Deaf/hearing impaired Digital Technology & Online Media news

In the presentation, Hollier and Wood discuss how the course, the only one of its kind, enables the Australian government to comply with international web accessibility guidelines.

Their paper highlights the challenges faced by the Australian Government as it progresses towards WCAG 2.0 conformance, and how the course equips government web professionals to meet them.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day is an annual event that encourages web professionals and designers to participate in activities and exercises that raise the profile of web and digital accessibility. It started in 2012 after Los Angeles-based web developer Joe Devon posted the idea on his blog. He worked with accessibility professional Jennison Asuncion to invite people to participate.

In February 2012, Lockrey was summoned for jury service in Lismore Court in northern NSW. He wrote to the court and requested live captioning be provided for him during the trial. After much correspondence, Lockrey was informed that captions would not be provided and that he had been excused from jury service because he is Deaf.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) started after Los Angeles-based web developer Joe Devon suggested the idea on his blog. Canadian accessibility professional Jennison Asuncion spotted the post and offered his help to get the day off the ground.

This year, organisers are inviting web professionals to get a taste of what it’s like for the one in five people who have a disability. Some of the suggested activities include: 

Access to information communications technology (ICT) including computers, mobile devices, social media and websites is becoming increasingly vital for participation in society. The research identifies a vicious cycle of disadvantage. Women with disability are more likely to face poverty, unemployment and under-education than their male counterparts. This means they are less likely to have access to ICT which, in turn, means they are less likely to overcome socioeconomic barriers.

Google’s YouTube is the global giant of online video, with over 72 hours of video being uploaded to the platform every minute. But with popularity comes responsibility. While YouTube in many ways could be seen as a pioneer of Deaf access online, the premature release of its auto-captioning feature could be doing more harm than good.

The mantra “poor quality captions are as good as no captions at all” will be familiar to many of us within the Deaf and hearing loss advocacy sector. It’s a common catch-cry when dealing with traditional broadcasters.

In New Zealand, captioning and audio description on the free-to-air networks is funded by NZ On Air, an independent body established by the New Zealand government. It will continue to fund access services after the transition, and staff who currently produce captions and audio description at TVNZ will move to the new organisation.

While social media networks still present access barriers, there are steps organisations and individuals can take to reduce them. For instance, Facebook does not let you provide alternative text for images and so Media Access Australia provides this in the first comment below the image. Similarly, when posting a link to a video we will always mention whether it is captioned or audio described.

Google has developed Glass as a mainstream technology without its potential as an assistive technology in mind. The magic of the device lies in how third party app developers will take it and apply it to the disability market.

Below are our ideas for how Glass could enhance the lives of people with disability in the future.