Accessibility features of NCAONLINE

The National Center on Accessibility has long been committed to using technology to improve access for people with disabilities. NCAONLINE incorporates the following features to provide optimum access for people using this site with assistive technology like screen readers, braille keyboards and other types of equipment. As always, we welcome your comments on the usability of this web site.

Send comments to: nca@indiana.edu

• Tab Indexes: We have set the "tab index" on each link, including image links, so that users are able to quickly navigate our pages by using the "tab" key.
  
  
• Access Keys: In addition to setting the tab index on all of our links, we've also made our main navigation links accessible via the use of access keys. The links are numbered 1 through 6. While benefiting all, this feature is particularly useful for individuals who use screen readers to navigate web sites and would like to have immediate access to a particular link. To take advantage of this feature, you can hold down the "alt" key and press:
  • 1 for "About Us"
  • 2 for "Training & Education"
  • 3 for "Research"
  • 4 for "Technical Assistance"
  • 5 for "Publications & Videos"
  • 6 for "Products"
    
    
  You will then be able to press the "Enter" key and access the desired page.
  
  
• To improve the efficiency with which individuals using adaptive technologies are able to access the text located in the body of our pages, we've included a link from our logo to the body of text. This enables users to click or tab on the image and jump straight to the content so that, if they prefer, they can bypass all of the navigation that is uniform on each page.
  
  
• Alt Tags: We've included descriptive alternate text on all of our images and graphical content so that individuals using a screen reader can navigate our site with as much ease as possible. The use of descriptive alt text for our graphics adheres with the W3C, which "emphasizes the importance of providing text equivalents of non-text content" so that all users can access the information.
  
  
• Captioning: We include synchronized captions with our videos so that all individuals can enjoy them.
  
  
• Relative Text Size: We've used style sheets for the stylistic formatting of our entire site, not only to accord with the W3C's recommendation to separate style from content, but also to ensure that users are able to modify our site, as much as possible, to suit their preferences. If, for instance, you prefer to have a larger or smaller font size, you can change your settings and our page will adjust to suit your needs. To take advantage of this, in your browser, at the top menu bar, choose "View," followed by "Text Size" and then choose whichever text size best suits your needs.



• Font-Size Controls: In addition to using style sheets and relative sizing of our fonts, we also provide a way for users to change the size of their font by selecting the "A" that most closely resembles the font-size that they would like their text to be. Doing so will set a "cookie," which is just a small text file, on the user's machine so that when they request additional pages from our server, the font-size will conform to their preferences.
  ** Note: In order to take advantage of this, users must be willing to accept cookies and use a newer browser. If this feature doesn't work for you, please ensure that you have a newer browser and that you've cookies enabled.**
  
  
• Site Map: We've included a site map on our site to aide in the overall accessibility and usability of our site.
  
  
• In addition to the specific features listed above, we have also tried to ensure that our linked text is easily understandable so that users are less likely to make mistakes as they navigate our site.
  
  
• Video captioning:
  To enable/disable captioning in RealPlayer 8 and earlier: select Preferences by right-clicking in the video display window. Select the Content tab. Choose Settings from the Accessibility section at the bottom. Check (or uncheck to disable) the "Use accessibility features when available" checkbox. Select OK, then OK again in the Preferences window. You will need to restart the video for your changes to take effect.

  For RealOne: Start the RealOne player. Select "Preferences" from the Tools menu at the top. Click on "Content" in the left pane, and check the box that says "Use supplemental text captioning when available."
  
  

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