What’s one activity that everyone who works in an information technology related field could do to make a difference to digital accessibility? The answer could be right in front of you as you read this: your keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fundamental aspect of accessibility is the ability to use a keyboard to navigate a website, online service or application. \u201cKeyboard Navigation\u201d means being able to use a keyboard instead of a pointing device like a mouse or trackpad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we can use a site or service with a keyboard it means that at least to some extent it will work with a large number of assistive technologies like screen readers<\/a>, switch devices<\/a>, sip and puff controls<\/a> and so on. It also means that if we break our mouse or touchpad, we have an alternative method of working until we have a replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should be able to navigate any of our web pages or online services with just a few keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At our first Digital Accessibility Community of Practice meeting<\/a>, we covered an introduction to accessibility and keyboard navigation. This 12 minute demonstration is still available to watch.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n