Web accessibility, simply put,  means a blind person can “see” the website; a deaf person can “hear” it, so to speak. The blind use a screen reader to read web pages. If a webpage is structured properly and all graphics are provided with text descriptions, a blind person can “see” it. If sound is present and you provide captions, a deaf person can “hear” what you do.  This seems simple; however many obstacles exist in the form of frames, pop-ups and streaming dialog that literally crash screen readers, and providing captions for audio on a webpage is not always possible. Complying with Section 508 by presenting a entirely accessible website is the Berkeley City College goal.

 

Web Accessibility Guidelines

Listed below are links to accessibility solutions for Web-based content. These are the guidelines used to build individual websites based on Section 508 (1194.22) standards and World Wide Web Consortium Guidelines.

http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm

http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/

 

There are many resources on web accessibility and how assistive computer technology enables users to interact with web content. The High Tech Center Training Unit in Cupertino is a great resource and has an entire webpage that offers many different options for building accessibility into your webpages.

http://www.htctu.fhda.edu/divisions/webaccess/main.htm

 

The Berkeley City College website is a work in progress. Dr. Fabian Banga is the on-site point person for this website and he is working closely with our faculty and staff to ensure accessibility.

 

For more information, contact:

Roberto Gonzalez, Alternate Media Specialist     rgonzalez@peralta.edu     510-981-2826