The Sound Exchange has many accessibility features and we aim to continually improve the accessibility of the site for all users. This article explains our approach to accessibility, highlights features that are designed to support particular groups of users and also points out currently known weaknesses and problems. We are always interested in hearing from users and welcome all your feedback on accessibility issues.
Email us your accessibility feedback
Our Approach to Accessibility
Our aim is to create a website that as far as possible meets the guidelines set out for W3C Level 1(Click here to view the Guidelines). These guidelines address barriers in Web pages which people with physical, visual, hearing, and cognitive/neurological disabilities may encounter.
Tables
The vast majority of the pages on this site, such as this one, do achieve W3C Level 1, but there are a number of pages that use tables. Where tables have been used there will be a Table Summary, which describes the structure of the content and will be read out by screen readers. In some cases of pages with tables there will be a link at the top of the page to a fully accessible version of the page.
We are working towards eventually removing all pages that contain tables.
Images & Alt Text
All images in The Sound Exchange have Alt Text and there are often Long Descriptions which are read by clicking the letter D where it appears next to an image.
When an 'enlarge image' link is clicked a new window will open in which the Long Description appears above the enlarged image.
Text Size
There are buttons to increase the text size at the top of every page of The Sound Exchange.
(Most browsers also have additional text size controls on the View menu.)
Colour Contrast
We have chosen text and background colours carefully to provide a good, strong contrast without the glare of black on white which is problematic for some users.
Browsers
When it was created The Sound Exchange was optimised for the following browsers:
- Browsers On PCs
Internet Explorer 5.5 and 6
Netscape 6 and 7* - Browsers on Mac OSX
Internet Explorer 5.2
Netscape 6 & 7*
Earlier browsers lack many accessibility features that this site utilises, so if for example you are using Internet Explorer 5 we recommend that you update your browser in order to enjoy The Sound Exchange.
Other browsers such as Safari and Mozilla/Firefox are not specifically supported by The Sound Exchange, but in any case the site is largely compatible with the latest versions of these.
Browser Support in Future:
Since The Sound Exchange was created Netscape has evolved into Firefox, older versions of Netscape have become difficult to come by and the situation continues to change. We do not have a substantial enough development budget to ensure that the site remains up to dae with the latest browser versions and takes account of all their features and peculiarities. We will however be able to do updates from time to time when there is a real necessity.
Video and Audio - Text Transcripts
There are hundreds of video clips on The Sound Exchange and currently only a few have text transcripts of the content. We plan to gradually phase out the older clips and when any new clips are added they will always be accompanied by a text transcript and/or a summary of the content and also an 'audio only' version.
This interview with Janine Jansen is an example of the way we shall be using video in future. The first article on the page is a text transcript of the video. The second article contains links to the interview both as Video and Audio Only.
Flash
There are a few interactive resources which use Flash and we are planning more in the future. We have only chosen to use Flash where there is no alternative for the functionality that we require. Wherever possible we use Flash's accessibility features such as Tab Orders and Read Orders and also provide alternative versions of the activity.
For example, beneath Phil's Violin Quiz there is a Word Doc version of the quiz and also a note about accessibility issues with the quiz. Within each page of the quiz the tab key and space bar enable the questions to be selected and submitted. Screen readers such as Window Eyes will also read the text in the correct order, but the quiz is not fully accessible because the Next Page button can only be operated with a click of the mouse. Accessibility features in Flash are still new and developing all the time, so we hope to correct this kind of problem in the near future.
Frames
This web site is not based on a frameset, but there are several instances of iFrames (in line frames). If you experience problems navigating these, we would very much appreciate hearing from you.
Feedback
As already stated we are keen to hear your responses to this site, because it will help us to plan for improvements.
We look forward to hearing from you!
