
ERIC Number: EJ725523
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Sep-22
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0092-1815
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Client-Side Image Maps: Achieving Accessibility and Section 508 Compliance
Beasley, William; Jarvis, Moana
International Journal of Instructional Media, v31 n4 p425 Fall 2004
Image maps are a means of making a picture "clickable", so that different portions of the image can be hyperlinked to different URLS. There are two basic types of image maps: server-side and client-side. Besides requiring access to a CGI on the server, server-side image maps are undesirable from the standpoint of accessibility--creating an accessible server-side image map requires the creation of redundant text links. Client-side image maps do not require CGI access, and (because of their ability to contain "ALT" attributes) are easier to compose in fully accessible form. Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act requires that many web pages in public use be fully accessible by individuals with any of five different types of disabilities: visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical impairment, cognitive impairment, and photoepilepsy (U.S. Center for information Technology Accommodation, 2003). Section 508 goes on to specify the use of client-side (rather than server-side) image maps wherever possible on such pages. This article reviews the basic process of creating a simple client-side image map, and elaborates on the specific steps required to ensure that such an image map is fully accessible according to section 508 standards.
Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Hypermedia, Information Technology, Access to Computers, Accessibility (for Disabled), Computer Software, Computer Graphics, Web Sites, Physical Disabilities, Maps
Westwood Press Inc., 118 Five Mile River Road, Darien, CT 06820. Web site: http://www.adprima.com.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Rehabilitation Act 1973
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A