The Association for the Blind of WA is the principal provider of services to people who are blind or vision impaired in Western Australia. A recent study conducted by Dr Scott Hollier has highlighted a significant gap between people with disabilities and the able-bodied population in relation to the access of computing and Internet-related technologies. As such, the Association has created an Information Technology Accessibility Workshop.

This workshop is designed to provide a wealth of resources and information through hands-on training to ensure that the technologies you use in your area are accessible to people with disabilities, whether it is your internal IT infrastructure or online web presence. There will also be an opportunity to address specific issues relating to your organisation.

SESSION 1:

• Why should we care about IT for people with disabilities?
• What is universal design?
• Explanations of usability and accessibility
• cases for accessibility: moral, legal, corporate, education
• Current ‘disability divide’ issues contributing to the divide
• importance of IT for people with disabilities

SESSION 2: IT accessibility tools and guidelines

Computing:

• What is Assistive Technology?
• built-in tools
• Assistive Technology (AT) products

Internet:

• W3C Web Access Initiative (WAI) and associated guidelines
• addressing different disability needs
• relationship between WAI and AT validation tools

SESSION 3: Hands-on labs

• Learning basic JAWS and ZoomText interaction on the PC
• Learning basic Zoom and VoiceOver interaction on the Macintosh
• Learning how to use validation tools to check websites
• Testing: experiencing the difference between accessible and inaccessible websites
• Demonstrating attendee examples

SESSION 4: Writing for the web

• Interface design
• Differences between documents and web pages
• Differences between Internet and Intranet sites
• Industry-specific issues
• Government websites
• Education and online learning software

When : Friday 22 June 2007, 9:30am - 4.30pm

Where : Guide Dog Conference Centre Association for the Blind
61 Kitchener Avenue
Victoria Park
(opposite Victoria Park railway station)
Cost: $600 per person or $500 for an ‘early-bird’ registration.

AWIA Members: Get a further $100 off

Included in the cost are morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and CD Rom resources.
Booking: To book or for more information please contact Dr Scott Hollier on 9311 8202 or email scotth[at]guidedogswa.com.au