Re: Seeking input on making a feature of draft W3C site more accessible

On 24 Sep 2009, at 3:26 PM, Jon Gunderson wrote:

> Ian,
>
> One way is for the scripting to add some offscreen text content to  
> the end of the working group text, eiither "Show more information"  
> or "Hide more information"
>
> Modified code:
>
>            <H3 class="h4">
>               <SPAN class="expand_section" title="Device APIs and  
> Policy Working Group"><A href="#">Device APIs and Policy <span  
> class="offscreen">Show more information</span></A></SPAN>
>            </H3>

Hi Jon,

I was concerned that an offscreen solution might lead to a lot of  
noise (since there will be many such headings on a page).

I could see using an offscreen solution (e.g., that would be in the  
tab navigation order) so that before hitting the barrage of expandable  
headings, one would be given fair warning.

  _ Ian

>
> Jon
>
>
> ---- Original message ----
>> Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:06:50 -0500
>> From: Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org>
>> Subject: Seeking input on making a feature of draft W3C site more  
>> accessible
>> To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
>>
>> Dear WAI IG,
>>
>> I would like your input on a comment about the draft W3C Web site and
>> would like your input on how to make a particular feature more
>> accessible.
>>
>> The draft site includes an expand/collapse content feature. For
>> example, on the page that lists W3C groups:
>> http://beta.w3.org/Consortium/activities
>>
>> when you select a heading under "Working Groups" the heading  
>> 'expands'
>> to display content after it. When content is displayed, selecting the
>> heading 'collapses' it, hiding the content. Expanding and collapsing
>> both work with mouse click or keyboard activation.
>>
>> We use a visual cue (a small image) to signal that there is  
>> expandable
>> content. It was pointed out that we need a non-visual indicator as
>> well. In the current design, the image is included via CSS and so we
>> cannot add alt text.
>>
>> Here's how the site works today:
>>
>>  * If javascript is turned off or not supported, the content is
>> expanded and the issue goes away.
>>
>>  * When javascript is enabled, there is one image to indicate
>> "closed" and another to indicate "open." The images are inserted via
>> CSS. The javascript is used to position a class attribute value in  
>> the
>> content, and the CSS is applied accordingly (displaying or hiding
>> content according to the current state).
>>
>> One suggestion was to use WAI-ARIA's aria-expanded. However, this  
>> will
>> provide information only to users whose browser and assistive
>> technology support WAI-ARIA, and not to others.
>>
>> Typically there are a number of expandable blocks on a page (ranging
>> from 5 to maybe 100 at most). Therefore,  I want to be sure that any
>> solution (e.g., using text) is not overly verbose.
>>
>> Possible solution: On some pages that have expandable content there  
>> is
>> a "show all / hide all" switch. That switch appears earlier in
>> document order than the list of expandable blocks. I was wondering
>> whether we might make use of that piece of content to let people know
>> that there's a bunch of expandable content on the page. For example,
>> would it be sufficient to label the option buttons: "Show all content
>> under heading level 3s below" and "Hide all content under heading
>> level 3s below" and not have additional information that they are
>> expandable?
>>
>> Thank you for any suggestions,
>>
>> Ian Jacobs
>>
>> --
>> Ian Jacobs (ij@w3.org)    http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs/
>> Tel:                                      +1 718 260 9447
>>
>>
> Jon Gunderson, Ph.D.
> Coordinator Information Technology Accessibility
> Disability Resources and Educational Services
>
> Rehabilitation Education Center
> Room 86
> 1207 S. Oak Street
> Champaign, Illinois 61820
>
> Voice: (217) 244-5870
>
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> WWW: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jongund/www/
>
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--
Ian Jacobs (ij@w3.org)    http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs/
Tel:                                      +1 718 260 9447

Received on Thursday, 24 September 2009 20:31:05 UTC