Site Accessibility
Site Accessibility | PDF Accessibility Policy
The developers of www.udeducation.org have strived to make the site accessible and usable to as many viewers as possible. This has been accomplished through the following:
- Each page is designed to meet priority level 2 as described in the most current version of the Web Content Accessibility guidelines established by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
- Use of cascading style sheets (CSS) for consistent presentation of all web pages.
- Use of alt tags on all non-text elements (graphic images).
- Use of longer text descriptions for more complex images.
- Simple table layout that does not make use of frames.
- Use of a consistent page structure and navigation schema.
- Use of clear and simple language in the site.
- Use of alternate content where appropriate, including text, PDF or online forms.
- Design implementations that are usable by any browser-extensive testing has been performed across different browsers and across different operating environments to verify that the pages are viewable as intended.
- Testing/review of the site by users representing a variety of disabilities with various computers and different software and assistive technology.
The development, review and refinement of this site is an on-going effort aimed toward improving the accessibility and ease of use of the site for all users. Current efforts include the following :
- Testing of a customization feature for more user control of the site.
- Continual page refinements to raise the priority level of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to a higher level.
- Use of the W3C HTML Validation Service to verify that the pages conform to current W3C html recommendations and standards.
- Testing of each page using the current version of the Web-based accessibility analysis tool Bobby, to highlight accessibility issues that may need to be improved.
- Ongoing testing of the site by users representing a variety of disabilities with various computers and different software and assistive technology.
- Further development of the site using cascading style sheets, including their use for layout.
- Continuous research of leading web sites for guidelines, recommendations, and examples of well designed accessible sites, including:
- Trace Research and Development Center
- The National Public Website on Assistive Technology
- National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research
- The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
- The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education
A limited number of documents on the Universal Design Education Online web site are only available in PDF format. Though the Universal Design Education Online web site strives to only list materials that are available in .HTML format, .TXT format or other equally accessible formats, sometimes resources are identified that are solely in PDF format and are too important to ignore. In the rare cases where a resource is only available in .PDF, a link will be provided identifying resources that aid in accessing PDF files. There will also be a feedback link where you can note the specific obstacles that you found as well as your success in using the PDF. There is ongoing research and development on PDF files accessibility and we are tracking this. Periodically we will re-evaluate the efficacy of including PDF documents and your feedback on the ease of accessing these documents will be an important factor, as will any new product enhancements or research results, in our decision about including PDF documents.
PDF FILE ACCESS: Users will require Adobe Acrobat Viewer in order to view and print such documents. Adobe Acrobat Reader is free and can be downloaded here
Since PDF documents may not be readily accessible to screen readers and may not be formatted for visually impaired users, the following tools can be used to convert PDF documents into plain text or plain HTML documents. See both "Converting PDF to a more Accessible Format" and "Resources for Creating Accessible PDF"
Have a question or comment regarding the accessibility of this site?Contact The Universal Design Education Web Team
