The A360 Blog

Happy 29th Birthday, ADA!

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Using Google Docs With a Screen Reader

Google Docs, Google’s free word processor, has become increasingly popular in recent years as an alternative to Microsoft Word and other text editing programs. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that Google Docs is free (you need to buy a Microsoft Office subscription to use Word), and multiple people can easily work together on a Google Doc. Google Docs is also considered to be pretty accessible, so it allows for easy collaboration among people with disabilities. Here are some tips for using Google Docs with a screen reader.

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Minnesota Digital Accessibility Law Celebration: Kicking Off GAAD

Representatives from A360 went to the MN State Capitol on Tuesday for the MN Digital Accessibility Law Celebration, an event put on by MN IT Services’ Office of Accessibility. The Celebration recognized the 10th anniversary of the Digital Accessibility and Usability Law, as well as digital accessibility advocates who worked to pass the law. The event also demonstrated how people with disabilities use and benefit from technology in their everyday lives. For example, eight State of MN employees shared what they learned from the 2019 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, including digital accessibility learning opportunities.

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Have Alternatives Ready Incase of Inaccessible Technology

A360 believes that every effort should be made to create fully accessible sites and apps. But even in the best cases, and certainly as stop-gap measures, there is always the need for alternative means to complete any task and find information. Even the most accessible sites may not support every user, so options like telephone help or web chat are critical anytime we rely on technology. Let me give you a real-life example of what I mean:

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SXSW Takeaways

A few weeks ago, Michele Landis and I were invited to represent Accessible360 at SXSW (South by Southwest). Michele spoke on a four-person panel about digital accessibility.

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Braille and Digital Accessibility: Working Together One Cell at a Time

When digital accessibility became a thing, most of the focus was on people living only with blindness. At the time, hardware speech synthesizers and software speech synthesizers existed, and there were also Braille displays. However, Braille displays were so expensive that very few people could afford them.

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Digital Accessibility and Assistive Technology Spotlight: Poppy Jean Sundquist

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Creating Accessible Content Basics

Many companies are now understanding that accessible web content is important so that all of their users can experience their site, buy their products and other important tasks. At the same time, busy content management groups are regularly churning out fresh batches of blogs, web pages, and social media posts. With so much new content being created every day, companies fear they need specialized knowledge to prevent complicated workflows from inadvertently creating accessibility issues on their digital properties. But the good news is, following some simple steps, much of your content can be made accessible.

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People With Disabilities Returning To Workforce

[Photo: Wall Street Journal]

Americans with disabilities have historically had difficulties finding and keeping jobs. However, there has been a spike the last few years in hiring people with disabilities, thanks to a tight job market with a low overall unemployment rate.

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Why Consider Color Contrast in Web Design?

When thinking about the color scheme for web pages, developers and designers typically focus on what colors are the most visually appealing. Often times, developers have no control over what colors are used, and instead this decision is made by other members of the company who want to closely resemble brand colors. However, an important aspect to consider with relation to the website’s color scheme is, how much contrast does each color pairing have? Will all users find this content legible with the chosen colors?

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