Content creators can gain a fuller appreciation of technology accessibility by exploring technologies and methods people with disabilities use to access websites, documents, audio, video, and other digital content. Explore these resources to learn about how people with disabilities access digital content; assistive technology such as screen readers, magnifiers, and alternate input devices; and the accessibility features built into popular operating systems. For topics not covered here, contact accessibility@ua.edu and we will do our best to help.
A Personal Look at Accessibility in Higher Education
This video from The National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE) highlights the experiences of students and faculty with disabilities in higher education.
How People with Disabilities Use the Web
These W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) resources introduce how people with disabilities access and use digital content, including the web.
- Stories of Web Users – stories of selected scenarios of people with disabilities using the web, to highlight the effect of barriers and the broader benefits of accessible websites and web tools.
- Diverse Abilities and Barriers – explores the wide range of diversity of people and abilities, and highlights some of the types of barriers that people commonly encounter due to inaccessible design.
- Tools and Techniques – introduces some of the techniques and tools that people with disabilities use to interact with the web, such as browser settings, text-to-speech, voice recognition, and many more.
Web Accessibility Perspectives
Web accessibility is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. This video compilation from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) illustrates the impact of accessibility and the benefits for everyone in a variety of situations. For links to individual videos and more information on each topic, please see Web Accessibility Perspectives: Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone.
Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology
These resources provide an overview of adaptive technology and computer applications for people with disabilities.
- Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology publication – explores hardware and software people with disabilities use to access and create digital content.
- Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology video – high school and college students with a wide variety of disabilities share their experiences using computers and demonstrate the technology used.
Operating System Accessibility Features
Accessibility Organizations and Resources
- Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) – professional membership association for individuals committed to equity for persons with disabilities in higher education. Alabama AHEAD is the state affiliate of the international organization.
- CAST – works to expand learning opportunities through Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a set of curriculum development principles that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.
- National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) – provides technical assistance and information about disability and higher education.
- National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE) – addresses issues of technology and disability in education policies and practices.
- WebAIM: Web Accessibility In Mind – provides software tools, instructional media, and other web accessibility solutions.
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative – offers strategies, standards, resources to help make the web accessible to people with disabilities.