Learning Product Compliance and Development

2. Learning Product Compliance and Development

3. Section 508 Did you know…. Why is this so important? Oh..gotcha • Disability Types: • Auditory • Visual • Physical • Cognitive This means 3 out of every 20 people you see have some type of disability.

4. Administration Section 508 to the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits federal agencies from buying, developing, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology that are inaccessible to people with disabilities. Although Section 508 came about over 25 years ago, little progress was made until 1998, when Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act, amending the law to give members of the public and government employees with disabilities the right to sue agencies. The goal of this training is to make you aware of the components of Section 508 and your requirements to comply with the law. This will allow learners to have a positive and engaging learning experience and protect the organization for liability in the event of legal action. It’s a what?? Just wait until you hear about Section 504. You’ll learn about that soon… Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

5. Important What’s Section 508 Mean? Whoa!! Visual Disability Numbers Total: 6,636,900 Women: 3,665,200 Men: 2,971,600 Age 18-64: 3,372,400 65 and older: 2,743,600 That’s L.A. and Chicago combined!! All of Houston x3…… Section 508 requires that all Web site content be equally accessible to people with disabilities. There is no exception and this is the law as stated in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), August 7, 1998. This applies to: Testing websites Web pages Web applications Documents Emails Blah, blah – How important is this really? I didn’t know this!! According to the National Federation of the Blind:

6. Who is Responsible? Nearly everyone plays a role in carrying out Section 508. The government increasingly relies on technology to carry out its business and deliver information to citizens, from creating files to managing contracts, which makes ensuring access for individuals with disabilities part of everyone's job. File Creator Document Author Supervisor Web Manager Project Manager Instructional Designer So, you are saying we are all responsible? Yep! Look at the list below. If you are one of these people, it is your job even if you do not realize it. You are the Difference

7. Section 504 Section 504 Didn’t you mention something about Section 504? I need to remember 504 too. Right? Section 504 requires agencies to provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in their programs and benefit from their services, including the provision of information to employees and members of the public. Agencies must provide appropriate auxiliary aids where necessary to ensure an equal opportunity. Types of auxiliary aids may include brailled or large print versions of materials, electronic diskettes, audiotapes, qualified interpreters or readers, telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDDs), captioning of video, and other methods of making information available and accessible to persons with disabilities. In considering what type of auxiliary aid to provide, agencies must give primary consideration to the request of the individual with a disability and shall honor that request, unless it can demonstrate that another effective means of communication exists.

8. Myth vs Fact Myth: "X" file format (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Audio, Video) doesn't have to be 508 compliant. FACT: Since June 2001 the law has required all content created using federal money to be 508 compliant. This includes government hosted or contractor hosted websites and intranet sites. This also includes content hosted by third-party services like YouTube. Myth: I can convert MS Word documents into compliant PDF files simply by selecting "Adobe PDF" as my printer. FACT: Word can create PDF files when using "Adobe PDF" as its printer but the PDF files it creates aren't always 508 compliant. Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 or higher is necessary to create properly tagged PDF files. Myth: Converting my tables into PDF will make them 508 compliant. FACT: Not true. Section 508(g) and 508(h) require you to use row and column headers in data tables and that all data tables are built in a logical way. Use Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 or higher to run a full check on any PDF document containing tables.

9. General Guidance General Guidance Aww….I never think about that! How often do you find yourself using Microsoft Word in your daily routine? How often do you think of compliance? Or create with it in mind? Whether you are a developer, designer, SME, or manager, it is your responsibility to understand basic compliance needs. To do so, you have to be familiar with the tools of the trade – Acrobat and Word. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Select the icons below to read more about each.

10. Microsoft Word Section 504 Note to self: Blind and visually impaired people deserve to have just as good an experience in training as a sighted person! Every word document is different, but regardless of the project, each document contains some identical elements. The following basic document elements must be addressed to properly develop a compliant Word document for use in your learning products. Graphics Tables Styles/Document Mapping Hyperlinking Using Word So, this JAWS stuff isn’t just some movie? Well, if you don’t do it, you’d be better off with a shark. Your organization can be sued for noncompliance!!! Visually impaired users utilize a program developed by Freedom Scientific – JAWS. This screen reading software is one of the most common and widely used assistive technologies for users with visual impairments or blindness. It is critical to be aware of the elements necessary to make your instructional content JAWS accessible.

11. Microsoft Word Tables are really tough to make accessible. It is best to find other ways of presenting this data. If not, use a table and create an alternative document for VI users. Graphics in Word Documents One of the biggest errors made when creating word documents is including graphics without alternative content descriptions. This is a very simple process and is a legal requirement in some cases. This is an example of an image in Word 2010. Select the image needing description and follow the steps provided.

12. Microsoft Word Document Mapping So, you are saying I can use Level Heading to make it easier for VI users to read documents? I never thought about it like that until now! This is not a new concept. It is merely applying an old concept in a unique way to create documents that are easy to follow for screen readers. Imagine having to start reading at the top of a document every time it opens. Sighted users have a table of contents, but what does the blind user have? Improperly built Word documents force blind users have one large, continuous block of text to read each time.

13. Adobe Acrobat PDF documents have many different components. The key to successful PDF creation is consistent practice. Taking a poorly designed document and making it compliant can be labor intensive and produce poor results. Just because it looks good to you does not mean it is a good document. It is generally a good practice to build a fully compliant word document and convert it to PDF using the Save As feature of Word. However, if Adobe Acrobat must be used and there is no other option or there is no access to the original source document, then focus on the following basic PDF components: Basic Accessibility Testing Language Specification Tabbing Order Graphic Descriptions This is a complicated process. It can be explained to you, but it takes time and practice and you have to think like a visually impaired person. This is easier said than done. A good tip is to have a blind or visually impaired tester on hand to evaluate developed products. Are PDF documents really that hard to make compliant? Am I really responsible for them? PDF documents are notoriously hard to make compliant. However, if you link to a document in another location, you are not responsible for its compliance. Using Acrobat

14. Adobe Acrobat Basic Accessibility Testing: I tried this…and I saw a lot of screens. It is complicated the first couple of times, but it just takes practice. Adobe.com has a lot of resources available to help with the development of compliant documents. If not, there are many sites that provide assistance with this. I should probably do some research and find a few. To test a document, select the Tools option. Expand the Action Wizard menu and select Create Accessible PDFs. The new Acrobat software provides a guided walkthrough of the testing process. Multiple prompts and screens will be displayed. Follow all instructions on screen to check a document. This testing is an important part of the compliance process and it is sometimes necessary to document compliance efforts to protect the integrity of the organization.

15. Adobe Acrobat When the Accessibility Options are shown, select everything illustrated and start the check. There are a lot of steps to follow with PDF documents! Basic Accessibility Testing

16. Adobe Acrobat Basic Accessibility Testing Reminder to myself. Take a break if I lose focus. This can get complicated If you are lucky, you will get a response screen that states no errors have been found. However, if you do not, Acrobat will provide step-by-step instructions to correct any issues. Follow the instructions and retest your document until the following is displayed. If the document continues to produce errors, it may be best to review the source document, find an alternative document, or create a new one. Remember, the goal is compliance without compromising efficiency. Doodle break

17. Narration What about Narration? Confusing – so, all visual and audio content has to match perfectly? Yep, content on screen and the script has to match up precisely, or the deaf or VI user misses content. Narration is a popular option when designing training. Many instructional models suggest that connecting voice and content on the page make for a more powerful presentation. However, great care must be taken to understand your audience. If you have visually impaired JAWS users, narrating creates competing audio tracks. Imagine two people standing on either side of you speaking into your ear at once. Not a comforting thought. Also, all content on the screen must be narrated, even if it is not part of the original script. If you have a deaf user, extra time must be allocated to build times to ensure proper captioning is created. More importantly, the captioning has to reflect that which is on the screen and that which is spoken, so care must be taken when content is created.

18. Wrapping Up So I Know it Now? So, what I think I am hearing is that I have a lot to learn and I should start taking this seriously? Resources to use: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Web Accessibility Initiative Section 508 Section 504 in Education There are many others, but these are a good start. Not even close. Section 508 is pretty complicated. It generally applies to organizations dealing with federal dollars and contracts, but schools and many businesses use federal dollars. What? Your organization does not interact with federal agencies or take federal money. The technology world is even more concerned with accessibility and compliance. The Web Accessibility initiative was created to allow people with disabilities to have the same online experience as people without. For many, this is about equal access and equal opportunity. In reality, the WAI and corresponding Web Content Accessibility Guidelines created by W3C is even more detailed and regimented than standard 508 compliance. Always remember, the goal of compliance is not merely checking off a line item on a form, but providing disabled users with an experience that is equal to that of a non-disabled user.