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WAI: Strategies, guidelines, resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities

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WAI-ACT Project Deliverables

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Introduction

This pages lists the deliverables of the WAI-ACT Project and their current development status. WAI-ACT work is developed through W3C/WAI Working Groups. See the information about corresponding groups to get involved in current work and contact Shadi Abou-Zahra with questions.

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Open Cooperation Framework

The Open Cooperation Framework lowers the perceived threshold for participating in W3C/WAI efforts, to increase and leverage the skills and knowledge of European and international experts and stakeholders for WAI-ACT work. It creates an open, non-exclusive collaborative environment for the development of consensed, authoritative accessibility guidance on advanced technologies, an internationally harmonised web accessibility evaluation methodology, and a coordinate research agenda on eAccessibility. At the same time, it serves as a mechanism to disseminate iterative project results and contribute to rapid exploitation of the final results. This framework will serve as a key backbone for participation and exchange throughout the entire project.

Open Cooperation Forum for Transparent Dialog and Exchange

The Open Cooperation Forum supports ongoing dialog, input, feedback, and dissemination and to build consensus on all areas of WAI-ACT work. Expected participants will include developers and practitioners, accessibility researchers and experts, people with disabilities and older users.

Open Collaboration Platform to Facilitate Involvement and Participation

The Open Cooperation Platform facilitates the participation of all stakeholders in each area of WAI-ACT work. It includes improved collaboration tools such wiki-based tools, review systems, and other community-based tools with specific mechanisms to support contributions and collaborative development, facilitate discussion, knowledge sharing, and contribution by all stakeholders including individuals from the public.

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Outreach in Europe to Invite Participation in the Cooperation Framework

Outreach in Europe supports the Open Cooperation Framework through annually held open meetings in Europe, development of educational resources explaining the benefits and opportunities for active participation in and contribution to the WAI-ACT project, and active outreach to relevant organisations, projects, and individuals to promote awareness on WAI-ACT work and encourage participation, contribution, and input.

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Implementation Guidance

The publication of WCAG 2.0 as a completed web standard in December 2008, and progress of ATAG 2.0, UAAG 2.0, and WAI-ARIA 1.0 towards completed web standards, implies an increased need for more rather than less work on guidance and implementation techniques. WAI-ACT will provide authoritative technical guidance to facilitate the implementation of harmonised solutions for web accessibility, accelerating direct progress on development of accessible web content, and increasing the potential for indirect impact through development of authoring tools that support production of accessible web content.

Repository of Information on Accessibility Support in Web Technologies

The repository of information on accessibility support in web technologies will guide the selection of technologies during the development of accessible websites and web applications. For instance, to help select web technologies that provide support for captions, keyboard support, and support for text alternatives for images with certain combinations of browsers and assistive technologies. This repository will be provided using collaborative tools developed through the Open Collaboration Platform that facilitate public input and contribution, to continually expand the repository with updated and new information on accessibility support in web technologies.

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Application Notes on Common Accessible Web Components

The application notes on authoring accessible web page components, such as images, tables, and forms that conform to WCAG 2.0, provide guidance on best practices in this area. They help eliminate frequently encountered implementation faults, particularly by developers who are new to web accessibility, that are one of the main contributing sources of web accessibility barriers

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Application Notes and Code Samples for Advanced Technologies

The application notes and code samples for advanced technologies guide advanced developers in best practices for implementing dynamic interfaces and widgets, such as those that use W3C/WAI Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA), W3C Mobile Web Applications Best Practices (MWABP) and other advanced technologies, to support conformance to WCAG 2.0.

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W3C Workshop on Referencing and Adopting WCAG 2.0 in Practice

The W3C Workshop on Referencing and Adopting WCAG 2.0 in Practice will collect, discuss, and disseminate best practices on applying WCAG 2.0 in different settings. It will include participation from a broad set of key stakeholders in Europe and internationally. It will include development of a W3C Workshop Report that summarises contributions and conclusions and that will feed into the development of practical guidance on adopting and implementing W3C/WAI standards.

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Practical Guidance on Adopting and Implementing W3C/WAI Standards

Practical guidance on adopting and implementing W3C/WAI standards will help plan and manage the implementation, retrofitting, and ongoing maintenance of accessible websites, through updating existing W3C/WAI resources to current standards and best practices and expanding these with conclusions from the W3C Workshop on Referencing and Adopting WCAG 2.0 in Practice.

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Evaluation Methodologies

Part of the technical guidance needed is an authoritative and broadly consensed evaluation methodology for web accessibility. To date many organisations, projects, and activities have developed evaluation guidance based on W3C/WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0. Several of these methodologies bear conflicting interpretations of the guidelines, do not have broad consensus and recognition as authoritative resources, or have otherwise not been widely adopted by different stakeholders.

WAI-ACT will provide an authoritative and internationally harmonised methodology for evaluating web accessibility that is based on WCAG 2.0 will supersede previous methodologies based WCAG 1.0 and will contribute to a common understanding of accessibility solutions. It will facilitate the uniform uptake of W3C/WAI standards and guidelines in Europe and internationally, and accelerate the implementation of web accessibility.

Methodology for Evaluating Conformance of Websites to WCAG 2.0

An internationally harmonised methodology for evaluating conformance of websites to WCAG 2.0 defines a consensed approach and metrics for evaluating the conformance of entire websites, including web applications, to WCAG 2.0. It promotes common interpretation and harmonised uptake of WCAG 2.0 among EU Member States and internationally.

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Techniques for Automated and Semi-Automated Evaluation Tools

The techniques for automated and semi-automated evaluation tools will guide the development of a new generation of web accessibility evaluation tools that support WCAG 2.0. This will assist evaluators with varying skills and expertise in web accessibility in evaluating websites, including web applications, for accessibility.

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Guidance on Finding and Selecting Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools

The guidance on finding and selecting web accessibility evaluation tools will assist evaluators with varying skills and expertise in web accessibility in finding and selecting evaluation tools that are appropriate for specific situations and evaluation purposes. This work includes updating existing W3C/WAI resources to support WCAG 2.0, and through expanding these with additional guidance.

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Interactive Guide to Assist Managing Web Accessibility Evaluations

The interactive guide to assist managing web accessibility evaluations will aide evaluators with varying skills and expertise in web accessibility in carrying out evaluation through improving the educational quality and usability of resources on web accessibility evaluation.

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Research Agenda Setting

The convergence of the Web with media and technologies such as television, telephony, and mobile devices; the increased use of gestures, sensors, and biometrics for web-based human computer interaction; the evolution of web applications and cloud computing; the emergence of 3D, augmented reality, and virtual reality on the Web; and many more technology trends adds to the need for coordinated research and development on eAccessibility. WAI-ACT contributes to coordinated research on the application of the second generation of W3C/WAI web accessibility standards and guidelines to converging technologies including media is needed to keep pace with the accelerating development of ICTs that are accessible to people with disabilities. This will be embedded into interdisciplinary and pro-active research aspects on HCI, usability, and socio-economic impacts for the information society.

Teleconference Seminars to Explore eAccessibility Research Topics

Regular teleconference seminars to explore eAccessibility research topics bring European and international researchers and experts together through planning, organisation of topics and speakers, and holding teleconference seminars on eAccessibility. Particularly topics relating to the convergence of technologies and media with the Web and its impact on accessibility for people with disabilities are at focus.

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Annotated Catalogue of eAccessibility Research Topics and Resources

An annotated catalogue of eAccessibility research topics and resources helps inform researchers and experts on opportunities for research and development through collecting, assessing, and compiling eAccessibility research topics and challenges from the broadest audience possible.

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