eAccessibility for Section 508 and ADA, and Trusted Testers

Updated for Revised Section 508 | Web, Office, PDF

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Now covers the Revised Section 508 (also known as Section 508 ICT Refresh and 2017 Section 508) including WCAG.

“I thoroughly enjoyed David’s presentation and am thinking of so many uses for what I have learned… this was one of the most interesting and useful hours I’ve spent in 2016.”

– Carol Tobiassen, United Health Group

“Best webinar/training session I have participated in. David was fantastic, easy-going, passionate, friendly, and an expert.”

– Mary Foley, US Department of Agriculture

Course Description

Section 508 is a US federal procurement standard demanding conformance for anyone developing technology to the US government. The standard ensures that electronic and information technology is accessible to federal employees and US citizens. A world-first published in 1998, Section 508 was revised in 2017 to point to W3C’s WCAG 2.0 Level AA. The Revised Section 508 (also known as Section 508 ICT Refresh and 2017 Section 508) is a requirement as of January 2018.

It used to be that the only way to comply with accessibility standards for persons with disabilities or difficulties was to publish content in HTML. One of the most exciting parts of the new Revised Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 is that it has become feasible for you to choose PDF as the only container for certain content on your website … but only if you know how. We’ve worked with industry leaders to put together this comprehensive and powerful course, where attendees walk away with immediately-applicable tips and techniques to make all their pages and sites more accessible.

De-mystify how to make online or offline Web and PDF content accessible, whether your source is Word, Excel, PowerPoint, InDesign… or existing PDF.

Most adults suffer from some level of disability or difficulty that can be mitigated through accessible technologies. And when we design for the extremes, everyone benefits.

Not only will you comply with the standards (Section 508, PDF/UA, WCAG): you’ll be broadening the audience for your content while enriching the experience of existing users, reduce your publishing costs, and also improve your search results.

Meet the latest accessibility regulations faster, and with no programming knowledge required. Broaden audiences, improve Google reach (and SEO in general), while making sites accessible to all. Spend a day with David Berman or his colleagues, rated #1 on this topic in North America, and learn how to comply with current American legislation and WCAG guidelines.

Whether you are new to eAccessibility, or already familiar with Section 508 and WCAG, you’ll learn immediately-applicable tips and techniques in this powerful accessibility course.

This course incorporates adult learning principles and activities appropriate to a variety of learning styles, and qualifies for CEUs (certified by organizations such as PPAC).

Our course and learning guide contain everything you need to know in order to pass the IAAP’s CPACC certification examination.

We will equip you with arguments why accessibility is important for everybody, then provide in-depth familiarity with federal and international guidelines that will help your Web and PDF content be a more effective resource for your entire audience. You’ll also get familiar with assistive technologies that help people with specific disabilities and difficulties.

Our full-day course includes a thorough review of every pertinent success criterion that applies to accessible Web and documents (such as U.S. Section 508 and, under precedent law, the ADA).

Finally, you’ll venture into where accessibility meets usability. Not only will you leave with ideas you can use right away, you may also gain a whole new attitude towards how technology can improve lives. By the end of the day you will not only be aware of why accessibility and standards affect everyone: you’ll be equipped with a thorough understanding of the best strategies to approach what needs to be done and how, in order to drive down costs, increase reach, and improve SEO.

“Great. He kept me listening and understanding.”

– Matthew Brunetti, Lixar IT

Shaw Media talks about David Berman Communications onsite accessibility course

What’s Wrong

Computer-mediated accessibility to information represents the greatest liberation in human history. Most people in our societies live with some amount of physical or mental difficulty, and that can stand in the way of clear communication if proper design steps are not taken.

Although most professional development teams now create their products with the latest responsive and platform issues in mind, they still experience difficulty meeting or exceeding meeting accessibility standards. And when they do, they often spend more time and effort than they need to reaching and maintaining their products to those standards. By not understanding why each standard or technique exists, they risk doing unnecessary work, making the site less attractive or useful to the mainstream audience … and with perhaps mediocre results for people living with disabilities.

“Eye-opening. Love your method of teaching.”

– Jean Descrochers, National Research Council

“Right on target.”

– Marius Monsen, Reaktor ID

What Makes This Course Unique

Our course developer, David Berman, is a consultant on strategy for large websites, and has worked on Web accessibility projects for many organizations including the National Research Council, BMO, and IBM. He has been the project manager of numerous accessible Web projects, has developed strategy and design for federal and state government clients … as well as many private sector and non-profit organizations.

Federal government clients include the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, and the Maryland Judiciary.

By addressing and understanding accessibility issues, Web developers can more effectively deliver their message to their whole audience, while complying with the legal and moral responsibilities, regardless of physical or mental impediment.

Goals/Objectives

At the end of this course, attendees will have the tools to:

• Know techniques you can apply right away to make content accessible
• Know how to apply those techniques (and more) to making content more useable for everyone
• Have a comprehensive understanding of W3C WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA, Revised Section 508, ADA, PDF/UA, other current accessibility standards, and how to meet them
• Understand better the experience of those with disabilities using the Web, multimedia, apps, and documents
• Be able to make informed decisions as to what degree to comply with accessibility standards
• Be aware of techniques that can vastly reduce the cost of publishing online
• Use assistive technology to analyze web pages and web applications for conformance
• Provide guidance to content providers on sufficient techniques to ensure new content conforms to required standards
• Remediate existing content to ensure conformance
• Create new templates and content that conform to required standards
• Know you’re doing the “right thing” by ensuring accessibility for all

“Interesting content, really well delivered. Visual and engaging. Gives us a common language and approach.”

– Chris Cook, CFIA

“Although I am from a program with no technical background, this seminar will change the way we prepare/write/present documents, policies, directives, forms, etc for posting on the Web.”

– Sharon Drolet, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

What You Will Learn

You will learn how to make your current sites more accessible by complying with current legislation, standards, and guidelines. Specifically, you will learn:

First Half

• why accessibility matters to everyone, not just those with disabilities
• the major disabilities and challenges: what they are and how most of us have some level of difficulty that can be assisted by accessible design
• assistive technologies we can typically use to mitigate these issues
• examples of accessible multimedia
• how accessibility will help your bottom-line
• overview of regulations

Second Half

• every W3C WCAG 2 Level A and Level AA guideline
• current standards and regulations (Section 508, Section 504, Section 255, ADA, FCC, HHS)
• specific technologies and design techniques used to satisfy accessibility concerns
• testing frameworks for accessibility issues
• how to make documents more accessible
• specific techniques to save money through accessible coding
• where accessibility meets usability
• specific technologies and design techniques used to satisfy core accessibility issues
• testing frameworks, techniques, and tools

“David used real-life examples, got people up and interacting. It was an amazing experience”

– Andrew Davies, Shaw Media

Typical Agenda for Full Day Course

1. Why should we care?
2. What are the challenges people face?
3. What assistive technologies close the gaps? (including optional demonstrations)
4. Building accessibility and usability into every step of the publishing process
   1. Conformance vs. compliance vs. functional accessibility
   2. How accessibility overlaps usability: best practice methodologies
   3. How universal design and usability can improve functional accessibility
   4. What are the standards? Demystifying the acronyms
   5. How do professionals in your field comply with every success criteria, without tradeoffs?
5. What are the standards?  Demystifying the acronyms…
   1. ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
   2. Revised Section 508 vs. original Section 508 vs. EU’s WAD / EU 301 549  
   3. Telecommunications Act, Section 255
   4. Plain Writing Act of 2010
   5. Marrakesh Treaty (USA, 2018)
   6. PDF/UA: the accessibility standard for PDF
   7. WCAG 2.0: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
   8. HHS standards for documents
6. What is a VPAT (and why you would use it even if you don’t need to)? What is WCAG-EM?
7. Conformance vs. compliance vs. functional accessibility
8. What do you need to know about the WCAG success criteria?
9. How do professionals in your field comply with every success criteria, without tradeoffs?
10. What are the testing tools to confirm you are meeting or exceeding the standards?
11. What else should you consider? WCAG Level AAA, WCAG 2.1, email, social media, etc.
12. Q&A until we run out of questions!

What You Get

• a comprehensive 170+ page learning guide, detailing every major accessibility guideline (also available separately for $97 with optional 1-on-1 distance coaching)
• a signed course certificate, suitable for framing
• a thirty-minute one-on-one personal coaching tele-session with David within a month

Call 1-613-728-6777 to bring this event to your site: for a keynote, half-day, or full-day events, tailored or customized for your group.

Prerequisites: None (no programming experience required)

“This will make us better communicators.”

– Luc Bergeron, SSHRC

“Loved the examples. David is very engaging and knowledgeable facilitator. His passion is obvious. Will help me better evangelize.”

– Patrick Dunphy, CBC

About our Expert Speakers

David Berman, the developer and trainer for all our course material and course leaders, is the principal of David Berman Communications.

David Berman has over 30 years of experience in design and communications and has worked extensively in e-accessibility and inclusive interface design. As an author (Do Good Design), expert speaker, designer, communications strategist, his professional work has brought him to over 50 countries.

David is an Invited Expert to the W3C, the publishers of the WCAG standard for e-accessibility. In 2018, he joined the Global Council of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals, based in Washington, DC. In 2015, he was made an International Advisor by the G3ICT, fitting with his work helping advise governments on four continents on establishing inclusive design policy. In 2015, he was named International Universal Design Champion for the Government of Ireland. In 2012, David was appointed chair of the Carleton Access Network at Carleton University. In 2009, David was appointed a high-level advisor to the United Nations on how accessible Web design thinking can help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.

Our status as an accessibility auditor has the highest bona fides available in the World, being led by an Invited Expert to the W3C who also is one of a few hundred people globally to hold CPACC certification. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has reported to us that we have all the bona fides they require to deem us as acceptable for auditing Section 504, Section 508, and ADA compliance. David Berman has successfully completed all courses available from the Department of Homeland Security on the Revised Section 508.

In 2013, The World Wide Web Foundation had David personally audit the accessibility of benchmark websites from over 40 countries for their global report on the state of the Web.

He is a member of the ISO standards committee on accessible PDF documents.

His book (Do Good Design, Pearson/Peachpit, 2009, 2013, 2018) about how design can be used to create a more just world speaks about universal design and accessibility, and is now available in 6 languages, as well as braille.

He regularly teaches accessibility principles as part of his professional development workshops, and developed custom workshops for the National Research Council.

David’s opinions have been featured in the Financial Post, the Globe And Mail, Marketing, HOW, and Communication Arts magazines, as well as ABC and CBS.

David ranks #1 on speakerwiki.org on this topic for a reason. His arc as an internationally-celebrated expert speaker has brought him to over 30 countries.

David has served as a vice-president, director and sustainability chair of ico-D, the world body for graphic and communications design.

Who Should Attend

This course is targeted to all writers, editors, designers, programmers, developers involved in developing websites, apps, documents, or new media projects.

• communications professionals
• scrum masters
• writers
• editors
• content owners
• word processors
• graphic designers
• instructional designers
• software developers, mobile app and game developers
• quality controllers
• people who need to get their web content compliant with current and future government accessibility standards (e.g. W3C WCAG, ADA, Section 508)
• people who coordinate people who build websites

This course incorporates adult learning principles and activities appropriate to a variety of learning styles, and qualifies for CEUs.

Language:

English available online or onsite.

Duration:

Half-day course, one-day course, three-day course.

To be notified via e-mail of when we schedule new instances of this topic, subscribe to our E-Newsletter.

“Makes you feel you are part of the course.”

– Arup Ghosh, BMO

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Reviewed November 26, 2018