A Universal Design Approach for
Providing Computer Access
Sheryl Burgstahler
Terrill Thompson
University of
Washington
Seattle
Access to IT is Important
Because IT:
 changes the way we live, work, learn, &
communicate, & play
 drives advances in other fields
 powers the economy
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Presentation Outline
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About our two Centers at UW
Approaches to Access
Assistive Technology
Universal Design Approach
Implications for Practice
The UW Experience
Resources
Two UW Centers
Access Technology Center (ATC)
 Founded 1984
 Funded by UW
DO-IT Center
 Founded1992
 Supported with federal, state,
corporate, private funds
 Expanded to DO-IT Japan in
2007
DO-IT Center
Disabilities, Opportunities,
Internetworking, & Technology
DO-IT Goal:
To increase the success
of individuals with
disabilities in
postsecondary
education &
careers, using
technology
as an
empowering
tool.
DO-IT Addresses Challenges
 diminished support systems after high




school
little access to successful role models
inadequate self-advocacy skills
lack of or ineffective accommodations
low expectations on the part of people
with whom they interact & …
…lack of access to technology that
can increase:
• independence
• productivity
• participation
in
• education
• careers
• family life
• community
• recreation
The Access Technology Center…
ensures computers, software &
computing services
are accessible
to UW faculty,
students
& staff
 Consults & trains
on accessible
design of IT
 Hosts showroom
of assistive
technology (AT)
 Consults & trains
on hardware &
software
 Integrates AT into campus computer labs
Ability on a Continuum
see
hear
walk
read print
write with pen or pencil
communicate verbally
tune out distraction
learn
manage physical/mental health
Evolution of access approaches:
Attitude
Action
Exclusion
None
Allowed if you can fit in Cure, Rehabilitation
Accommodation
Social justice
Universal Design
Accommodation
Accommodation =
Alternate
format,
service,
&/or
adjustment
for a
specific
individual
“Coffeepot for Masochists”, Catalog of Unfindable Objects by Jacques
Carelman; in Donald Norman’s The Psychology of Everyday Things, 1988
Universal design =
“the design of products &
environments to be usable by all
people, to the greatest extent possible,
without the need for adaptation or
specialized design.”
The Center for Universal Design
www.design.ncsu.edu/cud
How could you universally
design a name tag?
UD in education is:
• an attitude that values diversity,
equity, & inclusion.
• a goal.
• a process.
• practices that make educational
products & environments welcoming,
accessible, & usable for everyone.
Apply universal design to:
• Student services
• Instruction
• Technology
• Physical spaces…
Problem
Solution
access to
computers
assistive
technology
(AT)
access to
electronic
resources
universal
design
Very Short History of AT:
Rodney & the Apple II
• 6 years old
• No use of hands & legs
• Used Mouth wand
• Issue: Could not press 2
keys at once
• Solution: Engineering
student build switch box
to lock shift, control,
repeat keys
Now: Thousands of Products
Closing the Gap Resource Directory
provides just a sample of:
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342 hardware products
982 software products
112 other AT
251 producers of AT
Jeanine Cook, Ph.D.
Associate Professor,
Electrical &
Computer
Engineering
New Mexico State
University
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Sang-Mook Lee, Ph.D.
Geoscience
Professor, Seoul
National University
• sip & puff, head controls
• onscreen keyboard
• English speech input
• phone-computer
interface
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Anthony Arnold
AT Specialist
Prentke Romich
• synthesized voice on
communication
device
• touch screen
• computer-based
environmental control,
phone access
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Kayla Brown
UW student
• laptop computer
• miniature mouse
• speech
recognition
• smart phone
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Jessie Shulman
BA, Informatics
Business Analyst
Amazon.com
• speech output
• speech input
• grammar/spell
checker
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Nicole Torcolini
Bachelors Degree
Computer Science
Stanford
Google
• speech output
• Braille translation
software
• Braille display &
printer
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Imke Durre, Ph.D.
Climatologist
National Weather
Service
• speech output
• Braille translation
software
• Braille display & printer
• speech input
• Morse code foot switch
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Christian Vogler,
Ph. D.
Computer
Scientist
Gallaudet
University
• visual
notifications for
audio alerts
• captions
• sign language
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AT may be part of the solution
Image: Many Stairs
Old School Technologies
Today: Technological Diversity
We All Have Choices
Today's Design Process
• Make no assumptions about users' needs or
technologies
• Design and develop according to standards
A Very Brief History of the
World Wide Web
Sir Tim Berners Lee
• Proposed the Web in
March 1989
• Demonstrated it in
1990
• Wrote HTML in 1993
• Founded the World
Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) in 1994
HTML 1.2
• Written by Tim Berners-Lee in a memo
in June 1993
• Introduced the <img> tag
• Simultaneously introduced the ALT
attribute for people who couldn't see
the image
W3C Accessibility Standards
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
• 1.0 published in 1999
• 2.0 (the current version) published in 2008
• Three levels of success criteria
- 26 “Level A” success criteria – the most important
- 13 “Level AA” success criteria – also important
- 23 “Level AAA” success criteria – maximum accessibility
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Four principles (POUR):
- Perceivable
- Operable
- Understandable
- Robust
More W3C Accessibility Standards
• Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
• User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
• Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA)
• Defines new markup that communicates:
• Role (e.g., menu, slider, dialog, alert)
• State (e.g., is this hidden? Is it expanded?)
• Properties (e.g., what are the maximum and
minimum values on a slider? What is the current
value?)
IT Accessibility Standards & The Law
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Passed in 1973; no IT accessibility standards
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Passed in 1990; no IT accessibility standards
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Amended in 1998
• Requires IT accessibility of federal agencies
• IT accessibility standards published in 2001
• Standards currently undergoing a "refresh"
• Latest draft (December 2011) adopted WCAG 2.0
at Level AA
Proposed New ADA Rules
• July 2010 - U.S. Department of Justice
proposed new rules that clarify ADA
requirements related to web
accessibility
• Jan 2011 – Public comment period
ended
• In RFC DOJ was considering adopting
WCAG 2.0 at Level AA
• More news – maybe rules – expected in
July 2013?
The law requires that we
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include everyone but…
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“qualified individuals”
Why wouldn't we do that anyway?
Including everyone benefits our course,
our institution, and our world…
What are higher education institutions
doing to promote IT accessibility?
 Developing accessibility policies
• 26.1% of Doctorate institutions have policies that address web or IT
accessibility (8.4% of all U.S. institutions)
 Offering trainings, providing support resources, building
community
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Approximately 100 institutions have over 1000 results when
searching their website for "web accessibility"
 Building accessibility requirements into RFPs and contracts
 We're dependent on IT vendors for accessibility
 If we don't all demand accessibility, they can't hear us
Universal Design & Video:
Closed Captions
 Captions make video
accessible to the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing
 Captions help ESL
viewers
 Captions can be
translated on-the-fly into
other languages
 Captions are searchable
Universal Design & The iPhone
 Speech output
 Speech input
 Screen/text enlargement
 Variable colors/contrast
 Audible, visible, vibrating alerts
 Assignable ringtones
 Bluetooth connectivity for keyboard,
refreshable Braille display, …
 Accessibility built-in for most apps
Universal Design & Video:
Interactive Transcript
Provides access to
video for:
 Braille users
(Deaf/blind)
 People with low
Internet bandwidth
 People who want
information quickly
Share Your Stories
What are you doing on your campus that
exemplifies a Universal Design approach
to technology access?
The UW Experience
Reporting structures & roles of
 Access Technology Center,
 Learning Technologies &
 Disability Resources for Students
The UW Experience
IT Accessibility Task Force with
representation from:
 UW External Affairs
 UW-IT
 Disability Resources for Students
 Office of Risk Management
The UW Experience
IT Accessibility Task Force focused on
three areas:
 Enhancement of online UW-IT
 Promote accessible IT
 Explore policies/processes
The UW Experience
IT Accessibility Task Force accomplishments of
members:
 Collaborated to create accessible WordPress and
Drupal Templates/Themes
 Updated content/organization of IT Accessibility
website & added videos
 Video captioning RFP
 Risk assessment report developed
 UW Marketing helping to promote accessibility
 Continuing to work together
Resources
 IT Accessibility Website
www.uw.edu/accessibility
 DO-IT Video
www.uw.edu/doit/video
 Center on Universal Design in Education
www.uw.edu/doit/CUDE
Questions?