Digital Accessibility for Academics: Basic Skills Workshop
Basics of accessibility for digital and print documents; tips and tools for academics. This workshop was presented on January 31, 2024 for the Center for the Humanities.
webAIM is from the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. Its mission is to empower organizations to make their web content accessible to people with disabilities.
Funkify is an extension for Chrome that helps you experience the web and interfaces through the eyes of extreme users with different abilities and disabilities.
Accessible colors
"Contrast and color use are vital to accessibility. Users, including users with visual disabilities, must be able to perceive content on the page. There is a great deal of fine print and complexity within the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 that can easily confuse web content creators and web accessibility evaluators." For more, see WebAIM's Contrast and Color Accessibility: Understanding WCAG 2 Contrast and Color Requirements.
Tips on using colors, symbols, textures, patterns, contrasting shades, and color combinations.
CVSimulator (App)"Chromatic Vision Simulator" is an experience tool which simulates color vision of color vision deficiencies. This software makes and shows you a simulated image from built-in camera or image file in real-time.
WebAIM Contrast CheckerEnter a foreground and background color in RGB hexadecimal format (e.g., #FD3 or #F7DA39) or choose a color using the color picker. The Lightness slider can be used to adjust the selected color. WCAG 2.0 level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. WCAG 2.1 requires a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 for graphics and user interface components (such as form input borders). WCAG Level AAA requires a contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text.
Readability scores are a way to measure whether written information is likely to be understood by the intended reader. Text that scores a readability grade level of 8 or better (8 or below) will be readable by around 85% of the general public.
Writing for the Web
Writing tips for making online content clear and easy to understand.
For some background on why "writing for the web" is a skill and different from print media, please check out this article from NN/g, the Nielsen Norman Group
The mission of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) is to promote equal educational access and full participation by and for students with disabilities in the rich academic and campus life environment at UC Merced.
