halstead erma assignment 8

World Wide Web Consortium

By: Erma K. Halstead

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards.

The W3C mission is to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure the long-term growth of the Web.

The following principles guide W3C's work

Web for All

The social value of the Web is that it enables human communication, commerce, and opportunities to share knowledge. One of W3C's primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability.

Web on Everything

W3C is focusing on technologies to enable Web access anywhere, anytime, using any device. This includes Web access from mobile phones and other mobile devices as well as use of Web technology in consumer electronics, printers, interactive television, and even automobiles.

Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging.

What is Web Accessibility

Why Web Accessibility is Important

The Web is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. An accessible Web can also help people with disabilities more actively participate in society.

Web Accessibility Initiative

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities.

References

http://www.w3.org/Consortium/

http://blogs.semantico.com/discovery-blog/2009/09/web-accessibility-for-online-publishing-sites/

http://www.reliablewebservices.co.uk/

http://home.messiah.edu/~sz1170/definitions.html

http://www.w3.org/2005/Talks/0623-sb-IEEEStorConf/#%281%29