Quizzes 5.2.x: Talk to me
First, refresh your cache (ctrl+F5).
Fire up your screen readers. Recruit friends and colleagues who use screen readers or other assistive technology. In September 2003, lots of good folks helped me run the first set of “Screen reader visibility” tests. Those tests showed us how screen readers react to certain techniques. Time passes. Products change. It’s time to run those tests again and bring the information up to date.
This series is 6 test cases, all similar in basic construction, but different in techniques used to hide information from visual display while making it available to be spoken. The tests are very simple, not requiring extensive skills with screen readers. If I can do them, you can too.
Try as many tests as you can, and answer as comments to the blog question. Spread the word. The more tests we have, the more accurate and comprehensive the results.
April 12th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
The low number of reports for these tests is disappointing. How are we to know the best ways to implement features if we don’t know how they will behave in various agents and tools?
Is it the case that we developers and designers simply don’t have access to assistive technology tools? Answers to an earlier question suggests as much.
If you can, please encourage colleagues and friends to try the tests.
April 12th, 2005 at 2:01 pm
I’d love to test them out myself, but I do in-house development for a small non-profit; there’s just no way we can afford to bring this kind of technology in (and even if we could, I’m not convinced I could talk them into it — I may be the only person in the office who cares about accessability).
So, I’m left trying to develop with best practices as my only guide. It’s rough, but better than nothing (I guess).
April 25th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
I plan to test these in all modes of Jaws 5 (I think), but cannot say when I will be able to do it.