Animations needed to present content should also include a non-animated, text- based alternative accessible to screen readers. Text with still images could also be beneficial for users who have cognitive difficulties processing animations.
SECTION 508 - A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided.
Avoid automatic or looped animations, blinking and scrolling. These are distracting and, if incorrectly implemented, could trigger an epileptic seizure or headaches for some users.
SECTION 508 - Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hertz (cycles per second) and lower than 55 Hertz.
See the N.C.A.M. Flicker Rate demo to see what different flicker rates look like. Standard Blinking text is somewhere between 1-2 Hz, so is right on the edge of the bad flicker zone.
Animations with sound should have synchronized captions or a text transcript.
SECTION 508
(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of these standards, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
NOTE: Transcripts are also beneficial for users who may not be able to access audio on their computers. This is a very frequent situation.
Site Menu:
Home Page/Main Menu
| Section 508 Guidelines
| Quick Checklist
| Details by Tag
| Links
| I.T.S. Seminar Page
| Sitemap
©1999-2006 Pennsylvania State University.
This Web page is hosted by (by Teaching and Learning with Technology, a unit of Information Technology Services. Please contact the Webmaster if you have any questions.