Re: Screen Readers

At 06:50 AM 2/16/2001, David Poehlman wrote:
>I'd add that it is even more vital if possible to have experience with
>assistive technology.  Often times, lack of experience in using it can
>lead to false impressions.

This is an excellent point.  I would say that it is more important to
_get experienced users to test your work_ rather than _having hands-
on experience yourself_.

In other words, if you want to know if your site works with assistive
technology, round up a regular screen reader user and hire or bribe
or plead with her to test your site.  Don't assume that _your_
experience, if you are a visually oriented user playing with a
screen reader, is good enough to test.

I never trust my own experiences with a screen reader, ever.  I
barely know how to operate the thing.  The only thing I ever
personally use a screen reader for is demos -- showing people how
bad certain web sites sound.  I have found it is very hard for
sighted people to become good at screenreader use.

--Kynn



-- 
Kynn Bartlett <kynn@reef.com>
Technical Developer Liaison
Customer Management/Edapta
Reef North America
Tel +1 949-567-7006
________________________________________
ACCESSIBILITY IS DYNAMIC. TAKE CONTROL.
________________________________________
http://www.reef.com

Received on Friday, 16 February 2001 11:35:01 UTC