Ryerson-test/RYER101/Preface

This course was created by the Digital Education Strategies (DES) team at The G. Raymond Chang School for Continuing Education at Ryerson University to address a need for professional development training for web developers on web accessibility, a topic of critical importance for technical programs offered by post-secondary institutions.

Although the course originates in Ontario, Canada, and includes some discussion of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the content will be relevant to a global audience. Accessibility as it applies to the AODA applies in other jurisdictions through the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), which the AODA web accessibility requirements are based upon.

While this book is aimed at educating web developers about accessibility, it will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand how barriers on the Web affect access for people with disabilities. What you’ll learn in this book goes well beyond accommodating people with disabilities. Like many other so-called adaptations (e.g., curb cuts discussed in Chapter 1), efforts that go into making the Web more accessible to people with disabilities, make it more usable for everyone.

Likewise, the business arguments for accessibility are about more than complying with the law, or accommodating people with disabilities. They are about reaching the broadest audience possible. People with disabilities have family and friends, who together will go elsewhere if they are unable to effectively access a website. When you consider that people with disabilities make up nearly 15% of the population (WHO), including family, relatives and acquaintances, that number can reach 50% of the population. Most businesses can’t afford to serve only 50% of their potential customer base.

Special thanks go to DES team member Greg Gay for authoring the content. Greg has been in the web-accessibility field since the mid-1990s as an auditor and as the lead on many research and development projects that push the boundaries of accessibility in information technology. He has been involved in elearning just as long with more than 20 online courses to his name.

Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Ontario’s Enabling Change Program. An advisory committee made up of experts from the disability and accessibility community in the Toronto area provided feedback and support in conceptualizing the offering.