David Berman is the principal of David Berman Communications in Ottawa. He has over 20 years of experience in graphic design and strategic communications. He has worked extensively in adapting the printed word for electronic distribution, including software interface development.

David has extensive experience as a senior consultant in applying accessibility and standards to federal government Web sites in Canada, as well as to public sector clients such as IBM, both as a strategist and compliance testing leader. He regularly teaches accessibility principles as part of his professional development workshops, and developed a custom two-day workshop for the National Research Council on common look and feel. His plain writing, design, and accessibility work include award-winning projects for the City of Ottawa, the Ontario government, and Canada's federal government. Clients include IBM, Justice Canada, HRDC, Canada Revenue Agency, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Region of Ottawa-Carleton and the Ontario Literacy Coalition.

David is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and the International Federation for Professional Speakers. David is currently the Ethics Chair of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and was named a Fellow (the highest professional honour for graphic designers in Canada) in 1999.

www.davidberman.com

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Seminar Description

Most adults suffer from some level of disability or difficulty that can be mitigated through accessible Web site design. By using the immediately-applicable tips and techniques you'll learn in this powerful one-day Web accessibility seminar, not only will you comply with standards: you'll be broadening the audience for your Web site while enriching the experience of all your visitors.

David Berman will convince you of why accessibility is important for everybody, then provide in-depth familiarity with international guidelines that will help your Web presence be a more effective resource for your entire audience. You'll gain familiarity with technologies that help people with specific disabilities and difficulties. The seminar includes a thorough review of pertinent standards and international guidelinesbased upon the internationally award winning Canadian federal government model, as well as testing recommendations for both.  You'll also 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.

Each participant leaves with a comprehensive 75+ page manual, detailing every major accessibility guideline.

By the end of the day you not only be aware of why accessibility affects everyone: you'll be equipped with a thorough understanding of what needs to be done and how.

Who Should Attend?

This seminar is targeted to all project managers, Webmasters, production coordinators, programming leaders, strategists, controllers, information officers, graphic designersand  information designers involved in developing Web or other new media projects.

• People who manage Web sites
• People who plan Web sites
• People who coordinate people who build Web sites
• People who design Web sites
• People who represent clients who hire others to develop Web sites
• People who represent user organisations
• And everybody else who wants to learn more about accessibility on Web sites

What's Wrong

Computer-mediated accessibility perhaps represents the greatest liberation in human history. Most people in our societies have some sort of physical or mental difficulty which can stand in the way of clear Web communication unless proper design and programming steps are taken.

Although most professional Web developers now create their sites with an awareness of technical design issues such as browser incompatibilities and platform dependencies, they are still experiencing difficulties with emerging accessibility standards. Many Web sites continue to be designed based on assumptions that don't address the specific needs of people with disabilities and difficulties and so thus fail to deliver the promise of the Web to all users.  

What Makes This Seminar Unique

Our seminar leader, David Berman is a consultant on common look and feel implementation for large Web sites, and has worked on projects for many large organizations including Statistics Canada, the National Research Council, and IBM. He has been the project manager of numerous accessible Web projects, has developed strategy and design for CRA, Health Canada, Canadian Heritage, Industry Canada, CMHC, and the International Space Station …as well as many private sector and non-profit organizations.

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 of being accessible to all, regardless of physical or mental impediment.

 What You Will Learn

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

• Why accessibility matters to everyone, not just those with disabilities
• The major disabilities and challenges: what they are and what technologies are typically used to mitigate them
• W3C checkpoints
• Common Look and Feel standards and guidelines
• Specific technologies and design techniques used to satisfy accessibility concerns
• Testing frameworks for accessibility issues
• How to make PDF files more accessible
• Where accessibility meets usability

Goals

At the end of this lecture, you will:

• Know many simple techniques you can apply right away to make Web content more accessible
• Have a comprehensive understanding of W3C accessibility guidelines and how to tackle them
• Be able to make informed decisions as to what degree you can practically comply with accessibility standards
• Understand better the experience of those with disabilities using the Web and new media products
• Know you're doing the "right thing" by ensuring accessibility for all

Prerequisites

Some familiarity with the management and/or development of Web sites.

Har du spørsmål?
Ta kontakt med prosjektleder Jannicke Hølen i Norsk Designråd