Bringing the Internet to everyone

From: "BlindNews Mailing List" <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:31:40 -0400
Austin American Statesman, TX, USA
Sunday, October 14, 2007

Bringing the Internet to everyone

By Patrick George, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Contest challenged developers to build Web sites for local nonprofits and 
government organizations

Caption: Desiree Sturdivant, accompanied by her dog Pippa, used a Braille 
display Saturday to help teams at the 10th annual Accessibility Internet Rally 
build Web sites that can be used by people with disabilities. Companies from 
across Austin are competing to create the best Web site. Larry Kolvoord
AMERICAN-STATESMAN 

Nearly 130 people competed Saturday to build Web sites that make the Internet 
accessible for the disabled. 

It was the 10th year of the Accessibility Internet Rally, where Web experts 
construct sites for Austin-area nonprofit and government organizations that 
usually can't afford them. Designers also ensured that the sites were easily 
accessible for people with visual, auditory or cognitive impairments. 
 
Caption: Texas Terra team members Kate May and Juan Enrique Gonzalez work on a 
Web site Saturday. The teams built sites for nonprofit and government 
organizations. Larry Kolvoord AMERICAN-STATESMAN 

"We call it barrier-free IT," said Glenda Sims, one of the competition's judges 
and a systems analyst at the University of Texas. "We want to have Web sites 
available to everyone, no matter their disability." 

Web sites can be made more user-friendly to the blind, she said, by including 
descriptive tags embedded in images, having Google-friendly audio transcripts 
and subtitles for Internet videos, and making sure forms can be located easily. 

"Blind people often get ignored by Web developers," Sims said. "If they don't 
do as much as they should, it's because they don't understand how, but it's 
really not that hard." 

Sixteen days before the competition, volunteer developers from organizations 
like Dell and UT met with their organizations to plan the sites, but all of the 
coding was done Saturday. 

When it was all over, the organizations got new Web sites with free Internet 
hosting for one year, and the winning team, which will be decided at the end of 
the month, will walk away with bragging rights in the IT community, said Teenya 
Franklin, the AIR project manager. 

Some of the beneficiaries included the Ann Richards School for Young Women 
Leaders, the City of Bee Caves Library and LifeSteps, a Williamson County 
nonprofit that combats substance abuse. 

Laurie Payne, executive director of the entrepreneurial nonprofit TiE Austin, 
another group receiving a Web site, called Internet accessibility a "win-win" 
for businesses and the public. 

"People who have never thought they could have a job can work now," Payne said. 

"It improves commerce and reduces emissions, since they don't have to go out to 
get goods delivered to them. People who are locked inside because of their 
disability can become members of the global community." 

pgeorge@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; 445-3851 


http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/14/1014websites.html
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Bringing the Internet to everyone

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