Increasing Web Accessibility With ARIA: A Crash Course

Presented at 2:30pm in Cotton Creek I on Monday, November 13, 2017.

#10995

Speaker(s)

  • Hadi Rangin, IT Accessibility Specialist, University of Washington
  • Peter Graff, , University of Washington
  • Jeane Marty, , University of Washington Bothell

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 3-hr
  • Format: Bring-your-own Device Workshop:
  • Expertise Level: Intermediate
  • Type of session: Pre-conference

Summary

The ARIA Bootcamp is an interactive workshop that teaches developers and designers how to leverage the power of ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications attributes) to make applications as usable and accessible as possible. This four-hour workshop will include presentations and hands-on exercises for participants.

Abstract

As a developer or designer, how do you rate your skills with ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications attributes)? Do you really know how to leverage their power to make your web applications as usable and accessible as possible?

Our team from University of Washington will offer a four-hour interactive workshop to help you build your ARIA skills. The session will combine overviews and techniques by front-end web developers Peter Graff and Jeane Marty and web accessibility experts Hadi Rangin and Terrill Thompson, and will include substantial hands-on exercises throughout.

Topics will include: -Semantic HTML -ARIA landmarks, aria-label -Expanding/collapsing content -Forms, live regions, aria-describedby -Modal dialogs

Prerequisites: -Your own laptop -Comfort working in HTML, CSS -Some JavaScript knowledge

Keypoints

  1. Basics of semantic HTML and Practical examples of ARIA landmarks, aria-label, and aria-describedby
  2. How to apply ARIA to forms and to use live regions
  3. ARIA techniques for common widgets and interactions such as expanding/collapsing content and modal dialogs

Disability Areas

Topic Areas

Alternate Format, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Hadi Rangin

Hadi Rangin is an Information Technology Accessibility Specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle. In this position he is tasked with improving access to information technologies for all users, including those with disabilities. To do this Hadi works with and advises software engineers, designers, administrators, and purchasers on accessible implementation techniques, quality assurance, and best practices. Some of the higher education vendors Hadi has collaborated with include Blackboard, Blackboard Collaborate, Desire2Learn, Moodle, Canvas, Elsevier, Ebsco, Ex-Libris, PeopleSoft, Microsoft, Google, Qualtrics, Ellucian, Workday, ServiceNow, Trumba, Innotas, Zoom, and many more.

Additionally, Hadi teaches the Universal Design Principles for Online Learning as well as the Certificate of Professional Development course in Information Accessibility Design and Policy for the University of Illinois.

Hadi's educational background is in Computer Science with a focus on Network Management and Human-Computer Interfaces. As someone who is blind, Hadi brings a wealth of personal and professional experiences to the many spheres he works within.

Peter Graff

Peter Graff is a senior front-end developer and UX designer with the University of Washington’s Office of the Chief Information Security Officer. His current focus is developing single-page web applications to help assess cybersecurity risks and situational awareness. Prior to that, he’s managed web resources for non-profits, worked in public radio, and at one time analyzed rivets of very large aircraft. Peter also co-leads the University of Washington’s Front-end Technologies Community of Practice.

Jeane Marty

Jeane is a senior front-end software engineer for UW Bothell IT. Drawn to this ever-changing and varied slice of the technical web stack since 2000, she has been the front-end specialist on projects with both large and small teams in private industry as well as Higher Ed. Jeane co-leads the UW Front-end Technologies Community of Practice with Peter. She believes that writing accessible code is a core competency for any front-end developer and is constantly developing the skill herself.