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5856 results in Facet Publishing

Page 255 of 293

Web Accessibility
  • Practical Advice for the Library and Information Professional
  • Edited by Jenny Craven
  • Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008
  • With ever greater provision of resources in electronic formats, formal recognition is increasingly being given to the growing awareness within the information profession that it is a moral duty as well as a legal requirement to take every feasible step to ensure that no one is excluded from access to goods and services, including web-based information and resources. This timely book provides a practical introduction to web accessibility and usability specifically for information professionals, offering advice from a range of experts and experienced practitioners on the concerns relevant to library and information organizations.It's contents include: Tools used for widening access to the web; Design for All - how web accessibility affects different people; the importance of web accessibility; accessibility advice and guidance; accessibility evaluation and assessment; issues for library and information services; Design for All in the library and information science curriculum; best practice examples of web accessibility; and, web accessibility in the future. Although its main focus is on UK legislation and other requirements, many of the featured guidelines and recommendations are of an international nature, so are transferable to other countries. This approachable guide will enable information practitioners and students new to web accessibility to gain a good understanding of the issues involved in this vital area.This book can be used as a resource for developing staff training and awareness activities, or for developing course content. It will also be of value to website managers involved in web design and development who need to broaden a basic understanding of accessibility and usability issues.

  • 10 - Web accessibility in the future

    • By Brian Kelly, Brian Kelly is the UK Web Focus adviser, based at UKOLN, University of Bath.
  • Edited by Jenny Craven
  • Book:
    Web Accessibility
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 145-162

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This final chapter will take a critical look at some of the developments in web accessibility guidelines and assessment, and will provide some sug - gestions as to how these could be improved, in particular through a more holistic approach to web accessibility. It will then move on to consider accessibility issues surrounding the new emerging technologies and how these might relate to library and information services.

    We have seen how the guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) have been widely accepted as an inter national standard for helping to ensure that web resources can be made widely accessible. But how successful has this approach proved in practice? And will the WAI guidelines continue to be relevant in a rapidly changing technical environment, in particular in a Web 2.0 environment with increasing use of technologies such as blogs and wikis, communication tools such as instant messaging and internet telephony applications such as Skype?

    A critique of the WAI approach

    WAI has been tremendously successful in raising awareness of the need for access to web resources for people with disabilities and in encouraging governments to enshrine such commitments in legislation, with WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) having been widely adopted as best practice for use by web content providers (see Chapter 5, section on ‘The Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines’).

    However, even among individuals and groups who may be committed to web accessibility principles, there are growing criticisms regarding the approaches taken by WAI. Researchers and accessibility practitioners in the UK (including the author of this chapter) have been exploring these limit - ations, which include inconsistencies and ambiguities in the guidelines, the failure of the guidelines to reflect technological developments, and the diverse ways in which the web is now being used.

    As described in a paper by Kelly et al. (2005), the approach developed by WAI is a simple model based on three components (illustrated in Figure 10.1): guidelines for web content (WCAG), guidelines for authoring tools (ATAG) and guidelines for user agents such as web browsers (UAAG). The assumption is that if authors follow the web content authoring guidelines using authoring tools that are based on ATAG and users make use of browsers that are based on UAAG then the resources will be universally accessible.

  • 16 - Conclusion

  • from Part 4 - The future
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Book:
    Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 165-182

  • Summary

    Is Library 2.0 dead? The cynics may say that it never really had a life of its own. Others may be saying that it has peaked. Maybe the usefulness of the title ‘Library 2.0’ has passed. What is more certain is that the spirit is still present, and we should take Bradley's advice (2007) to ‘forget the 2.0 label and consider how you can do things better’. Following the original ethos, the mainstream libraries will take what they want from the movement. The 2.0 mentality is here to stay. There is no going back: only further future developments, into a new 3D web and searching into David Weinberger's (2007) ‘kind of’ world. In this concluding chapter we will take a look at how Web 2.0 is shaping the world we live in, the operation of the most significant 2.0 tools for the delivery of IL, followed by new technological developments, and how this affects the IL mission.

    Our changing 2.0 world

    Andrew Keen admits that his book The Cult of the Amateur: how today's internet is killing our culture (2007) is a polemic. He lampoons the untrustworthiness of sites like Wikipedia, YouTube, Google and MySpace. He loathes the way in which anyone can now post their opinions via blogs, however extreme or poorly written. This activity implies that unqualified public opinion is equal to that of experts. In this 2.0 world people are becoming accustomed to getting items for free, which undermines paid expertise, and further diminishes the respect for intellectual property. The web generation can seem threatening: how far should academics and librarians give them the kind of experience that we think they want, and pander to their gadgetry? Michael Gorman (2007), former President of the American Library Association, has been a vocal critic of what he calls the ‘Blog people’, and of the adoption of 2.0 technologies. He also decries the digital Maoism which devalues expert opinion and raises up the wisdom of the crowd. Surely we, as library professionals, should point out that experts are not always right and that we can all learn through dialogue with peers and a variety of resources. We are going to have to accept user tagging in our catalogues and these entries will supplement, not destroy, our catalogue entries. The co-existence of amateur with professional is something that we should both understand and promote. This can only enhance our IL mission.

  • 5 - Information literacy, Web 2.0 and public libraries: an exploration

  • from Part 2 - Library 2.0 and the implications for IL learning 37
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Book:
    Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 63-74

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Web 2.0 has brought new challenges, and new means of offering services and content. Public librarians are exploring how these tools can be used, always with the ultimate aim of providing the best services to their users, including continuing opportunities for lifelong learning. Now more than ever, library users are virtual visitors as well as physical, so it is even more important that public libraries are ‘virtually’ up to date and present, to serve our users when they are in virtual spaces.

    Information literacy is a much broader area in public libraries than in other sectors, with no officially defined or assigned responsibilities (Skov, 2004; Lewis, n.d). However, public libraries are aware of the need to explore IL with our users and as far as we are able, we teach information literacy to our communities. Whether it be through class visits, speaking to local groups, seminars in-house, making learning materials available (e.g. helpsheets on using the catalogue) or just one-to-one instruction, public libraries recognize the important role they play in lifelong learning in their communities.

    With my continuing interest in virtual library services as a background, I applied for a Ramsay and Reid Scholarship from the State Library of Victoria, Australia, to undertake a study tour of US public libraries and their virtual services. I was awarded the scholarship in November 2006 and conducted the study tour in April 2007, including in the trip the Computers in Libraries 2007 conference in Washington DC. As I travelled, I posted nightly on my blog Connecting Librarian. Much of what you will read in this chapter comes from that tour and my knowledge of the public library scene in Victoria, Australia.

    For those who do not yet have an awareness of Web 2.0 tools, public libraries have an informal responsibility to help them learn. For many in our communities, the public library is their only source of internet access and one of the few accessible resources they have for lifelong learning. Many of our users will learn about Web 2.0 through the resources public libraries provide. This can be through formal classes teaching the use of computers and general or specific desktop and internet applications (including Web 2.0 tools), or through our use of these tools to communicate with, inform and educate our communities.

Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008
  • Web 2.0 technologies have been seen by many information professionals as critical to the future development of library services. This has led to the use of the term Library 2.0 to denote the kind of service that is envisaged. There has been considerable debate about what Library 2.0 might encompass, but, in the context of information literacy, it can be described as the application of interactive, collaborative, and multimedia technologies to web-based library services and collections. These developments challenge librarians involved in information literacy with more complex and diverse web content, a range of exciting new tools with which to teach, and a steep learning curve to adjust to the constant change of the Web 2.0 world.This edited collection from an international team of experts provides a practically based overview of emerging Library 2.0 tools and technologies for information literacy practitioners; addresses the impact of the adoption of these technologies on information literacy teaching; provides case study exemplars for practitioners to help inform their practice; and examines the implications of Library 2.0 for the training of information literacy professionals.Key topics include: School Library 2. 0 - new skills, new knowledge, new futures; information literacy, Web 2.0 and public libraries; the blog as an assessment tool; using Wikipedia to eavesdrop on the scholarly conversation; information literacy and RSS feeds; library instruction on the go - podcasting; sparking Flickrs of insight into controlled vocabularies and subject searching; joining the YouTube conversation to teach information literacy; going beyond Google; and, teaching information literacy through digital games. This book, which will be continually updated by blog ('Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0'), is essential reading for all library and information practitioners and policy makers with responsibility for developing and delivering information literacy programmes to their users. It will also be of great interest to students of library and information studies.

  • 5 - Accessibility advice and guidance

    • By Julie Howell, Julie Howell is a passionate advocate for disabled people's right to enjoy everything the web has to offer.
  • Edited by Jenny Craven
  • Book:
    Web Accessibility
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 57-72

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Web developers and website owners have been confused by the apparent array of web accessibility guidelines available on the web. Those web developers who have received formal training in web design and development may have touched upon accessibility only briefly during their studies, if at all. Website owners may have heard about the importance of web accessibility through the media or may have been informed by their legal, human resources or strategy departments that their organization is now subject to a legal duty to provide web-based services that disabled people can use.

    Awareness in the public and private sectors

    Civil servants who work in the public sector are likely to know more about accessibility, as there has been greater responsibility placed upon them by way of legislation to ensure that all citizens can access their web-based services. At the other extreme, small businesses are perhaps less likely either to be aware of the importance of accessibility or to have created sites that are usable by disabled people (owing to lack of appropriate resources).

    Those information professionals working in the public sector are therefore most likely to be aware of the need to ensure that their organiz - ation's website is accessible. Those working in medium-to-large private companies will probably be aware that they have a legal duty, although they may be unsure of how this duty might be met. Those working in small businesses and voluntary organizations (apart from those directly connected with disability issues) are least exposed to the messages about accessible web design, and are therefore likely to be the most in need of help (of course, there are exceptions).

    The information professional's responsibility

    It may be argued that information professionals have a responsibility within their organization to ensure that information about the importance of web accessibility reaches both those with management responsibility for the organization's website and those directly responsible for the technical construction and editorial content of the site. The Disability Discrim - ination Act 1995 (DDA, 1995) places a legal duty on employers to ensure that employees are not subject to disability discrimination. A corporate website that cannot be used by a company's own disabled employees may be in breach of the DDA.

  • 9 - Library instruction on the go: podcasting at the Kresge Library

  • from Part 3 - Library 2.0 and IL in practice 75
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Book:
    Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 103-110

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The Kresge Business Administration Library serves a population of 3500 business school students plus faculty and staff of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Like most libraries, the Kresge Library had a set of traditional, classroom-based, library instruction sessions designed to introduce the students to the overwhelming amount of resources available to them at the Library. In recent years, the Library had reduced the number of traditional classroom-based instruction programmes in order to try web-based methods, such as posting instruction session handouts on the website and ‘Camtasia’ type videos with screen-shots that would allow students to get the information when and where they needed it.

    Podcasting seemed to be the next logical step in this process as it allowed the Library to provide fairly detailed instruction in a preferred format that was portable and could be listened to anywhere at any time. Podcasts also allowed for the incorporation of images, links, and if desired, video, all of which could be used to provide interaction for the users with the information that was being discussed. In addition, the chaptering features of the podcasts allowed users to listen to just the parts of the podcast that were important to them at the moment, allowing for a more personalized instruction session and saving the user time. The students could also listen to the podcasts as many times as needed, supporting those who are auditory learners and those who find repetition beneficial. Lastly, the medium allowed users to listen and learn wherever it was convenient for them. They did not have to be in a classroom at a particular time in order to learn about the Library and its resources.

    The Library began a pilot podcasting project in the summer of 2006 based in part on the successes experienced at the University of Michigan Dental School. While several methods were explored for creating the podcasts, it was decided that the best way to create podcasts quickly and easily was to purchase the right equipment. The desired functionality of an ‘enhanced’ podcast with images to support the narrative, chaptering and linking capabilities could quickly and seamlessly be produced in a Mac environment. Based on recommendations from the Apple representative, the Library purchased a 15 in. MacBook Pro with OSX (version 10.4.5), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, and 512 Mb DDR2 SDRAM.

  • 7 - Issues for library and information services

    • By Peter Brophy, Peter Brophy, Director of CERLIM, is Professor of Information Management
  • Edited by Jenny Craven
  • Book:
    Web Accessibility
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 97-112

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The practical implications of the need to ensure web accessibility are not always straightforward to assess. Few if any in the profession would argue against the aim of achieving as accessible a web presence as possible, but there is a variety of constraints which make achieving this objective difficult. Not least, libraries and information services have limited budgets and, much as staff may like to provide fully accessible services and equipment, the reality is that it is always a matter of choosing between conflicting demands. What is more, few libraries can afford to employ staff dedicated solely to accessibility and expert in its many ramifications: it is one requirement among many. Where, then, to start?

    In this chapter it is suggested that a useful way forward is to adopt a sevenfold strategy:

  • Spend time listening to representatives of users and potential users, and couple this intelligence with sound professional judgement. If possible, conduct user testing of website features. Consider the users, the web-based services and the environments in which use will occur as a whole. In this way a picture can be built up of the library's specific user requirements, rather than the theoretical needs of every possible user group.

  • Become familiar with the key sources of advice and guidance, selectively concentrating on those which are most relevant to this user population.

  • Develop an accessibility policy for the library service that addresses the particular needs of its users.

  • Audit the existing web presence, including finding out which are the most visited pages and services (and thus the ones most in need of verification).

  • Introduce those changes which, the evidence suggests, will have maximum impact, and make the sometimes small adjustments that will benefit as many users as possible at minimum cost. (This will require judgement based on the mapping of the user requirements to guidelines and professional advice.)

  • Provide appropriate assistive technologies that meet the particular needs of the library's community.

  • Continually monitor and review what is being achieved, not least by continuing to listen to what the users, and the non-users, are saying.

  • 10 - PennTags at the University of Pennsylvania

  • from Part 3 - Library 2.0 and IL in practice 75
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Book:
    Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 111-116

  • Summary

    PennTags is a social bookmarking tool for locating, organizing and sharing online resources developed by librarians at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). In addition to serving as a useful research tool, PennTags helps the libraries fulfil Penn President Amy Guttman's vision of the Penn Compact, which challenges the Penn Community to increase access, integrate knowledge and engage locally and globally.

    What is PennTags?

    PennTags is a user-centric and user-friendly way to organize the academic research process. It acknowledges that most resources are either fully digital or have digital representations such as catalogue records or database citations. Because it fits easily into the landscape of digital resources, PennTags provides many of the benefits of any other kind of social bookmarking system, such as del.icio.us or ma.gnolia.com. Using a web-based system frees the user to work from any machine and offers more flexibility in organizing resources. By using tags instead of folders, users can assign multiple identities to a single resource, creating access points for subjects, geographic coverage, authors, formats and the like – whatever makes sense for their research needs.

    Rather than simply drawing data from library systems and the public web into the PennTags environment, PennTags also pulls user-created content into the public view of the library catalogue. The PennTags content is retrieved dynamically when a user chooses to view a full or brief record in the catalogue. It includes whatever content the user included in the original posting, such as tags and annotations. Not only does this have the potential to add richness to the information available on the catalogue record, but it also allows related resources from within PennTags to be serendipitously discovered by catalogue users who may not have been aware of PennTags otherwise. However, PennTags has advantages over commercial systems in that it is designed to be used with library resources, including Penn's online catalogues, databases and Open-URL resolver (SFX). While systems like CiteULike and Connotea do focus on the academic or scholarly research communities, PennTags is publisher agnostic and designed to be used by anyone in the Penn community, regardless of their area of interest.

    PennTags history

    PennTags was initially developed in August 2005 in response to a request from a Cinema Studies faculty member for a wiki to use as part of one of his classes.

  • 14 - Using Web 2.0 to enhance the Staffordshire University Assignment Survival Kit (ASK)

  • from Part 3 - Library 2.0 and IL in practice 75
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Book:
    Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 139-150

  • Summary

    Introduction

    ASK is a web-based tool designed to support undergraduate students encountering their first assignment. In June 2007 it was awarded the CILIP University, College and Research Group (UC&R) Award for Innovation. ASK is the work of the Information Literacy Project Working Group within Staffordshire University (SU) Information Services (IS). The ASK team includes librarians, information professionals, IT developers and e-learning experts. The software was created by the complete adaptation of open source software used by the University of Minnesota in their Assignment Calculator. Scripts were re-used and rewritten to allow local relevance, for example, UK date and time format. The software, viewable at www.staffs.ac.uk/ask, links to a number of useful learning support web pages both internal and external to the University (see Figure 14.1 on page 140).

    At present ASK is at the end of Phase 1 of its development. The software is generic and web based in its approach but we intend to develop it further by investigating the feasibility of integrating Web 2.0 functionality. The team were mindful that the wish to add new Web 2.0 functionality needed to be balanced against the success and usability of the current product and any changes/additions must add to the flexibility of ASK without alienating those who prefer a simple approach. Czarnecki's (Anon, 2007) statement that ‘we are always in a state of [constant] beta’ when using Web 2.0 implies that, by definition, there is no best way to ‘Web 2.0’ an existing application, so the emphasis initially will be on allowing students to opt in to some of the new functionality, rather than forcing it on them in its entirety. ASK does, however, already fit with the Web 2.0 philosophy of openness and sharing and this will be retained in Phase 2 through the application of a Creative Commons licence.

    Phase 1 development pre-Web 2.0

    The first task was to agree an appropriate IL structure for ASK which would meet the needs of SU students. Informed deliberations within the IL Project Group concluded that IL models have many similarities and few differences, a view shared by Owusu-Ansah (2003) and Andretta (2005). This is to some extent unsurprising as many are drawn from the ACRL (ALA) model (2000) or are a synthesis of a number of existing models.

  • 2 - Library 2.0 and information literacy: the tools

  • from Part 1 - The basics 1
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Book:
    Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 19-36

  • Summary

    Introduction

    When the world wide web (the web) first became popular in the mid-1990s its move beyond its roots in academia helped transform people's expectations of the services which IT could provide. Initially large firms, at first those in the IT business but then across many other sectors, began to provide information services about their activities. Then, as the cost of network bandwidth became cheaper and broadband access became widely available, smaller organizations, and individuals, began to provide a presence on the web.

    This initial use of the web tended to focus on the provision of static information resources. The provision of these services would typically be managed by a centralized team within the organization which would be responsible for ensuring that publications on the website complied with legal requirements and organizational guidelines. The team would make sure that the information reflected the official views of the organization, and complied with guidelines covering content, the appearance of the resources and various technological requirements.

    We are now seeing a radical change in the ways in which the web is used. Rather than simply providing information the web is being used as a communications and collaboration tool. These changes will require new approaches to web management in order to take advantage of the new opportunities that are becoming available.

    The changes in patterns of web usage have resulted in the coining of the term ‘Web 2.0’ to enable us to talk about these two distinct approaches. This chapter explains in more detail the main characteristics of Web 2.0 and provides an introduction to a variety of Web 2.0 application areas. The chapter discusses a variety of tools including blogs, wikis, syndication formats (such as RSS – Really Simple Syndication), communications technologies (such as instant messaging and Skype), social networking and social bookmarking applications, podcasts and videocasts, tagging and folksonomies, mashups and virtual worlds. The chapter concludes by providing examples of how you can make use of these tools.

    Web 2.0 concepts

    The term ‘Web 2.0’ was coined by Tim O'Reilly (2005) to describe an emerging pattern of new uses of the web and approaches to web development, rather than a formal upgrade of web technologies as the 2.0 version number may appear to signify.

  • 6 - Accessibility evaluation and assessment

    • By David Sloan, David Sloan is Project Lead of the Digital Media Access Group
  • Edited by Jenny Craven
  • Book:
    Web Accessibility
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 73-96

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Evaluating the accessibility of a website is an important part of accessible web design, whether as part of a new design project, or an assessment of an existing resource for potential barriers. While the goal of an accessibility evaluation or audit is simple – to identify any barrier that may limit or prevent a disabled person from using the subject website for its intended purpose – the diversity of user needs, browsing set-ups and functionality provided by web resources can make evaluation complex and challenging. Thankfully, there are many tools and techniques that can help people without significant accessibility expertise and experts alike to identify where accessibility problems may exist in a website.

    Finding the problems is only half the story, though, as there is also the matter of acting on the results of the evaluation. In other words, how can we use the evaluation findings to help improve the accessibility of the resource in question? This chapter looks at effective techniques for evaluating a website's accessibility, and how these can best be presented in a way that helps those responsible for removing or reducing the barriers identified.

    Evaluation aims

    The immediate aim of a website accessibility evaluation should be to uncover all true instances of where a disabled person may have difficulty using or be unable to use the site for its intended purpose and to avoid reporting instances of barriers that do not actually adversely affect accessibility. Results are particularly likely to be relevant if the evaluation looks at the accessibility of the tasks supported by the website, rather than individual pages. This more holistic approach focuses on how users will be interacting with the site, which in most cases will be a flow through a series of pages rather than visiting pages in isolation (Kelly, Phipps and Swift, 2004) (See also section on ‘Building on the WAI approach’ in Chapter 10).

    The status of the website under review may influence what evaluation techniques are used, and how the results are reported. Ideally, an accessibility evaluation will take place early on in the design and development of a web - site, and will be repeated periodically as things evolve.

  • 15 - Teaching information literacy through digital games

  • from Part 4 - The future
  • Edited by Peter Godwin, Jo Parker
  • Book:
    Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 153-164

  • Summary

    Introduction

    As new formats have become available over the last century, libraries have gradually widened the range of media they hold. In addition to books, magazines and newspapers, many public libraries now hold CDs, DVDs, cassettes and videos. It is therefore not surprising that one of the newest, but widely marketed, forms of entertainment media – computer and video games – is appearing on the shelves of some public libraries, with librarians such as Scalzo (2006) successfully operating video game loaning schemes.

    However, it isn't just in lending that video games are used within the library sector. Neiburger (2007a) and others have run video gaming events, workshops and tournaments within their buildings. National libraries are involved; since 1992, every video game distributed in France must have two copies deposited in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the French national library. An increasing number of conferences, such as the ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium (ALA, 2007), are dedicated to analysing the ways in which video games can be used by the library sector.

    Computer and video games and simulations are increasingly central to training and teaching, especially in the business, health, education and military sectors. However, their application to education in libraries has so far been negligible. One potential use for such games in this sector has been in the teaching and reinforcement of information literacy skills. This chapter examines some aspects of computer games which make them potential tools for instruction in this subject domain, and concludes with details of three ongoing projects to develop video games for the acquisition of such skills.

    Digital games

    How popular are video games? In short – very. Games console sales are measured in tens of millions, for example the Nintendo Gameboy series (200 million) and the Sony Playstation 2 (120 million). Sales of titles such as The Sims (16 million), Nintendogs (15 million) and Tetris (33 million) are comparable in magnitude to those of popular book franchises, such as Harry Potter. In the first day of release, Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 earned $170 million; as the BBC (2007) pointed out, ‘The game sets the record for the most money earned in a day by an entertainment product, topping figures set by the film Spiderman 3.’

  • 2 - Tools used for widening access to the web

    • By E. A. Draffan, E. A. Draffan trained as a speech and language therapist before specializing in the field of assistive technologies.
  • Edited by Jenny Craven
  • Book:
    Web Accessibility
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    15 March 2008, pp 7-24

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This chapter aims to cover some of the tools that can be used to access webbased digital materials. Sadly, it has to be said that not everything that is digital is either accessible or usable and not every tool is able to solve the problems that may arise for some users. ‘Negroponte (1995) points out a universal truth of the computer age, that merely because a piece of printed text can be converted to a digital format that is accessed in the general sense of the term, does not make the same piece of text accessible to someone for whom the “general sense of the term” does not apply’ (Berkowitz, 2006). In this case, ‘accessible’ means available to those with disabilities using the web.

    Accepting that digital access can be compromised, it is important to appreciate the skills and abilities required to use the technologies that enable disabled users to make the most of the huge variety of web-based content. Coyne and Nielsen (2001) point out that even technologically able blind surfers using screen readers could take up to six times longer to reach items, and those using magnification software, which enlarges text and graphics, may take three times longer compared with those surfing without assistive technologies. It takes time to learn to ‘auditorily’ scan pages at 300 plus words per minute or trawl through pages constantly using the vertical and horizontal scroll bars. It helps us all to have bite-sized chunks of information presented in a natural flow on a series of well-ordered pages.

    There are some easy-to-use assistive or enabling technologies with simple menus and instant keyboard access, mouse control, screen reading or magnification. However, there are times when these tools fail to fulfil the needs of disabled people accessing complex materials provided within rich multimedia settings. Technologically able users may use programs that have a wide range of keyboard shortcuts with linking macros and ‘work-arounds’ that require patience and persistence to automate.

    On the other hand, there are also users for whom choosing the right combination of assistive technology solutions, offered as part of a computer's operating system, may be all that is needed to ease reading and access to web-based content. These tools are sometimes hidden when working on local network systems or may be locked down on workstations.

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