from a set of legally designed terms of use that include reuse-by-attribution, reuse-for-noncommercial-only, and so on. This document is released under a [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/ creative commons attribution, non commercial, share-alike license], meaning it can be re-used and redeveloped for any non-commercial purpose, as long as changes are shared. | |||
=Using innovation successfully= | =Using innovation successfully= | ||