[blind-philly-comp] Re: Fw: This small change could make a big difference for accessible technology - The Washington Post

  • From: "Christina Stolze" <christinastolze@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2015 10:16:45 -0400

Deon,

Thank you very much for sharing this with us. Have a great day.

Christina



From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Deon Lyons
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 8:01 AM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Fw: This small change could make a big difference
for accessible technology - The Washington Post



Forwarded from Blind Forum of Maine

Have a great day.

dp





***





Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 6:39 AM

To: blind-forum-maine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Subject: This small change could make a big difference for accessible
technology - The Washington Post



From:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/07/23/this-small-change-could-make-a-big-difference-for-accessible-technology/



Think about how much you rely on your phone and computer every day. Now imagine
having to get through your day without being able to use the mouse. Imagine not
being to use a touchscreen -- or maybe not being able to see the screen at all.
Could you still do your job?

That's what it's like for millions of people with disabilities that prevent
them from using basic technology for work and play. And while few would argue
that it's a bad idea to build products that address those issues, a lack of
awareness often means that even making products functional for people with
disabilities is an afterthought.

Tech firms such as Yahoo, Facebook, Dropbox and LinkedIn announced Thursday
<http://teachingaccessibility.com/> that they will develop standard language
that lets applicants know that having accessibility knowledge is "preferred" to
land a job. The move is part of a larger program called "Teaching
Accessibility": a joint effort between disability advocates, schools and the
tech industry to make all technology accessible from the start.

The initiative grew out of discussions the organizations were already having
through a technology forum set up by the American Association for People with
Disabilities, where representatives meet regularly to talk about how to make
accessibility issues more visible in the tech world. A line in a job
description may not sound like much, but the signal it sends to applicants and
universities about knowledge of accessibility issues is a big deal, said Henry
Claypool, a consultant on disability issues and former executive vice president
of the AAPD.

"It's abundantly clear that commerce, work and entertainment is now engaged
online," he said. "If accessibility issues aren’t addressed, the ability of
these populations -- particularly deaf and blind individuals -- is really
impeded. You can easily argue that if you don’t have [accessible technology]
that people are being excluded. And that’s dangerously close to discrimination."

The announcement builds on work that many of the companies have been doing on
their own campuses and in collaboration with each other to train their
employees to think about these issues while designing their products, rather
than after they're built. Doing so improves the product for the estimated 19
percent of Americans who have a disability and often results in cleaner, more
usable design overall.

Yahoo, for example, has built an accessibility lab on its campus where it
brings in employees and guests to illustrate what it's like to use technology
when you have a disability. The lab is full of computers and mobile devices
with software that will read what's on your screen, as well as a variety of
gloves, goggles and other tools that simulate a variety of disabilities.
Visitors are encouraged to try it all out to get a glimpse of how hard it is to
use a computer when you can't move your fingers or can only see a narrow
portion of your computer screen.

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/files/2015/07/accessibilitylab1.jpg&w=1484
Yahoo's accessibility lab. (Courtesy of Yahoo)

Alan Brightman, a Yahoo vice president who started the accessibility lab, said
that bringing people into the lab to experience even a fraction of what people
with disabilities have to do to use basic technology has been incredibly
effective -- way more effective than a training video.

"We'd bring in execs, children of execs or product groups, put them in front of
the computer and say, 'You’re paralyzed from the neck down,'" he said. "People
sit there and try to think it out, then bend over and start hitting keys with
their nose -- forgetting they're supposed to be paralyzed. We let them think a
little, and then we finally show them how that’s possible in several different
ways."

Actually trying out these technologies also raises awareness in another way,
Brightman said. "When that person goes home that night you know they'll tell
others, 'You won’t believe what I did at Yahoo today.'" Often, he said, a
product team at Yahoo will ask to swing through the lab because they heard from
another team about the experience.

Facebook has what it calls an "empathy lab" set up at its new sprawling
headquarters where employees can test what it's like to use the site in a
variety of ways -- without a mouse, with a screen reader, or using tools
designed to help the blind.

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/files/2015/07/IMG_1329-1024x768.jpg&w=1484
Facebook offers employees an "empathy lab." (Hayley Tsukayama/The Washington
Post)

But being able to assume a higher baseline of knowledge when employees come on
board in the first place would help all these companies spend less time on the
basics and advance their work in this area. Having these companies say, as a
bloc, that this is an important skill, helps everyone, said Arden Hoffman,
Dropbox's vice president of people.

"What will be great is that there will be more demand for hiring those people,
and that sort of filters into the industry," she said. "For example, starting
in a security position five years ago is very different from today; hopefully
the accessibility skill will grow in that regard as well."

Likewise, working with schools helps to ensure that even more people will get
this sort of training.

"Advances in technology are driven by people. So it is critical that the people
creating new technologies understand accessibility," said Jeffrey Wieland, head
of accessibility at Facebook. "Our hope is that together we can tackle this
systemic challenge and find ways to make accessibility fundamental to one's
learning path in technology."

Brightman, of Yahoo, said that he's excited that this move is coming from a
group of companies, as well, which he said reflects the generally
noncompetitive and collegial spirit of people in the tech industry who've
already devoted time to these issues. "All of us are so excited about getting
this started and watching it snowball," he said. "And I can’t believe it won’t
snowball."



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