Making Internet Accessibility Mainstream
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On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, Boston-IA and the Boston chapter of the Usability Professional Association (www.UPA-Boston.org) held a joint meeting featuring a panel of speakers presenting 10-minute talks about the accessibility and usability of electronic information.
Six great speakers presented an interesting variety of topics and beat the clock to present all their material as the minutes ticked away!
The meeting was held at the Staples corporate headquarters, at 500 Staples Drive, Framingham, Massachusetts 01702.
Boston-IA members and friends attended the first Accessibility Unconference in Boston (ally-bos) on May 15.
Date: May 15, 2010
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Adobe Facilities in Waltham, Massachusetts, 02451
Passionate developers, media specialists, designers, usability professionals, accessibility experts, and end-users with disabilities gathered to share knowledge and learn from each other at the first Boston Accessibility Unconference. Over 80 people attended, and well over a dozen presentations were given.
The theme was IT accessibility, and the event was completely free. The space was provided by Adobe Systems, and food and beverages were provided by the event sponsors. The informal nature of the event lent itself to networking and learning, and a great deal of valuable information sharing took place.
In the morning, everyone introduced themselves and provided three words that defined their relationship to accessibility or the conference day. People who wanted to present something or moderate roundtable discussions indicated the topics they were interested in presenting. Ideas were then clustered and assigned to four sets of sessions throughout the day. Participants chose the topics they wanted to hear and moved from room to room. Most of the presentations were extremely informal (which is what makes it an "unconference"),
At the end of the day, everyone gathered again in the main room to acknowledge the unconference coordinators and comment on the experience. Everyone agreed that the day was so successful, we will have to have another one next year.
What does "a11y-bos" stand for? "a11y" is shorthand for a word beginning with the letter "a", followed by eleven letters, and ending with the letter "y". "a11y-bos" simply means "Accessibility-Boston"— Now you know!
On Thursday, April 29, Jim Denham, Assistive Technology Coordinator at the Perkins School for the Blind, spoke on the topic, "Web Browsing Through Listening: Perspectives of a Blind Web Surfer".
As Assistive Technology Coordinator at the Perkins School for the Blind, Jim Denham is responsible for obtaining specialized software and hardware that empowers Perkins students to lead independent and fulfilling lives. In his position, he supports and trains staff on a wide variety of products that allow people who are blind or visually impaired to surf the Web.
Jim has been totally blind since birth. He shared his perspectives as a blind Web surfer, and described the highlights and frustrations he experiences as he uses the Web to do everything from buying groceries to selling stocks to downloading music.
As an avid user of technology, Jim employs a variety of screen review applications and browsing techniques. In his talk, Jim demonstrated how JAWS, the leading screen review application, performs on the Web and talked about his experiences with a ride range of applications and platforms.
The meeting was held at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.
Join Boston-IA or renew your Boston-IA membership! Now is the perfect time to become a member of Boston-IA or renew your membership.
In recognition of difficult economic times, Boston-IA has reduced its annual membership dues to only $15, a substantial savings over previous years.
Support our goals of universal access by becoming a member now, and attend all meetings in 2010 for free!
Note: All new or renewed Boston-IA memberships will be good until January, 2011.
Boston-IA continues to focus on our mission of making Internet Accessibility mainstream.
We define Internet Accessibility as providing universal access, regardless of physical, cognitive, or technological barriers. We define Information Accessibility, in the broadest sense, as ensuring the clarity and organization of content and the information that people need.
Boston-IA board members are actively planning programs for Boston-IA members and visitors for the coming year, many of them joint programs with our partner organizations. Additional details about our programs will be announced as they are scheduled.
Don't miss out on the chance to learn how universal access to electronic information benefits everyone. Join Boston-IA in 2010 for more great programs.
As always, we welcome speakers and topic suggestions for future meetings and workshops:
Don't miss out on future Boston-IA events and happenings!
Boston-IA members automatically receive notice by e-mail about Boston-IA meetings and events, and attend all meetings for free. If you are not a member, you can join Boston-IA now by mail or in person at the next meeting.
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The Boston Interactions organizations maintain a collaborative calendar to help members coordinate their participation in local professional usability organizations.
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