Archived Outreach for ATAG2

From Education & Outreach

Outreach Goals and Framework

Wayne and Sharron have completed reading the ATAG2.0 Document - it is extremely dense and we believe that reading it will be a formidable challenge for authoring tool makers and mega-distributors who we have identified as our major target audience. Since the goal is to provide documentation of authoring tool features that meet specific Success Criteria (SC), we propose using scaffolding as an outreach technique, providing informational supports to enable vendors to build on prior understanding of WAI Guidelines and to have a familiar way to relate to these new concepts. Some of those could be:

  • Create an Elevator Speech - the central message that will be the connecting thread for all other outreach. Related to Components and emphasizing that ATAG makes WCAG more possible.
  • Conduct Interviews. Make appointments with authoring tool representatives, distributors, and/or implementers. Ask questions in plain language that will help them understand if and how their tools meet the SC. Ask questions, prompt conversations aligned with ATAG Checklist, but much simplified.
  • Post Surveys. Create surveys that interpret the SCs in a way that target audiences can easily understand and respond Yes/No to with text input for detail
  • Outreach Page On WAI-Engage wiki (?) or elsewhere post a page with examples that demonstrate what it means to meet SCs
  • Other Activity please add your ideas and explanation here {name/date}

Outreach Proposal

In addition to promotion of the Promoting Components of Web Accessibility, there are specific outreach tasks needed as ATAG moves to Candidate Recommendation, which we hope will be in October 2013. When that stage is reached, outreach will focus on seeking implementations of the success criteria. This page proposes an outreach strategy as follows and seeks EO participants input of the outreach plan.

  1. Continue general outreach of the importance of the related Components (mentioned above)
    1. get from the Promoting Components wiki page the ATAG-relevant info and put it here as appropriate (e.g,. the A List Apart comment)
  2. [done in Sept] While public comments are addressed, review existing support documents for current relevance and accuracy.
  3. Prepare outreach and implementation requests for identified audiences
  4. Determine if additional outreach documents are needed
  5. Engage EO participants, WAI-IG, (and WAI-Engage?) in outreach effort
  6. Document outreach efforts within the wiki (and elsewhere?)

Continued General Promotion of Components

See Promoting Components wiki page. Is anything missing? Are there new ideas that you can suggest?

Comments:

  • comment {name}

Review Existing Support Documents

Suggested addition to ATAG Overview: {Sharron, 28 February} — Our hope is to add the following paragraph near the top of the ATAG Overview page in support of the Outreach we have planned for CSUN. Note that it will also require us to put submission forms somewhere on the W3C site.

Help ATAG2.0 Progress to Final Recommendation

ATAG 2.0 is currently a W3C "Candidate Recommendation". (These stages are explained in How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process.)

When ATAG 2.0 will be finalized depends on many factors, such as how long it takes to gather implementations and testing those implementations. The W3C Process helps ensure that ATAG 2.0 reflects the diverse needs of a broad community, including industry, disability organizations, accessibility researchers, government, and others interested in Web accessibility.

To move ATAG 2.0 to the next step to a final W3C Recommendation, WAI is asking for public review and submission of technical feedback. You can help in two ways:

Version 2 Revised on 5 March to remove form submission.

  1. Implement one or more ATAG Success Criterion If you create or use authoring tools (see Who is ATAG For) submit an example of your implementation to show how the tool meets ATAG2.0. While conformance to all of the Success Criteria will be required when ATAG becomes a final Recommendation, there is no need to claim conformance to all of the ATAG 2.0 Success Criteria for this process. You may choose which ones to submit for testing during this stage in order to verify the implementation of specific SCs.
  2. Test for ATAG2.0 conformance: We need volunteers with accessibility testing experience to use the WAI test process to validate that the submitted examples actually do meet the Guidelines.

To participate by implementing ATAG Success Criteria in your authoring tool or by verifying the implementation, please send email indicating your interest to the public ATAG mailing list.

Version 1

  1. If you create or use authoring tools (see Who is ATAG For) submit an example of your implementation to show how the tool meets ATAG2.0. There is no need to claim conformance to all of the ATAG 2.0 Success Criteria, you can choose which ones are met. Complete this form for submission
  2. Test for ATAG2.0 conformance. We need volunteers with accessibility testing experience to use the WAI test process to validate that the submitted examples actually do meet the Guidelines. Complete this form to volunteer as a tester



Comments:

  • Completing a form is pretty impersonal. Perhaps we just want people to contact Jeanne? If you think there will be lots of people, then it would take too much of Jeanne's time and the form is good. However, I think there might be very few people... {Shawn}

Consider creation of new support material

  • Short Elevator Pitch
    • Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines helps make the web more accessible by making the tools that create web content easier to use by people with disabilities and produce more accessible code.
  • Elevator Pitch
    • note for CSUN: a key benefit of helping test ATAG, is that it will help you learn ATAG! {Shawn & Jeanne}
    • DRAFT ATAG - the Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines - is a key component of Web accessibility. When the tools that authors use to create and post web content are themselves accessible to all and when they prompt for the inclusion of {jeanne} include accessibility features during the authoring process, accessibility is facilitated. People who create pages and applications for for the web are empowered by tools that meet ATAG 2.0 to much more easily create content that conforms to WCAG 2.0. {Sharron, 21 Nov}
      • I think a main point is: when tools help with accessibility, it saves millions of developers work -- it's more efficient and effective for for the few 100(1,000?) tools to help with accessibility in order to lift some of the burden off the millions on content providers {Shawn}
        • I concur with Shawn re teh main point - authoring tools MUST help generate accessible content to save rework/fixes afterwards {Andrew}
      • Let's not use the word "prompt" as ATAG avoids prompts. {jeanne}
    • DRAFT 2 Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) help authoring tool developers create more accessible products that produce more accessible content. People with disabilities need to be able to use authoring tools, and ATAG provides helpful guidance in areas specific to authoring tools, like an accessible editing view. When the tool helps produce more accessible content, it improves accessibility at a lower training cost than traditional tools, and helps avoid costly revisions to add accessibility later. Buyers or purchasing agents of authoring tools can use ATAG for guidance in evaluating the accessibility of a tool. {Jeanne, 4 Dec}
    • I suggest these are blurbs that go at the top of the ATAG Overview and are used in promo material, but probably not a separate document. {Shawn}
    • comment {name}
  • Buyer's Guide
  • Creating Accessible Templates
    • (I'm not sure what this is and how it fits in EOWG work. I'm looking forward to brief analysis for us to consider before investing too much time on it :-) {Shawn}
    • We were thinking about cases such as WordPRess theme creators as I recall {Andrew}
    • comment {name}
  • comment {name}

Proposed Messages for Specific Audiences

[For EOWG Review] Is this the right approach? Does it include the spectrum of audiences we considered? Are the audiences accurately described? Is anything left out? Can some categories be combined? Is more definition needed? etc.

Audience Definition

Makers of Authoring Tools
  • Goal: Persuade authoring tool makers to share examples of implementation techniques and capabilities
  • Message should include:
    • Clear explanation of the submission process
    • How submissions will be evaluated
    • Benefits to tool maker of sharing implementations
    • Benefits to community
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: To Jeanne, what has been done by ATAG-WG to date? add text here {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
CMS, LMS and similar
  • Goal: Raise awareness among makers of content management systems (CMS), courseware tools and learning management systems (LMS), content aggregators and persuade them to collaborate and integrate accessibility into their products and services
  • Message should include:
    • The importance of their role
    • alert them to their responsibility in the overall accessibility ecosystem.
    • Encourage them to consider ATAG and develop accessibility features in their products
    • Show them a clear pathway into into the submission and evaluation process
    • Encourage 2-way communication, including benefits to themselves and the greater community
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
Integrators
  • Goal: Encourage them to understand the accessibility features and not override them or break ATAG conformance when implementing
  • Message should include:
    • Awareness of new accessibility being built in to some of these tools
    • Understanding of how to maintain those features in their implementations
    • Not to turn off the features in default installations
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
Buyers
  • Goal: generate awareness among those with procurement responsibility of the power they have in the ATAG implementation process.
  • Message should include:
    • How procurement fits and is powerful
    • Responsibility
    • How their role is supported
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
Software conversion tools
  • Goal: heighten awareness among makers of software that converts documents to web pages of their responsibilities, persuade them to implement ATAG and share results.
  • Message should include:
    • This means YOU message (more gently said, like did you know that if...)
    • Call for impelentation examples
    • etc
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
Multimedia tools
  • Goal: Enlist support for ATAG from multimedia tool vendors
  • Message should include:
    • More narrow focus
    • emphasis on synchronized alternatives
    • raise awareness of existing supports
    • Examples
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
User Content
  • Goal: get web site authors to develop, implement, and share techniques for improved ATAG conformance on websites that let users add content, such as blogs, wikis, photo sharing sites, online forums, and social networking sites
  • Message should include:
    • Generalized focus
    • This means YOU message (but more gently said, like did you know that if...)
    • Examples
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
Other types of tools
  • Goal: General outreach, less specific to raise awareness and collaboration within community, including the tools listed in the glossary definition of authoring tools (or [ATAG Overview http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/atag.php]
  • Message should include:
    • General focus
    • What is ATAG messaging
    • Explanation, pointing to Components
    • Other {name, date}
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}
Accessibility testers
  • Goal: Get help in testing the implementation that are submitted
  • Message should include:
    • Call for participation
    • Clear explanation of how to qualify
    • Estimate of time commitment
    • Benefits to testing volunteers
    • Benefits to community
    • Examples
  • Suggested text: {name, date}
    • comment {name, date}

Suggestions for message approach, other audiences:

  • Suggestion {name}

Identify Specific Companies

Identify W3C member organizations and others who may be contacted for implementation requests. Where possible, identify a specifc person to contact. Possibly begin with Top Choice List such as:

  • Top 20 LMS
  • Top 10 CMS
  • Top 7 Authoring Tools
  • Additional suggestions:
    • Web page building tool used in K-12 education and elsewhere Weebly
    • Open Source tools - do we want to separate these from the commercial tools? {Andrew}
    • Accessibility testers - these will be key for checking local implementations/integrations
    • Maybe we start with W3C members that have CMSs {Andrew}
    • Suggestion {name}

General Outreach

In addition to targeted outreach, cast a wide net. Distribute the message of the need for implementations far and wide thorugh social media, blog posts, notices to listserves, etc.

E-mails

Conference Presentations

Note: Contacts for promotion is an overall list. Let's put here only the ones that we will specifically target for ATAG. Suggest text or provide link:

Blog Posts

Suggest text:

  • Suggestion {name}

Twitter

Cards for CSUN 2014

We will create a few outreach materials and use volunteers from EO to spread the word throughout the conference:

Cards Version 4 (previous versions below)
  1. A card that folds in half to be the size of a business card. (will unfold like a greeting card):
    • On the outside the front says

      Help make the Web more accessible with ATAG!

      Learn more: www.w3.org/WAI/intro/atag

      Step up to implement or test, email: public-atag2-comments@w3.org

    • ...and the back says:

      March 2014: Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 is in the implementation testing stage, well on its way to becoming a completed web standard ("W3C Recommendation")
      YOU can help get it there!

    • When it opens the unfolded card will have across the entire width the phrase:

      2 Ways to Help ATAG Progress in 2014!

      and then:
      • Card left (as haiku):

        Build authoring tools?
        Check your implementation
        And share with the world

      • Card right (as haiku):

        Verify success!
        Test the implementations
        You'll learn ATAG, too

      • Comment {Name, date}

      Cards Version 1
      • On the outside the front says

        Two Ways to Help!

        Learn More: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/atag.php

        Step Up to Implement or Test, email to: public-atag2-comments@w3.org

      • ...and the back says:

        The Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) are in Candidate Recommendation, the final step before becoming a final W3C Recommendation Web Standard.
        We need YOUR help to get there!

      • When it opens the unfolded card will show:

        Test the Implementations

        - volunteer as a tester by email to public-atag2-comments@w3.org
        - using the WAI tool, verify that SC has been met

        - record your findings

        Implement ATAG

        - find ways that your tool meets ATAG Success Criteria (SC)
        - submit your implementation to public-atag2-comments@w3.org


    • We would also like to print ribbons that people can put on their badge that say "Ask Me About ATAG" We will all carry the outreach cards and when someone asks and we tell them, we will give them cards and ribbons to keep spreading the word.
Cards Version 2

Paul here...I took a slightly different tack, using a plain wide-format business card. I don't think my suggestions strike quite the right tone, but maybe we can incorporate a couple of these ideas into Sharron's bi-fold card above. By the way, haiku was actually a great tool that helped pare down the text to the bare essentials, I highly recommend it :-)

Cards Version 3
  • Option Two, Card Front (as haiku):

    2 Ways to Play! ATAG Testing
    Volunteer Today!
    Test our implementation
    Your help gets us there
    http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/atag.php#anchor

    • Re: "Test our implementation" - it's not WAI implementation. maybe change to something like "Test the implementations" {shawn}
    • Re: "Your help gets us there" can that be made stronger, e.g., something like 'Your help gets it done" {shawn}

Documentation

How shall we track outreach? (I started listing above. Does that work? here's an example of what we've done in the past) {shawn}

Miscellaneous Other Outreach Ideas

Please add to the plan whatever has been overlooked.

Elevator Pitch

  • I'm unclear on target audiences for the elevator pitches. Apologies if this has been stated and I missed it. {Anna Belle}
    • To AnnaBelle: there are a number of audiences that we have identified, here is full list of audiences. But the elevator pitch should be broad enough to appeal to all of them. {Sharron}

Short Elevator Pitch

  • Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines helps make the web more accessible by making the tools that create web content easier to use by people with disabilities and produce more accessible code.
    • The syntax is confusing and doesn't seem like natural speech. Suggest something like:

      ATAG is for Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines. ATAG supports WCAG by creating a framework in which authoring tools do two things: First, make it easier for all web authors to create accessible web content and second, are themselves more usable by authors with disabilities.

      {Sharron}
    • Suggested modification:

      "ATAG – the Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines support WCAG by creating a solid framework by which two goals are accomplished: make it easier for all web authors and/or developers to create accessible content and enable people with disabilities to use those tools."

      {Vicki - 13 March}
      • +1 to Vicki's suggestion {Andrew}
    • If people are going to make up their own sentences/phrasing then provide a 'list of points to inlcude such as:
      • ATAG stands for Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines
      • It guides development of tools
        • to help you write more accessible pages without having to be an accessibility expert
        • that can be used by people with disabilities
      • and you can encourage your authoring tool vendor to adopt it or ask if your tool follows it
    • {Andrew, 2014.03.15}
    • comment {name}

Longer Elevator Pitch

  • DRAFT 2 Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) help authoring tool developers create more accessible products that produce more accessible content. People with disabilities need to be able to use authoring tools, and ATAG provides helpful guidance in areas specific to authoring tools, like an accessible editing view. When the tool helps produce more accessible content, it improves accessibility at a lower training cost than traditional tools, and helps avoid costly revisions to add accessibility later. Buyers or purchasing agents of authoring tools can use ATAG for guidance in evaluating the accessibility of a tool. {Jeanne, 4 Dec}
    • comment {name}

Previous drafts and comments:

  • DRAFT ATAG - the Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines - is a key component of Web accessibility. When the tools that authors use to create and post web content are themselves accessible to all and when they prompt for the inclusion of {jeanne} include accessibility features during the authoring process, accessibility is facilitated. People who create pages and applications for for the web are empowered by tools that meet ATAG 2.0 to much more easily create content that conforms to WCAG 2.0. {Sharron, 21 Nov}
    • I think a main point is: when tools help with accessibility, it saves millions of developers work -- it's more efficient and effective for for the few 100(1,000?) tools to help with accessibility in order to lift some of the burden off the millions on content providers {Shawn}
      • I concur with Shawn re teh main point - authoring tools MUST help generate accessible content to save rework/fixes afterwards {Andrew}
    • Let's not use the word "prompt" as ATAG avoids prompts. {jeanne}

CSUN 2014

Process for buttons & cards

  • Wear your button. Carry lots of cards & buttons (You can get more from the Knowbility table in the Expo area.)
  • When people ask you, tell them about ATAG. Then give them a button to wear, and buttons and cards to hand out.

Situation: At CSUN you're wearing a button: "Ask me about ATAG". Someone asks you, "What about ATAG?"

  • Do you know about WCAG for web accessibility? (to judge their overall knowledge so you can position the rest of the explanation)
  • ATAG is related, it applies to the tools that people use to create web pages, web applications, etc. ATAG is the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines.
  • [When tools meet ATAG, it] Helps developers & designers make more accessible pages without having to be accessibility experts
  • [When tools meet ATAG, it] Makes accessibility easier and faster
  • Learn more at CSUN: ATAG talk Thur at noon in Balboa A

If they are an accessibility specialist, esp. "integrators" & "influencers"

  • Will you help us test implementations?
  • If you know WCAG, you can help with testing!
  • Benefit for you: You'll learn ATAG and develop expertise in it!

If they are ATAG vendors:

  • Will you help with implementation.

If organization uses or purchases authoring tools:

  • Tell your authoring tool vendors that meeting ATAG is important!
  • Any procurement should include ATAG in requirements.

If person with disability:

  • [When tools meet ATAG, it] Makes tools more accessible to you, e.g., blogs, authoring tools, etc. are easier to use

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More ideas: