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Mashups and Accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009

There will be people who won’t be able to access the mashup because:

• They are hearing impaired or deaf;
• They are visually impaired or blind;
• They have a physical disability;
• They have a cognitive disability;
• They are using a slow modem;
• They do not have the required media player; and/or
• They have a physical disability which means they cannot use the media player.

It is difficult to categorically state that mashups are inaccessible; it really depends on the primary applications and how they have been put together. The best way to ensure that mashups do not exclude people with disabilities is to provide a transcript of the mashup in text or HTML.

Relationship to WCAG1 checkpoints

Checkpoint 1.1 requires that a text equivalent is provided for every non-text element (e.g. via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: applets and programmatic objects, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video.

Checkpoint 6.2 requires that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes.

Complying with accessibility requirements when including mashups

Providing a transcript of the mashup in text or HTML

It is important to provide a transcript of the mashup. Where the user cannot access the mashup, it is vital that a transcript is provided (in HTML, text or Word) so that they are not missing out on the content within the mashup.

Example 1: Transcript of a mashup

Google Maps created a mashup of the Victorian bushfires in February 2009. This mashup was updated with fundraising events in the months after Black Saturday.

The mashup has some accessibility features – for example, it can be manipulated via the keyboard. However, the mashup might be inaccessible to some groups of people with disabilities and thus a transcript must be provided. For example:

A screen reader user might be able to listen to the text of the map, but cannot determine how far the Bushfire Concert is from Melbourne (or in what direction).

• People using a magnifier might not be able to access some of the information on the page, for instance, the text in the popup.
• Some of the activities (for example the ‘Long Beach Outreach – Australian Bushfire Appeal’) occur at an international location, which might not be obvious to someone using a screen reader or who cannot see the map.

The following transcript might be appropriate for this mashup.

Victorian concerts
Comeback Concert
4 April, 12:00pm - 10:00pm
Whittlesea Showgrounds, Whittlesea
A country music bushfire benefit concert. All proceeds to go to the Bushfire Appeal Fund to assist bushfire affected people, not only from Whittlesea's surrounds but from all over Victoria. The Concert will feature: Adam Brand, Catherine Britt, Travis Sinclair, Noll Brothers, Sam Hawksley, JR Williams, Paul Costa, Celestino, Andre Camilleri & the Broken Hearts, White Goat, The Prairie Oysters, Smokin’ Mahones, Mike Brady, and The Aaron Daniels Band. Tickets through Eventix and limited gate sales on the day. Adults $40. Kids 15 and under free. Free admission for fire survivors (on presentation of Blue D.H.S. form). For online ticket sales visit: www.whittleseacountrymusicfestival.com.au tel: (03) 9716 1923

Bushfire Concert
4 April 12:00pm
Healesville Racecourse, Healesville
14 live bands and solo artists including Brent Parlane, The Hannafords, Geoff Achison and more. ALL proceeds to the appeal.

Milawa Muster
5 April 2:00pm—9:00pm
Milawa Recreation Reserve, Milawa
From 2pm - 9pm 10 music artists will be playing. Australia's whip cracking champion Noel Cutler to compare (Noel will also be displaying his whip cracking and poetry talents throughout the event!). Other entertainment includes Mel Sporry's liberty horse displays, sheaf tossing, jumping castle, face painting. Food and bar available on the day. $15 entry (under 12 free) includes bus from Wangaratta return.

Apollo Bay Charity Ball
18 April 6:30pm—6:30pm
Leisure Centre, Apollo Bay
Bushfire Fundraiser 'Hollywood Ball' All funds raised to go to Red Cross. Saturday 18 April 2009 7pm to late Apollo Bay Leisure Centre Tickets at Great Ocean Properties 52377 366

International concerts
Long Beach Outreach - Australian Bushfire Appeal
12 Apr 9:00am—11:00am
Long Beach City Beach, California, USA
5km fun run/walk hosted in Long Beach California by the local Australian international student community. Starting at Grenada Boat ramp, running west along the city beach bike path.

From the Ashes Cricket Match
31 May 12:00pm—6:00pm
Christiano Field, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
The Mad Dogs Cricket Club will be hosting a "From the Ashes" cricket match on May 31st in honor of and to raise funds for those affected by the Victorian Bushfires.

Example 2: Doodle for Google Australia

Google had an Australia-wide competition for primary and secondary schools to recreate the Google logo. A mashup of the entries has been created by Google:

To create an accessible version of this mashup, the search function could be replicated in an accessible manner by:

• including search labels;
• associating the labels with the fields; and
• providing an HTML submit button.

In the Google mashup, once the user has selected a relevant school, the doodles are shown in the map:

To create an accessible version of this mashup, the search function could be replicated in an accessible manner by:

• including search labels;
• associating the labels with the fields; and
• providing an HTML submit button.

In the Google mashup, once the user has selected a relevant school, the doodles are shown in the map:

In the above example, users can view the eight different entries from Mt Beauty Primary School in the map. This mashup can be made easily accessible through both HTML and images by:

• Organizing the images by name of the school and the name of the student (including year level); and
• Providing a brief description of the image in the ALT attribute (i.e. in the above example the ALT attribute would be “Emu, kangaroo and tree used in Google logo, with aboriginal symbolism, with a background of the setting sun”)

Further Information

• W3C Checkpoint 1.1: Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element
• Mashup Awards
• eGovernment Resource Centre mashups
• IBM Web 2.0 mashup accessibility
• IBM The future is now

Source: Accessibility Toolkit Version 3, September 2009. Section 5 - Mashups and Accessibility.

Last updated: 13 October 2010

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