Glossary
In this page you'll find descriptions for some of the terms used throughout the Best Practices Library:
Dragon
Is voice recognition software used by those who do not have access to the keyboard or mouse. With this software, users can navigate the screen and input text with their voice.
Website: www.nuance.com
JAWS
Is a screen reader used by the blind or those with severely reduced visual acuity. This user is reliant on the keyboard for navigating the screen.
Website: www.freedomscientific.com
Keyboard
The primary means by which a disabled user navigates a computer screen, you'll find that the keyboard is employed for testing many of the Best Practices within this library.
MAGic
Is a screen magnifier used by those with low visual acquity. Depending on the severity, this user may either use the keyboard alone for screen navigation or a combination of the mouse and keyboard.
Website: www.freedomscientific.com
Mouse
While not employed as often by a disabled user, you'll find that it still can be helpful from a testing perspective in quickly verifying that certain elements (e.g., tooltips) properly account for accessibility.
Visual Inspection
Used in conjunction with the keyboard or mouse, this method is typically employed for verifying that focus has properly shifted on the screen.
Web Accessibility Toolbar
This free tool for Internet Explorer makes it easy to test a number of accessibility tags and attributes on a web page. It also allows you to check for color contrast, color blindness, etc..
Website: www.paciellogroup.com/resources/wat-ie-about.html
Instructions for using the Web Accessibility Toolbar