Web and Mobile Accessibility (University of Zurich)

Abstract

This course gives an overview of assistive technologies used by people with disabilities and elderly persons, provides the fundamentals (including exercises) on how to make the web accessible for these target groups.

Objective

- Understanding the needs of users with disabilities and elderly persons in interactions with digital systems; - Skills in web accessibility; - Familiarity with different types of assistive technologies.

Content

This course gives an overview of assistive technologies used by people with disabilities and elderly persons, and provides the fundamentals (including exercises) on web and mobile accessibility for these target groups. This lecture is a block lecture, consisting of 5 parts. Part I: Assistive technologies (lecture, 2 Half-days). Students get to know different so-called assistive technologies for persons with various disabilities, including visual, hearing, mobility, and cognitive disabilities. Part II: Web and mobile accessibility implementation (1 Day, self- study). Students learn techniques and tools to make web and mobile applications accessible for persons with disabilities, according to the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1). During this day, the lecturer will be available throughout the day to answer any questions. At the end of the day, students will receive the source code of an inaccessible website or mobile app, which will be used for the task in Part III. Part III: Student work (independent work). Working in groups of 4 people, students should re-implement the received source code of the inaccessible website/app, adjusting it into an accessible version that aligns with WCAG 2.1. If there are few students in the lecture, the student work should be carried out individually rather than in groups. Part IV: Presentation of the results (1 Day). Student groups present the results of their work in a 15-minute presentation. Part V: Discussions with student groups (1 Half-Day). Discussions will take place with each student group to provide feedback on their implementation.

Resources