RE: Request for suggestions for marking glossary terms in online courses
by "John Foliot - Another 4:00 AM Web Thing" <foliot(at)fouram.com>
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Date: |
Wed, 20 Mar 2002 12:32:45 -0500 |
To: |
"Ellen Shay" <EllenS(at)deltasociety.org> |
Cc: |
"Aware-Techniques" <aware-techniques(at)hwg.org> |
In-Reply-To: |
DS01 |
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todo: View
Thread,
Original
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How about something like this:
<span style="background-color:#ffffcc; text-decoration: underline;"
title="glossary definition available">word</span>
Although, I'm confused why you wouldn't want to create a named anchor link
for the word included in the glossary. This would be THE MOST accessible
option, and works well with the existing (and older) technologies. By using
CSS you can certainly indicate to the majority of users the difference
between a "regular" link vs. a "glossary link", although you should
certainly explicitly explain the difference somewhere (early) in your site.
<a href="glossary.html#word2" style="background-color:#ffffcc;
color:#000000; text-decoration: overline;" title="glossary definition
available">word 2</a> (using both colour and unusual text decoration to
indicate a "different" type of link)
Even if the user is using older, or alternate technologies, the anchor tag
is one of the originals and so will always work, albeit with less
"enhancement". Like the LONGDESC attribute in images, it allows the user to
follow up on the object in question, or not, as they choose.
<opinion>
Accessibility is not about trying to re-invent the wheel, it's about using
the existing tools to their maximum advantage to ensure that all users
benefit from the end result. Here is a perfect example... providing a
glossary and indicating that it exists is a wonderful
accessibility/usability feature. But then the developer tries to find a
"special way" of delivering on the idea, when one of the oldest and most
useful mark-up tags (<a>) appears to be being overlooked.
</opinion>
Ellen has indicated that she will go back to the "vendor" to question why
the above is not being implemented, and Ellen, IMHO that is the way to go.
Only, I wouldn't ask, I'd insist (but that's just me).
JF
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-aware-techniques(at)hwg.org
> [mailto:owner-aware-techniques(at)hwg.org]On Behalf Of Ellen Shay
> Sent: March 19, 2002 10:40 PM
> To: 'aware-techniques(at)hwg.org'
> Subject: Request for suggestions for marking glossary terms in online
> courses
>
>
> Our organization is creating an online curriculum that will be
> available to
> the general public. We also know that people with disabilities
> will take the
> courses. We're working hard to ensure that the courses are accessible.
>
> One course feature is an online glossary. We want to identify
> which terms or
> phrases within the online text are included in the glossary in a
> way that is
> accessible, especially for people with visual disabilities. The method has
> to be obvious to the students, whether or not they have any disabilities.
> The terms will not link to the glossary (although I'm going to check with
> the vendor who's developing the course to ask why not).
>
> So far, I've come up with a couple of ideas, but I'm not sure how a screen
> reader would interpret them.
>
> 1. Put the letter "g" as a superscript before or after the word or
> phrase.
> 2. Put the letter "g" in parentheses before or after the word or
> phrase.
>
> I can't find an inline tag that would work that we're not already
> using for
> other purposes (e.g., em, b, i). The glossary terms and phrases aren't all
> acronyms or abbreviations, so we can't use abbr or acronym.
>
> In the past, our vendor has used popups or new windows when
> students pass a
> mouse over the terms, but we've told them that popups and opening new
> windows are not an acceptable solutions.
>
> We would really appreciate your input and suggestions.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Ellen Shay ellens(at)deltasociety.org
> VP Internet Strategies & Services
> Delta Society www.deltasociety.org
> (425) 226-7357
>
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