Finally for Plain English Week some Plain English pointers
Think before you write
Know your audience
Use everyday language your readers will be familiar with
Use short, clear and concise sentences, 15-20 words maximum
One idea in a sentence is best
Use short rather than long, complex words and jargon
September 2010
The UK Plain English campaign describes plain English as
faster to write
faster to read
likely to get your message across more easily, more often and in a friendlier way and it is
energy and paper efficient!
not about dumbing down information
August 2010
This week is plain English Week. Plain language adds value to accessibility and usability. Well written plain English is useful for everyone.
Plain English is language that the intended audience can understand and act upon from a single reading. Plain English is useful for all readers but is not the same as Easy Read.
Plain English benefits everyone, from people with /English as a second language and people with poor literacy, to people who need to deal with information in unfamiliar settings, such as legal documents or complex health related information.
We will be adding some more plain English information during the week so watch this space
August 2010
AccEase is a member of the Australasian Round Table on information access of people with print disabilities which has just released the above guidelines.
The Guidelines can be downloaded for free.in a variety of accessible formats as you would expect. They take into account style guides and best practice from Australasia and around the world.
Anyone who is preparing electronic documents will find the publication useful as will those from specialist transcription agencies, government and public bodies, corporates and other organisations which understand the necessity of making their information accessible. People who are print disabled will also find them useful in advocating their need for accessible information.
August 2010
AccEase will be presenting on Accessible web for all - how to make sure your online front door welcomes everyone - at this unconference on Saturday, August 21 in Wellington. A great opportunity for community people, not for profits and the web community to interact. Find out more at the E-Engage Your Community site
July 2010
A large government department, which plays a critical role in New Zealand's economy, is benefitting from our usability expertise. The department has recognised the value of our "real world" testing approach. Their diverse customers will now be able to successfully fulfil their legal requirements online.
June 2010
Over the years AccEase has assessed and surveyed hundreds of New Zealand Government web sites. We have found some common problems which create difficulties for users. We identify the top eight.
April 2010
Robyn will give the opening keynote address at the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities conference.
The theme for the conference is Think Globally, Act locally.
Robyn will consider the practical implications of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)in relation to information accessibility, looking at the rights and the obligations involved.
The conference will be in Auckland at the Heritage Hotel from May 23 to 25 2010.
Robyn's presentation will be published here and on the Round Table site.
March 2010
Check Out our Low Visionary blog which is running a series on ten points to accessible information.
Robyn recently gave a presentation on the basics of web accessibility for communications people from not-for-profit organisations See the slides on Slideshare.
February 2010
A rather belated, but warm, welcome to Bill Dashfield Bill comes to us with a great track record as an accessibility champion and practitioner with a number of project implementations to his credit. Bill is currently based in the UK, giving us an international profile!
February 2010
The paper is subtitled; Communicating and using international (human rights) conventions. It was presented at an international disability and development conference in Australia.
Getting the Word Out includes sections on; standards and accessibility, communications planning, making information accessible and alternative formats
January 2010
It's a new year with new web content, new browser versions, new operating system versions. If you haven't had an accessibility assessment in the last 18 months contact us now.
December 2009
First published in New Dialogue Spring 2009 - NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations. Accessible web sites are often seen as boring, and as a bit well PC...
Read article "Everyone loves accessible web sites".
December 2009
The New Zealand Rehabilitation Association website has just been announced as a finalist in the "Best accessibility" section of the ONYAs web awards. The site was designed and developed by Springload and AccEase provided accessibility advice and testing throughout the project. Congratulations to William Levack, website owner, who was a stickler for accessibility from day one.
November 2009
Robyn Hunt spoke at the launch of the Disability Clohesline on White Ribbon Day 25th November. She encouraged supporters to sign a sheet to hang on the clothesline and disabled leaders to tell their stories of violence and abuse by decorating t-shirts. "We want the clothesline of t-shirts to go right round the Beehive and run the length of Lambton Quay," she said.
November 2009
Mike recently attended the first day of the Engage Your Community conference held in Wellington. Excellent range of speakers covering a multitude of topics from how to use social media, telling compelling stories, exploiting the "long tail", usability on a shoestring and more. A provocative day - highly recommended for web owners and managers in the not-for-profit sector or anyone who is targeting and building face to face and online communities.
October 2009
The new New Zealand Government Standards have been available for a while to allow time for owners to make any necessary upgrades. If you need any assistance in getting your site in order, please contact us.
September 2009
"All the information for all the people all the time" doesn't mean just the web - check out our new information accessibility services.
We hope you like our new website - please give us feedback.
July 2009
Watch this space, at least a different looking space for our new website which is in final stages of preparation.
"All the information for all the people all the time" doesn't mean just the web - new offering from AccEase coming soon.
May 2009
The theme for this year's Sign Language Week, 4th -10th of May is New Zealand Sign Language is in your hands. AccEase testers are a winning team. Sara Pivac Alexander has been awarded Sign Language Teacher of the Year. Congratulations Sara!
For more information about activities for the week, (and we recommend the theatre production,) visit the web site www.nzsign.co.nz.
February 2009
Mike and Kalpesh recently attended Webstock, a two-day conference in Wellington featuring a wide range of thought-provoking speakers on matters web.
Why do we attend? Webstock is committed to a standards-based and accessible web (we like their principles) and we come away inspired and with useful information we can apply to our work.
December 2008
Robyn and Mike wish all our clients, testers and supporters the best of the holiday season and we thankyou for your custom and support in 2008.
We look forward to working with you in 2009 to provide accessible information for everyone.
We will be closing from the 24th of December and back on board on the 5th of January.
November 2008
Robyn was "commended for her contribution to the blind community". You can read the full media release.
September 2008
While we welcome progress on the Strategy - such as increased emphasis on providing broadband - we are disappointed that there is not more emphasis on accessibility.
August 2008
Mike recently gave a presentation to Software Quality New Zealand on usability and accessibility. The main point was that in Mike's view one of the key causes of poor usability and accessibility is a failure of adoption of the right mindset. Only when the mindset is correct should we worry about applying methodology. You can read more about this and view the presentation at Mike's blog No Wombats - the full presentation will soon be available on the SQNZ site.
May 2008
May 17 is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. AccEase supports this year’s theme: “Connecting Persons with Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for All” which addresses the particular requirements of disabled people.
The World Summit on the Information Society, through the Geneva Plan of Action, urged Member States to address the particular requirements of disabled people in their national e-strategies and encouraged the design and production of ICT equipment and services suited to their needs, including adherence to the Universal Design Principle and use of assistive technologies. A further call was made for research and development to facilitate accessibility of ICT for all, including disabled people.
May 2008
This week is the second NZ Sign Language Week. The theme this year is freedom of expression, very apt as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities come into force as international law on May3, and freedom of expression is a fundamental human right.
March 2008
The New Zealand Government Portal was officially launched on 13th March by the Minister for State Services, Hon. David Parker.
AccEase testers tested the new search functionality that was originally deployed on the old portal and which has now been brought into the new design.
AccEase also provided accessibility and usability advice and testing to the project on the design and site templates for the new portal.
February 2008
AccEase will be providing an expanded range of accessibility testing services this year. We will be focusing on user testing using our panel of testers. A range of options will be available to provide choice according to depth of testing required and analysis that will also suit a range of budgets.
We will be announcing these services as they come on stream. In the meantime if you would like to tell us about the kind of offerings that would be useful to you please contact us.
January 2008
Tickets are still available for Webstock and Shawn Henry's accessibility workshop. Both come highly recommended.
Experience our 8x5 presentation from the last Webstock
November 2007
Congratulations to AccEase web site tester Darryl Alexander. He is the winner of the Youth Section of this year’s Wellys, Wellingtonian of the Year awards.
November 2007
Congratulations to AccEase web site tester Darryl Alexander. He is a finalist in the youth section of this year’s Wellys, Wellingtonian of the Year awards.
Darryl is passionate about Sign Language. He is a freelance tutor who also runs a sign language course at Victoria University. He was Mr Deaf New Zealand in 2001, and is captain of the NZ Deaf rugby team.
Best of luck Darryl from everyone at AccEase for the awards night on November 15th. Watch this space!
October 2007
Read Robyn's new Low Visionary blog for the good oil on disability experience, web accessibility and more.
September 2007
AccEase is attending and presenting at this event (15th September). Much of our work is with government clients and we want to influence Government 2.0.
Watch this space.
July 2007
AccEase has completed our second government web site survey for the Office for Disability issues and the State Services Commission.. We found that there has been an improvement in the standard of accessibility overall, but there are still some common problems.
Read more about the survey on the Office for Disability Issues web site.
February 2006
Congratulations to the inaugural recipients of the Accessibility Accreditation Award, Department of Internal Affairs for CommunityNet Aotearoa, Office for Disability Issues and Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. Congratulations also to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, recipient of a Best Practice Award.
