Task Forces' Latest
Accessibility TF
The Accessibility Task Force works with accessibility organizations, technology vendors and others to help promote Web accessibility.
WebAIM screenreader survey…the results are in
Hat-tip to ATF member Jared Smith:WebAIM recently conducted a survey of preferences of screen reader users. With over 1100 responses, the results of this survey provide much useful information about screen reader user demographics and preferences. Some of the ...
By Patrick Lauke | January 31st, 2009
Acid3
Acid3 is a test of dynamic browser capabilities which exists to encourage browser vendors to focus on interoperability.
Acid3 receptions and misconceptions and do we have a winner?
Acid3 progress and what it really means.
By Lars Gunther | October 2nd, 2008
Dreamweaver TF
The Dreamweaver Task Force works with Macromedia's engineers to improve standards compliance and accessibility in Dreamweaver.
Announcing the Adobe Task Force
Today WaSP announced that the Dreamweaver Task Force will be renamed the Adobe Task Force to reflect a widened scope.
By Stephanie Sullivan | March 10th, 2008
Education TF
The Education Task Force works with educational institutions to promote instruction of Web standards and standards-compliant public sites.
Announcing the WaSP Curriculum Framework
Since March 2008, the WaSP Education Task Force has begun working on the WaSP Curriculum Framework, a collection of tools aiming to identify skill sets and competencies that aspiring Web professionals need to acquire to prepare them for their chosen careers, as well as resources that will help both educators and students.
By Steph Troeth | July 31st, 2008
Microsoft TF
WaSP and Microsoft work collaboratively on issues related to Web standards support in Microsoft products, including Internet Explorer.
Microsoft rethinks IE8’s default behavior
Perhaps it was our complaining or perhaps it was a reconsideration of its own interoperability principles, but Microsoft has decided to change its course on IE8 and will opt-in to its new standards mode by default.
By Aaron Gustafson | March 3rd, 2008
Street Team
The WaSP Street Team runs community projects to get the message about Web standards out everywhere.
Street Team: Make Your Mark
The WaSP Street Team launches its first community project: bookmarks which you can place in libraries, schools, and bookstores to help signal to readers that the material is out of date.
By Glenda Sims | March 8th, 2008
The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.
Recent Buzz
WebAIM screenreader survey…the results are in
By Patrick Lauke | January 31st, 2009
Hat-tip to ATF member Jared Smith:
WebAIM recently conducted a survey of preferences of screen reader users. With over 1100 responses, the results of this survey provide much useful information about screen reader user demographics and preferences. Some of the results were quite surprising. This comprehensive survey of screen reader user preferences provides much needed insight into this diverse group of screen reader users.
Here are a few findings:
- The most common screen readers used are JAWS (74%), Window-Eyes (23%), NVDA (8%), and VoiceOver (6%).
- 75% of screen reader users upgrade to the newest version within one year.
- 12% of respondents use a screen reader on a mobile phone.
- 76% of users always or often navigating by headings.
- 36% never or seldom use text-only versions of web pages.
- 72% of screen reader users reported that Flash is very or somewhat difficult.
There is much, much more to be learned about this diverse group of screen reader users at the survey results page.
It’s great to see some actual data and feedback from real screenreader users, instead of always hearing anecdotal evidence and generalised assumptions from designers and developers. As the disclaimer notes, the actual user sample was not controlled, some of the questions may have been too technical, and some responses may have been tainted by previous experiences with badly-coded and inaccessible sites.
Perhaps the most significant conclusion we can make from these survey results is that there is no typical screen reader user.
One thing I’d like to see in any future survey would be actual testcases that respondents are asked to evaluate, which may give more representative results. In the meantime though I’d like to thank the WebAIM team for their effort and look forward to the more in-depth analysis of the data gathered from this survey.
Filed in Accessibility, Accessibility TF, Action | Comments (1)