introduction to screen readers with 80's movie theme

Saturday School Agenda:• Introductions• What is a screen reader/how does it work?• The name game• What does it take to succeed?• Practice makes perfect, let’s get hands on

Introductions – a bit about Marc

• Accessibility Evangelist• Been working in accessibility field since 2001

• Degree in computer science• Expert knowledge of:• assistive technology• web accessibility testing tools/procedures

• Fluent in web accessibility guidelines and legislation• Webmaster for two non-profit organizations• Love to teach and train• Husband and father• Big Cleveland/OSU sports fan• Also enjoys science, music, art and good eats

According to the AFB: “Screen readers are software programs that allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display.”

A screen reader is the interface between the computer's operating system, its applications, and the user.

The user can send commands by pressing different combinations of keys on the computer keyboard (i.e. hotkeys) or braille display to instruct the speech synthesizer what to read.

With the introduction of touch screen devices, gestures have been introduced to allow a user to issue commands to a screen reader.

Ok, but how does it work?

Old school - video interceptsNew school - accessibility APIs

Let’s play the game!How many screen readers can you name?

Do you have what it takes?Knowledge… skills… a plan.

It’s go time. We can do this!

1. Interact with Windows 10 Tablet2. Browse the web3. Science experiment

Time for me to go home.

Thanks so much for coming!

Connect with Marc and Ai SquaredTwitter @mr_marcsolomonEmail: mr.marcsolomon@gmail.com

Twitter @aisquaredEmail: msolomon@aisquared.com