Accessiblity Dictionary

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a US labor law that prohibits unjustified discrimination based on disability.

Is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them.

Review of your institution’s existing software, electronic platforms and media (digital and otherwise) to determine whether they are up to current standards for digital accessibility. 

Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information.

Refers to how well any any type of electronic or online media can be used by people with visual, hearing, motor or learning disabilities, as well as by the aged.

There’s a growing trend in the industry though to flip this workflow on its head and actually begin with mobile considerations and then work up to a larger desktop version. 

Modifications or adjustments to tasks, environments or to ways things are done that enable individuals with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to participate.

A software application which, rather than presenting web content visually, converts text into synthesized speech, allowing the user to listen to content.

(or “504”) requires “reasonable accommodations” be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Of the Act (usually just called “508”) requires that the of these institutions should make the information on their electronic media, such as their websites, available to all users regardless of disability. 

The use of HTML markup to reinforce the semantics, or meaning, of the information in webpages and web applications rather than merely to define its presentation or look. For example, tagging first-level headlines as “h1” rather than merely making the font size larger or the typeface bold would be considered semantically correct. Semantic HTML is processed by traditional web browsers as well as by many other user agents.

An acronym for “Search Engine Optimization.” Essentially, it means optimizing content so that it is most likely to be identified by search engines, in order to get traffic from “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” search results.

Title II of the ADA extends many of these regulations to government institutions that don’t receive federal money, such as state and local governments and their agencies.

Venmo is a free digital wallet that lets you make and share payments with friends. You can easily split the bill, cab fare, or much more.

The worldwide organization that develops web standards.