technology-implementation.md

layout: assignment
published: true

title: Accessibility Implementation 
description: Apply accessibility principals to a thing
revised: March 24, 2024

• TOC {:toc}

Overview

The goal of this homework is to make something more accessible. Specifically, you should create a more accessible version of a thing (website, visualization, user interface, AR/VR, etc) that you've already made.

Learning Goals / Competencies

This homework will contribute to your competency grade on

• Accessible Document Creation
• Familiarity with a Range of Accessibility Technologies
• Image Description

It may contribute to other competencies depending on how you approach it.

Details

To complete this assignment, please do the following

1. Select a specific interface or web app that you will make more accessible

You should identify a technology you have implemented for general use (i.e. not an accessibility technology). Ideally this should be an interactive technology (some kind of user interface, app, etc). If you have no such thing, you can ask to approve using a website or other static content that you have generated as an alternative.

{% details Possible examples (this list is still unders construction) %}

• A class assignment that has an interface
• A web app
• A mobile app (class projects are ok)
• Your personal website
• An interface wrapped around some machine learning program
• An educational game for young children
• Tools for learning programming
• A visualization
• A password or CAPTCHA interface
• VR/AR: A game or game control interface. {% enddetails %}

Also be clear about what task you want to accomplish. If you don't have any interactive application that you can do this with you can use a static website or content, however in this case you need to get our approval by submitting the content you will focus on to us ahead of time.

2. Select an accessibility technology and test your app with it

Be clear about which accessibility aid (such a screen reader, magnifier or single switch input) or which perceptual concern (such as color blindness) your modifications will be addressing.

Be clear about what task your are testing.

Test out your app with that accessibility aid and identify any problems with completing that task.

3. Fix the problem

Once you have identified problems, it is time to fix them. The expectations here will depend partly on the details of the task you select (which must be instructor approved) but it needs to include at least two different areas of POUR (i.e. address issues with both percievability and operability) or otherwise demonstrate that you have not done something overly simple.

4. Present it to us

We will announce/decide closer to this assignment whether this should be done as a live demo, in section, or by video depending on factors like class size. Regardles of how you present, your presentation will need to demonstrate the problems you found and the fix you created. This should include a "before & after" style presentation, where you use the technology with the accessibility technology you used to test and improve the experience, before and after the fix, demonstrating what did not work and how it improved.

Hand in

Turn the following in on Canvas

• An accessible 1 page document stating
  • What thing or app and task you picked (include pictures)
  • What accessibility technology you picked
  • What you had to do to make it more accessible
  • What are three things you learned from doing this?
  • An appendix with a list of the competencies you wish to be assessed on other than the required ones, and any additional information needed to be assessed (as specified in the competencies)

Note: do not submit a PDF. We expect your submission to be a Word or Google Doc.