Eye On 508

• Section 508 Awareness CD
• Web Seminars on Accessibility at Your Own Desk
• Kennedy Hopes Accessible Site Leads Way

Section 508 Awareness CD

http://www.section508.gov/508awareness/

The Section 508 Awareness CD is now available online. This CD contains general Section 508 information for all employees, as well as a self-test and copies of the statute, accessibility standards, and relevant sections of the FAR.

This program was designed to provide you an overview of section 508 and how it affects you. It consists of three lessons, an Awareness Self-Assessment to check your understanding, and References. We recommend that you go through the lessons in order, then take the self-assessment. Access the URL to learn more, as well as to download the CD.

Web Seminars on Accessibility at Your Own Desk

http://www.watchfire.com/news/seminararchives.asp
These seminars, focusing on IT accessibility issues, are best experienced if you have a soundcard on your computer. Some seminars contain actual technology demonstrations, with voice commentary, that have not been captured by the recording technology. At these points simply skip to the next slide. Below is a sample of available seminars. Access the URL to link to any of these seminars and preview the full list.

Kennedy Hopes Accessible Site Leads Way

David Becker, Staff Writer, CNET News.com
NY Times, Jan. 21
Adapted from the February ITTATC Newsletter

Sen. Edward Kennedy's office unveiled a revamped Website last week, one of the first congressional sites to fully comply with federal laws requiring accessibility for disabled users.

Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act requires that all government Web sites be fully accessible to users with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities. Accessibility poses a number of challenges, such as making sure all relevant page content can be scanned by "screen readers," audio programs that read computer text out loud for blind users.

Sec. 508 went into effect last year, but a recent study by consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that only 13.5 percent of federal sites were in compliance. Pole said that because Kennedy was an early backer of accessibility laws, it was important that his site set an example.

"The government sites in general were supposed to be 508 ready last year, and the legislative branch as a whole has not been really effective at that," Pole said

"We're taking this to another level of giving people the actual template to publish something," Casey said. "It turns the site into more of a real-time tool for communicating with constituents."