[real-eyes] 2 articles, Section 508 & down hill skiing possibilities
- From: "Reginald George" <adapt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:47:39 -0600
The following two articles come from the current Zoom Newsletter from AI
Squared. It exists primarily to promote their products but, I felt this
first article gives an excellent summary of what Section 508 is and is and
how it effects us and it is an excellent overview and worthy of being
shared. Also the second one might give some of us the opportunity to
downhill ski with experts at a reasonable cost and gives specific
information about a program I wasn't aware of.
Reg
Section 508: Making the Internet more Accessible
Section 508. Opening doors to IT logo (5 stars and 3 red stripes).
Did you know that every 24 hours, the Web increases by more than 3.2 million
pages and more than 715,000 images? We are an impatient, information-hungry
generation, but for the estimated 54 million Americans who have a
disability, the Internet's incredible opportunities are often difficult to
access. How
many times have you gone to a website that is so cluttered with information
in multiple columns with links scattered about, that it's just dizzying,
even
for someone who isn't low vision? Section 508 aims to improve the Web,
especially for those who are visually impaired.
Section 508 is an extremely important piece of legislation that is, at
times, very difficult to understand. For example, the quick reference guide,
a summary
of all the different aspects of the law, is 150 pages long. This article
will attempt to boil Section 508 down and provide a clearer, and much
shorter,
picture.
Section 508 was originally implemented in 1986 as an amendment to The
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. However, the original Section 508 had immense
shortcomings,
and turned out to be largely ineffective, namely due to a lack of
enforcement. Recognizing the need for improvement, Section 508 was expanded
and strengthened,
coming into law on August 7, 1998. The law requires that when federal
agencies and departments purchase, develop, maintain, or use electronic and
information
technology, the needs of all end users must be taken into account -
including those with disabilities. Federal employees with disabilities and
members
of the public seeking information or services from a federal agency must
have comparable access to, and use of, the information and data provided to
those
without disabilities. It took over two years before regulations addressing
the requirements of Section 508 were written. The United States Access Board
standards were published in December
The Access Board standards that the Access Board set forth are designed to
establish a minimum level of accessibility, and cover the full range of
electronic
and information technologies. There are six categories of technical
standards: software applications and operating systems; web-based
information or applications;
telecommunication products; self-contained products (I.e. fax machines); and
desktop and portable computers. Agencies must comply with these standards
and anyone wishing to sell their products to the federal government must
conform with them as well.
Here's an overview of what the Access Board standards require to make web
pages accessible with assistive technology.
Documents must be organized so that screen readers, like ZoomText, can speak
them to the user (without dependencies on associated style sheets or other
external formatting information).
Page frames and tables must be titled with text, including row and column
headers.
Electronic forms must be designed to allow the user to access all the
information and functionality. In other words, to allow the user to
navigate, read
and complete the form in an intelligent manner.
When timed responses are required, the website must alert the user and
provide a method to give them additional time if necessary.
All graphics must have a text element to identify them. This element can be
alternate text that appears when hovering the mouse over the graphic and
also
able to be spoken by a screen reader.
Information conveyed with color, such as charts, graphs and data legends,
must also be comprehensible without identification by color.
If compliance cannot be established any other way, the web site must provide
a link to a text-only page, but this is only as a last resort.
At the present time, these standards only apply to federal websites and not
to private sector sites, unless they are provided under a contract to a
Federal
agency. However, 18 states have already adopted 508 statutes, and at least
one commercial site,
www.target.com,
has been sued for having an inaccessible site. Section 508 has begun its
steady trickle into areas outside the government, and will hopefully
continue this
path with time. To read an interesting article outlining the future of
Section 508, go to
http://www.fcw.com/article96831-11-15-06-Web.
For us at Ai Squared, we are making it a priority to be Section 508
compliant. We'll keep you posted with our progress in future ZoomNews
articles.
For more in depth information on all of the Access Board standards, please
visit:
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=3.
Ai Squared Renews Sponsorship of Foresight Ski Guides
ForeSight Ski Guides logo.For the second year in a row, Ai Squared has given
a generous contribution to Foresight Ski Guides, a Colorado based company
that
provides trained ski guides to assist individuals who are visually impaired
or blind on the ski slopes. This inventive company was formed in 2001 by
Mark
Davis and a team of dedicated volunteers. Davis, an avid skier from a young
age, lost his sight due to a rare symptom of Multiple Sclerosis and was
devastated
at the prospect of no longer being able to do what he loved the most - ski.
Soon after losing his sight, and with the assistance of the Colorado Ski
School
for the Blind, he returned to the mountain and instantly overcame his sense
of deep depression. The strength and confidence he gained from this life
changing
experience compelled him to offer this same opportunity t
You don't have to be an experienced skier/snowboarder to take advantage of
Foresight's services. If you have taken lessons before and already know how
to
ski or snowboard, you are eligible to participate. After filling out a
Visually Impaired Participant (VIP) Questionnaire which assesses your wants
and
needs, you are matched with an appropriate guide for your stay. After a tax
deductible contribution, you will enjoy up to five days on the mountain
which
includes everything from lift tickets, top of the line equipment rentals,
the trained guide, transportation to and from the spectacular slopes of
Colorado,
and lodging assistance.
For the 2006-2007 ski season, Foresight is off to an excellent start and has
hired professional trainers to get their new volunteers more experience
quicker
than ever before. Recently, a group of blind children from the Colorado
School for the Blind were guided down the slopes of Vail. In addition, Army
Captain
Scott Smiley, 10 months after becoming blind and paralyzed while leading a
combat brigade in Iraq, skied with Foresight for a week in Vail at no
charge.
He will return to the slopes later on this year along with some of his
fellow veterans who were blinded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Foresight
is
more than a fun, safe time in a great place; it's a form of rehabilitation
therapy that provides independence, self-fulfillment and freedom to those
who
are visually impaired. Currently, Foresight has a team of 15 guides who
volunteer their services, but as you can imagine the demand for guides much
exceeds
their resources.
We at Ai Squared are pleased to help Foresight grow their company so they
are able to provide their services to a larger audience. Just as ZoomText
opens
the door to the world of computers, the ForeSight program opens the door to
affordable and accessible snow sports. "We are proud to sponsor Foresight
Ski
Guides for a second year," said Barry Osherow of Ai Squared. "We like to
give back to the community that we serve, and this program immerses those
with
visual impairments in activities that they may have thought were no longer
an option for them."
For more information, check out Foresight Ski Guides online at
www.foresightskiguides.org,
or call them toll-free at (866) 860-0972.
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