Boston Civic Media: Design, Technology, Social Impact

When producing media (web, video, or print) for Internet distribution, or teaching students how to produce media, there is a tendency to delay handling accessibility issues until late in the production process. By then, there are few opportunities for meaningful implementation. This workshop will demonstrate how disabled users view media, share the value of adding accessibility early in the process, and teach simple ways for anyone who makes media to create more accessible productions.

Visual impairment, hearing loss, physical limitations, and learning disabilities will all be considered. An accessible first process will be described that includes advocating for accessibility, taking advantage of expert resources, defining responsibilities, engaging disabled users during the design stage, and choosing compliant technologies.

Workshop participants will use their laptops to visit sites that simulate disabilities and see how to create accessible media. Activities will include simulators for color blindness, dyslexia, distractibility, and screen readers. Contrast analysis, closed captioning, and Flesch Kincaid reading level analysis tools will be shown. Example applications will include accessible Microsoft Office documents, Adobe PDF files, and HTML5 forms.

Please take notes in here: http://bit.ly/22D8gVL