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Using the JAWS screen reader to create better digital content

Handouts

Presented at 8:00am in Governors Square 15 on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

#34414

Speaker(s)

  • Rachele DiTullio, Accessibility Engineer, TPGi

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 2-hr
  • Format: Bring-your-own Device Workshop: Laptop with a screen reader installed (doesn’t have to be JAWS but that’s what instructor will use); earbuds/headphones for listening to the screen reader.
  • Expertise Level: Beginner
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Knowing how to use a screen reader makes you a better content creator and web developer. Learn the basics of using the JAWS screen reader to navigate webpages and documents. Find out the common issues that using a screen reader can detect, as well as ways to improve your content for people with vision and cognitive impairments.

Abstract

If you have never experienced a screen reader or want to try using one yourself, this course is for you. People with vision impairments rely on screen readers to communicate the contents of webpages and documents though not everyone who uses a screen reader is blind. Attendees will get tips to help them test their content, while also sharing navigation and reading techniques that screen reader users typically use.

Attendees will learn:

• What a screen reader is and what it does • Keyboard commands for navigating • Focus management and focus indicators for links and buttons • Considerations for forms • How to access tabular data in a table • How to make complex images accessible

Check your school email address [https://portal.freedomscientific.com/SponsoredSoftware] to see if you qualify for a free home annual license of JAWS. All students, faculty and staff of an educational institution in the United States with up-to-date multi-user licenses of JAWS are entitled to receive free home annual licenses for their personally owned equipment.

Keypoints

  1. Good content is in a format that supports assistive devices like screen readers.
  2. Creating accessible content is a challenge for most faculty.
  3. Experience with assistive technology, like screen readers, leads to better content.

Disability Areas

Cognitive/Learning, Vision

Topic Areas

Accessible Educational Materials, Faculty Development & Support, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Rachele DiTullio

Rachele is gender non-binary and uses the pronouns she/they.

Rachele believes in information integrity and accessibility for all through inclusive design principles. As a front-end developer for two decades, she learned web standards and coding best practices. Now, she uses that knowledge as an accessibility engineer for TPGi. She earned her Master of Science degree in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin School of Information with a specialization in user experience design, including support work for making systems work for people with disabilities.

Rachele enjoys working remotely from her home in Austin, Texas, and spending time with her partner and four cats.

Handout(s)