- From: David Poehlman <poehlman1@comcast.net>
- Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:23:09 -0500
- To: "wai-ig list" <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
----- Original Message ----- From: "David R. Stong" <drs18@PSU.EDU> To: <EASI@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2003 11:17 AM Subject: NIH self-reading Web site A colleague passed me an article with the headline, "NIH Launches NIHSeniorHealth.gov; New Web Site Features Health Information, Talking Web, Easy Access for Older Adults, Visually Impaired" Links to the article and to the discussed Website are at the end of this email. The article discusses: "a new talking web site with formats and topics tailored to the needs of older people. The senior friendly site takes advantage of techniques developed by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) designed to encourage older people to use the Internet." "The NIA and NLM brought together researchers who study cognition, web site designers, and communications experts at the two institutes to fashion a site that is easy for older adults to read, understand, remember, and navigate. For example, the site features large print and short, easy-to-read segments of information repeated in a variety of formats -- such as open-captioned videos and short quizzes -- to increase the likelihood it will be remembered. Consistent page layout and prompts help older adults move from one place to another on the site without feeling lost or overwhelmed. Each topic provides general background information, quizzes, frequently asked questions (FAQs), open-captioned video clips, transcripts for the videos, and photos and illustrations with captions. NIHSeniorHealth.gov will have a "talking" function, which will allow users the option of reading the text or listening to it as it is read to them. Finally, in addition to being senior-friendly, the new site also complies with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, making it accessible for persons with disabilities." Adding the assistive technologies to a Web site at first seems useful; people accessing this site with limited means, or from a public machine in a library that has no assistive technologies, would seem to get an immediate benefit. But the List of Topics page didn't validate, and after a quick look, I could see there weren't any <noscript> tags and several other problems. Does anyone on the list have experience with the site? Do you think the added functionality gets in the way of access? It seems like the technology is worth exploring if it's own set of difficulties could be addressed. A direct link to the article mentioned is http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/press_releases/nihseniorhealthpr03.html A direct link to the NIH Senior Health Website is http://nihseniorhealth.gov/listoftopics.html -- David R. Stong Microcomputer Information Specialist (Graphic Designer), Education Technology Services, a unit of Teaching and Learning with Technology Information Technology Services The Pennsylvania State University 210 Rider Building II 227 W Beaver Avenue State College, PA 16801-4819 Working for Universal Design: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/accessibility
Received on Sunday, 26 October 2003 11:23:12 UTC