Collaboration between RNIB, Content and Code, and Telerik opens doors to opportunities for blind and partially sighted web users world-first for accessibility
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), Content and Code and Telerik today announced the development of a new RNIB website that customises Microsoft SharePoint 2007 and incorporates a specially enhanced rich text editor to set groundbreaking levels of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people.
RNIB commissioned Content and Code to design and build an accessible website using Microsoft SharePoint 2007 that adheres to increasingly strict legislation and guidelines. In response Content and Code developed the SharePoint Accessibility Solution (SAS) - an installable set of solution packages that sits on top of existing SharePoint architecture to re-skin the output and make it accessible.
Leading software developers, Telerik, were introduced to develop an accessible rich text editor that met RNIB's requirements. A close-knit collaboration between the three organisations, involving the embedding of key development personnel at Content and Code's London headquarters, produced an enhanced version of Telerik's RadEditorÔ that combines innovative new features and upgrades - making it the most accessible web editor on the market.
The success of the SharePoint Accessibility Solution and the accessible rich text editor ensures that RNIB's new website, www.rnib.org.uk (opens in a new window), conforms to 'Surf Right' standards at both the front and back end. This means that the experience for blind and partially sighted visitors is improved, and also that blind and partially sighted content editors can edit and approve content, access administrative and functionality settings, and have web-part editing abilities - features that are not available with out-of-the-box SharePoint.
Fazilet Hadi, Group Director Inclusive Society at RNIB, said: "For too long, blind and partially sighted people have been cut off from information and technology. RNIB aims to remove these barriers and make society a more inclusive place for all blind and partially sighted people. We are extremely proud to make this huge step towards equality in the workplace whereby blind and partially sighted people can edit and create content on the website in the same way as other staff."
On the human impact of the SharePoint Accessibility Solution, Martin Hatch, Solutions Architect, Content and Code, said: "The success of the SAS enables organisations to empower their staff by including everyone and allowing them to collaborate, effectively providing better products, services and solutions to all their customers. It has been a very rewarding experience."
"While working with RNIB on this project we developed a deep understanding of the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted users and a real desire to address those hurdles," said Tervel Peykov, Senior ASP.NET developer at Telerik and lead software developer on the RNIB project. "We are thrilled that our enhanced RadEditor provides the highest level of accessibility possible for all users, which translates into greater opportunities for interaction and productivity."
Rob Sinclair, Director of Accessibility, Microsoft added: "Microsoft is delighted that Content and Code and Telerik, two of our Gold Partners, collaborated with RNIB to deliver a SharePoint accessibility solution. The experience gained through this project provides invaluable feedback to help inform our development of future versions of SharePoint."
About RNIB
Every day another 100 people in the UK will start to lose their sight. There are around 1.8 million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit their website (opens in a new window).
About 'Surf Right' standard
Surf Right is the RNIB Accessible Website standard aligned to the latest international guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0), which were published in December 2008. It includes other conditions that will avoid difficulties for a range of disabled people.
Contact RNIB (opens in a new window) to find out more.
About Content and Code /SAS
Content and Code is a Microsoft Gold Partner specialising in building solutions based on Microsoft SharePoint. Content and Code was awarded Microsoft's 2009 Worldwide Partner of the Year in Information Worker Solutions, Portals and Collaboration, placed 58th on the New Media Age (NMA) Top 100 Interactive Agencies List, as well as 4th in the Top Technical list.
The SharePoint Accessibility Solution (SAS), developed by Content and Code for RNIB's website, allows people with disabilities to interact with content by using assistive technologies such as screen readers. SAS complies with the highest level of accessibility set by the W3C, including XHTML 1.1 and WCAG 2.0 AAA. It is also the only solution which complies with RNIB's SurfRight policy.
For more information about Content and Code's SAS, please visit our Accessibility page
View a video detailing the innovative RNIB website project!
About RadEditor
Telerik's RadEditor™ for ASP.NET AJAX offers out-of-the-box XHTML-enabled output, full HTML editing capabilities, and intuitive formatting tools, while integrating optimum support for advanced screen-reading technologies such as Job Access With Speech (JAWS). The design enhancements to RadEditor are focused on creating logical pathways and functionality for blind and partially sighted users, such as simplifying the process of browsing to content nested several folders deep and making it easier for programs like JAWS to recognize various RadEditor elements, tools, and onscreen dialog. These design changes have resulted in a superior level of content control and management, and making RadEditor the most accessible editor on the market, according to current accessibility standards.
About Telerik
Telerik (opens in a new window) is a leading vendor of ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, WinForms and WPF controls and components, as well as .NET Reporting, .NET ORM and .NET CMS solutions. Building on its expertise in interface development and Microsoft technologies, Telerik helps customers build applications with unparalleled richness, responsiveness and interactivity. Created with passion, Telerik products help thousands of developers every day to be more productive and deliver reliable applications under budget and on time.