Accessibility
Describes the accessibility features built in to the Education Counts website.
Education Counts' endeavours to be a highly accessible website. Its design and development specifically maximise accessibility. This site employs many features to make information more accessible, including:
- Images and hyperlinks have text title alternatives (ALT attributes) to help describe what the image is, and where a link takes you.
- Pages are organized to be fully functional, even with javascript turned off.
- The site can be navigated without the use of a mouse. (see instructions below)
- The user can skip the navigation and go straight to the main content of the page. (see instructions below)
- All text uses relative font sizes so text can be enlarged or reduced using the text size options available in visual browsers. (see instructions below)
- All pages use flexible page formats so pages can be automatically resized for different window sizes and screen resolutions.
- All pages are designed with separate cascading style sheets, so they can be replaced by user-defined style sheets.
- This site follows World Wide Web and NZ E-Government accessibility guidelines.
If you have difficulty navigating or accessing any of the information that this site provides, please contact the Ministry via email webmaster@educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz, and we will endeavour to supply you with the information being sought and to address any technical difficulties.
Using the site without a mouse
The site can be used without a mouse. The following shortcut keys will take you to commonly used pages such as the home page:
0 = Accessibility
1 = Home
2 = Site Map
3 = Search
4 = Indicators
5 = Themes
6 = Data Collections
7 = Statistics
8 = Technical Information
9 = Publications
l = Links
/ = govt.nz website
r = FAQ's
c = Contact Us
h = Search help
| Operating System | Browser | Access Key Combination |
|---|---|---|
| PC Windows | Internet Explorer 4 and above | ALT + Access Key (to focus the link) + ENTER to activate |
| PC Windows | K-meleon | ALT + Access Key |
| PC Windows | Mozilla | ALT + Shift + Access Key |
| PC Windows | Netscape 6 and above | ALT + Access Key |
| PC Windows | Opera 7 | SHIFT + ESC, followed by Access Key |
| MAC OS 9 | Internet Explorer 4 and 4.5 | Not supported |
| MAC OS 9 | Mozilla | Not supported |
| MAC OS 9 | Netscape 4 | Not supported |
| MAC OS 9 | Opera | Not supported |
| MAC OS X | I-Cab 2.8 | CONTROL + Access Key * * you may need to click on the page first |
| MAC OS X | Internet Explorer 5 and 5.1 | CONTROL + Access Key * * some systems require CONTROL + COMMAND + Access Key |
| MAC OS X | Mozilla | Not supported |
| MAC OS X | Netscape 6 and above | CONTROL + Access Key |
| MAC OS X | OmniWeb 4 | Not supported |
| MAC OS X | Opera | Not supported |
| MAC OS X | Safari | Not supported |
Skip Navigation Link
To help those who use screen readers to access/view Education Counts we have added a skipping link to each page. This link allows the user to jump to the main content of the page, skipping the top banner links, left-hand side navigation links, and the breadcrumb links. The main content of the page is deemed to start at the top-left hand corner; directly next to the page title (usually within a summary box).
To use this option, 'Tab' twice and push 'Enter'/'Return' (the first Tab takes you to the address bar the second to the Skip Navigation Link). Alternatively you can move your cursor to the Skip Navigation Link, which is directly to the left of the Education Counts logo at the top of the page, and push 'Enter'/'Return'.
Use of text on this site
Most navigation elements are plain text and we have provided text alternatives to images on the site.
Those with poor sight may be able to increase the size of the text on screen. The procedure for doing so differs from one browser to the next. The table below outlines the procedure for some popular browsers. If your browser does not appear in the table the following guidelines may be of assistance: In general, looking under the "View" selection on the main menu, you should find an option called "Text Zoom" or "Text Magnification" or "Text Size" or "Font Size". From that point it should be relatively simple to find and select an additional sub menu option that adjusts text size to your needs.
| Operating System | Browser | Instructions |
|---|---|---|
| PC Windows | Internet Explorer 3 and 4 | View > Fonts |
| PC Windows | Internet Explorer 5+ | View > Text Size |
| PC Windows | K-meleon | View > Increase Font / Decrease Font |
| PC Windows | Mozilla | View > Increase Text Size / Decrease Text Size |
| PC Windows | Netscape 6 | View > Text Size |
| PC Windows | Netscape 7 | View > Text Zoom |
| PC Windows | Opera 5 and 6 | Use drop down menu on 'progress' bar |
| PC Windows | Opera 7 | View > Zoom |
| MAC | I-Cab | View > Font Size |
| MAC | Internet Explorer 4.5 | View > Text Size |
| MAC | Internet Explorer 5+ | View > Text Zoom |
| MAC | Netscape 4 | View > Increase/Decrease Font Size |
| MAC | Netscape 7 | View > Text Zoom |
| MAC | Opera 5 and 6 | Use drop down menu on 'progress' bar |
| MAC | OmniWeb 4 | Browser > Bigger Text / Smaller Text |
| MAC | Safari | View > Text Size |
