This grant provided funds to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and The Paciello Group for their joint work on Firebug accessibility. This project will take the features that are most useful to Web developers from the existing Firefox Accessibility Extension and add them to the Firebug "A11y" extension.
The Paciello Group is currently at work on the fourth phase of this project. Full time work will bring changes to the RuleEngine’s Interface (which is based on YSlow) as well as Firebug's A11y module (which manages accessibility for Firebug as a whole) so that the two can work together. These changes will then be applied to the YSlow interface itself, which will make the YSlow interface accessible as well.ext steps will involve creating and implementing remaining rule logic in JQuery and the YSlow framework. This work, scheduled to be completed in July 2010, will produce Firebug 1.6 beta.
This project is a key item for Mozilla's accessibility strategy. The basic goal is to mainstream accessibility for Web applications by building accessibility testing functions and associated test cases into Firebug, a popular tool used by many web developers. This will make accessibility more native to Web applications, as opposed to having accessibility testing confined to special accessibility-focused tools used by only a small subset of developers.
UIUC's work on this project was part of their larger effort toward Firefox accessibility, particularly the Firefox Accessibility Extension. The Paciello Group has done previous work on Firefox accessibility, and this grant targeted the need to make Firebug, a Firefox add-on popular with Web developers, more accessible to those with visual and hearing impairments.
Phase One
- 2009: $25,000
- Focus: Accessibility
- Recipient: The Paciello Group
- Location: United States
Phase Two
- 2009: $25,000
- Focus: Accessibility
- Recipient: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Location: United States
Phase Three
- 2009: $25,000
- Focus: Accessibility
- Recipient: The Paciello Group
- Location: United States
Phase Four
- 2010: $25,000
- Focus: Accessibility
- Recipient: The Paciello Group
- Location: United States
Phase Five
- 2010: $20,009
- Focus: Accessibility
- Recipient: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Location: United States
Links
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
UIUC is a world-class teaching and research university with 18 colleges that offer more than 150 programs of study. The oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system, UIUC is home to some of the highest-ranked Engineering and Accounting programs in the United States.
The Paciello Group
The Paciello Group is passionately dedicated to helping government agencies, technology vendors, e-commerce corporations, and educational institutions make their technology equally accessible to all people, including those with disabilities. The company offers professional consulting, technology solutions, and monthly monitoring services to ensure that clients reach all audiences effectively and efficiently while meeting governmental and international standards.
Please consider making a contribution to the Mozilla Foundation so we can continue to make grants to other worthwhile organizations such as UIUC and The Paciello Group.
