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€549 ^.00 Register for this workshop → Get a single workshop, or bundle with a conference.

Sarah is a multidisciplinary accessibility specialist with a strong interest in data visualizations. With a background in both front-end development and UX design, they take a holistic approach to accessibility, which they will also bring to this workshop.

You won’t just be writing code, you’ll also learn how to test your own code using assistive technology (screen reader) and keyboard navigation. Through hands-on tests, we will learn about our code’s underlying behavior and implications and learn techniques to create more accessible products.

Throughout all of this, we will focus on what’s most important in accessibility work: how to ensure a fair and equal user experience for disabled people. We’ll also look into how to plan and communicate around accessibility and how it fits into the wider product context.

During the workshop, we will alternate between lectures and hands-on exercises, in group and individually. We will integrate WCAG, development checklists, guidelines, and tools into our workflow.

In this workshop we’ll dive into topics like:

• Understanding our users — Who are we designing for? What’s important when building for a diverse user group? What kind of requirements are there? How is assistive technology used? What other accessibility considerations are there? And how does that relate to front-end development?
• Web accessibility fundamentals — How do things like roles and ARIA properties affect accessibility and user experience? How do native HTML elements compare to generic elements modified with ARIA properties and JavaScript?
• Best practices and common mistakes — Practical examples of common accessibility issues, how they can be avoided, and what accessibility best practices and principles can be followed to create better products?
• Applying accessibility to dataviz — What goes into making data visualizations and tables accessible? What different techniques can be used to make graphs more accessible?
• Testing accessibility — How to manually test what you’re building using screen readers, keyboard interaction, and zoom? What techniques and tools can be used for automated testing?
• Making sense of WCAG — What is WCAG and what role does it play in accessibility work? How to work with accessibility guidelines as a developer?
• Resources and tools — What kind of resources and tools are out there for those aiming to build a more accessible web? How can we use them to our advantage?
• Accessibility processes — How can accessibility work fit into our workflows as developers? How does it fit into the larger product development process? Who is responsible for what?
• Documentation — How can documentation enable better conversations around accessibility, and what designers, developers, and testers can document to help each other build better products

€549 ^.00 Register for this workshop → Get a single workshop, or bundle with a conference.

Is This Workshop For Me?

This workshop is primarily for people who work as a front-end developer, or work closely together with developers. A basic level of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is needed, since we will read and write code during the workshop.

You don’t need to know any JavaScript frameworks or libraries, and don’t need experience writing complex apps, but we will be touching upon things like event listeners, focus management, and programmatically modifying HTML properties.

What Do I Need To Bring?

Make sure you bring your laptop, with your favorite text editor installed. Before the workshop we will send you more information on what tools to install.

About Sarah Fossheim

Sarah Fossheim is an independent accessibility specialist and front-end/UX developer, emphasizing data visualization and ethical tech. Their expertise spans multiple fields, concentrating on fostering accessibility within teams and throughout the product lifecycle.

They also love to make drawings with CSS, write about tech, collect ethical design resources, and have way too many side projects. In their spare time, they’re a wildlife photographer and bird rehabber.

Time & Location

This full-day workshop will take place the day after SmashingConf. The workshop will be running from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM on Wednesday, September 11.

Schedule for Wednesday, September 11

9:00 AM – Doors open, Registration
9:30 AM – Introduction & Kick-off
11:00 AM – Coffee Break
1:00 PM – Lunch
2:00 PM – Afternoon Session
3:30 PM – Coffee Break
5:30 PM – The End

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