Accessibility Information
How to use this website.
On this page:
Accessibility
We aim to make this website as accessible as we can to all users and so as far as possible have based the design of the site on recognised standards (see Technical Information for details). This page provides information, tips and advice for users on how to get the most out of using this website. For an explanation of the terminology used in this page, please see Terms Explained.
If, for any reason, you are unable to access any material on this website, please email the web administrator to discuss alternative delivery methods.
We are always interested in feedback from any of our users. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we could improve the usability of the site please email the web administrator.
Customising Your Computer
You can change settings on your computer to make it easier for you to use the internet other applications. See the My Computer My Way website created by AbilityNet.
Change the Text Size
If the text is too small for you to read comfortably on your screen you can override the default font size for this website by changing the settings within your browser.
In Internet Explorer in Windows choose 'view' from the top toolbar and then 'text size' then choose your preferred setting.
In Explorer 4, click 'Internet Options' on the View or Tools menu, then on the General Tab click 'Fonts'. Select your preferred text size.
In Opera in Windows choose 'view' from the top toolbar and then 'zoom' then choose your preferred setting.
In Firefox choose 'view' from the top toolbar and then 'text size' then choose your preferred setting.
In Netscape Navigator 4 in Windows choose 'view' from the top toolbar and then 'Increase font' (this can be repeated to get larger text each time).
For other browsers or operating systems please consult the help file in your browser.
This method can be combined with the colour changing option and printing facilities.
Virtual Magnifying Glass
If you prefer, you could use the free application called Virtual Magnifying Glass which allows you to magnify parts of your browser screen. You can download the Virtual Magnifying Glass here. Instructions can be found on the Getting Started section of the Virtual Magnifying Glass website.
This and many other free accessibility applications can be downloaded from the Regional Support Centre Scotland North and East website and kept on a memory stick. This allows you to use them on any computer you use.
Colours and Viewing Options
You can change the colours and font of this site to make it easier to read. Just choose your preferred colour/font scheme from the drop-down menu below:
These colour/font schemes can be used alongside the text re-sizing method.
The strength of the colour contrast of the alternative styles vary.
The "no images" style sheet strips out all images except those which are integral to the page (for example, maps).
Your colour preferences will be remembered for the public site only (pages beginning www.stbrn.ac.uk) but not for Moodle. Moodle has its own different colour schemes (see the Moodle Accessibility page for more details). If you use the search facility your preferences will not be apparent in the results page, but when you follow a link from this page your preferences will be respected again. If you have a browser which allows you to choose alternate stylesheets you can change the colour of the results page using this method. Try the View > Styles menu for a list of the alternate style sheets, or see your browser's help file for details.
You do not have to have javascript enabled on your computer to use the colour/font switcher. If you access the website from a different computer you will have to reset your colour/font preferences. Using the switcher puts a cookie on your computer.
If you do not wish to accept the cookie, you may change the colours/font of the page you are on by using one of the alternate style sheets (if your browser has this facility). These alternate style sheets render the page you are viewing in any of the colour/font schemes available to those using the cookie. However, if you change the colours/font this way the changes will only be applied to the page you are on, and formatting will be lost when you go to another page. Try the View > Styles menu for a list of the alternate style sheets, or see your browser's help file for details.
There are some bugs in older versions of the Opera browser where all formatting can be lost. If this happens, you can choose the different colours and 'reset' the formatting of the page by selecting View > Style, where the extra colour/font schemes are listed at the bottom of the menu. It is possible that if you have been using a colour/font theme and then you change it that Opera will keep showing the old theme on pages you have already visited. If this happens, it may help if you refresh your screen using your browser's refresh button.
These facilities will not work on older browsers. If the facility does not work on your browser and you need to see the site in a different colour/font, please email the web administrator.
Cookies
You must have cookies enabled on your browser to use the colour/font switcher as this action puts a cookie on your computer. A cookie is a text file which is created and stored on your computer which, in this case, holds your colour preferences. It does not gather any personal information.
If you log in to St Brendan's Moodle cookies will be placed on your computer. The following is from Moodle.org and explains the purpose and longevity of the cookies:
The essential one is the session cookie, (St Brendan's is called 'MoodleSessionmoodle'). You must allow this cookie into your browser to provide continuity and maintain your login from page to page. When you log out or close the browser this cookie is destroyed (in your browser and on the server). MoodleSessionTestmoodle is also a cookie which is deleted at the end of the session.
The other cookie is purely for convenience, usually called MOODLEID_moodle. It just remembers your username within the browser. This means when you return to this site the username field on the login page will be already filled out for you. It is safe to refuse this cookie - you will just have to retype your username every time you log in.
Navigation
The main sections of this site; Welcome, Open Evenings, Courses, College Life, News, Prospectus Plus, Applications, Contact Us, Getting Here, Job Vacancies, Accessibility, Equality, Official Info and Moodle, can be reached by using the menu bar. These links will take you to the main page in each section. The sub menu of the main section you have chosen should appear on the menu in addition to the main sections.
If you are using a screen-reader, or viewing the page with style sheets disabled, the main navigation menu will appear at the end of the page under the heading 1 called 'menu'. The menu has a 'skip to end of navigation link' which takes you to the end of the menu. The first links which appear on the page will give you the options of either going to the main contents of the page you are on avoiding the main navigation, going to the accessibility page (this page) or to the main menu. The contents of each page starts with a heading 1 and all other headings are logically nested under it.
Access Keys
The following keyboard shortcuts (access keys) have been set up on this site:
- 's' - content of page you are on (skipping navigation)
- 'm' - main menu
- '0' - Access Key Details (this page)
- '1' - Home Page
- '3' - Site Map
- '4' - Search
As far as possible these follow the recommended UK Government access key standard. These access keys enable you to navigate to certain pages using keyboard shortcuts excluding the need for a mouse. To use them in Windows press the 'Alt key' and the access key followed by the 'enter' key. To use with a Macintosh system press the 'Ctrl key' and the access key.
Using the Search Facility
Our search facility is provided by Picosearch. Their help file is set out below.
- How To Search:
- Type words into the entry box that you want to search for, then click [Search].
- Any Word:
- Just type one or more words to find any of the words. [ Find ANY ] is the usual default.
- All Words:
- Type more than one word and select [ Find ALL ] to find all of the words. Or you can use Booleans (see below).
- Exact Phrase: "..."
- You can search for exact phrases by surrounding them in double quotes. Or you can just type the words and select [ Find EXACT phrase ]. Punctuation must be the same to be found between words, for example "Smith, John"
- Boolean Operators: + -
- Use + in front of each word or a quoted phrase that you require. Use - in front of each word that you want to exclude.
- Boolean Expressions: AND OR NOT ( )
- Use AND, OR, NOT, (, and ) to form a Boolean expression. AND requires, OR allows, NOT excludes. Use double quotes to protect the words "and", "or", or "not" in a phrase.
| Query | Gets the document with |
|---|---|
| stock market | 'stock' or 'market' or both |
| "stock market" | the phrase 'stock market' |
| +stock +market | 'stock' and 'market' |
| +stock -market | 'stock' but not 'market' |
| +president -"United States" | 'president' but not 'United States' |
| (stock OR market) AND NOT president | 'stock' or 'market', and without 'president' |
Capitalization doesn't matter. The ranked results will come from a total match on the words and phrases which you supply, so try to think of several specific terms for your topic and spell them correctly. It may help to include important plurals and derived words too, like [address addresses contact contacting information] .
Please use the search box at the top of the page to start a search. It is labelled 'query' for screen readers and the input button is called 'Search'.
Multimedia
Long descriptions and transcriptions
On some pages there are links to video clips or other multimedia. If you follow the link beside the media to the multimedia file denoted by this icon: 
, you will be taken to a text description of the video/audio. The same icon/link appears beside images which need a longer description than the 'alt text' can provide and the 'longdesc' attribute is used in the image tag in the HTML.
If you are using a keyboard to navigate the site please note that we are aware of the 'keyboard trap' created by our video player and are working to fix this.
.PDF Files
This site has some portable document format files (PDFs).
In order to view these files you will need a program on your computer that reads this format. Adobe Reader, which reads PDFs, can be downloaded from Adobe's download page. Or, if you are unable to do this, you can use Adobe's online conversion tool which can be found on Adobe's Access Online Tools page.
You can customise how you view documents in Adobe Reader - see the User Personalisation of Adobe® Reader pages on the TechDis website.
.DOC Files
If you need to view a .doc file, but do not have the correct software, Microsoft Word Viewer can be downloaded from the Microsoft download page.
You can customise how you view Word documents - see the Making Electronic Documents More Readable articles on the TechDis website.
These downloads and services are free.
Flash Movies
On certain pages there are movies which require the Flash plugin. If you do not have this plugin it can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe's Flash Player Download Center. If you do not have Flash, or do not want to download it, you will see a static image with a link to the other images used including any further content.
Each Flash movie can be stopped and started again by using the buttons provided, or by 'tabbing' to the Flash movie and using the keys 's' for stop and 'p' for play.
Hearing this Site
Where ever possible this site has been created to work for those using screen readers like JAWS.
DSpeech by Dimio
There are many text-to-speech programs you can use to 'read' web pages to you. One is DSpeech which you can download and use free of charge. Cut and paste text into the window and the program reads it to you.This and many other free accessibility applications can be downloaded from the Regional Support Centre Scotland North and East website and kept on a memory stick. This allows you to use them on any computer you use.
RSS Feeds
What is an RSS feed?
In essence, a news feed alerts you if there are any updates on your chosen website without you having to go to the website to check for yourself.
Some websites are updated fairly regularly. Normally, to see if anything is new, you have to remember to visit the site and check it yourself. However, if you subscribe to a news feed from that site your news 'reader' or 'aggregator' will check the site for you automatically and will alert you every time a new article is added. It will also show you what the new article is called and a short description of it so that you do not waste time going to the site if the article is of no interest to you.
To subscribe to a news feed you will need a 'news reader'. Some browsers (Firefox, for example) now include news readers, some readers you have to download and some you can use on free websites (for example, Bloglines).
If a news feed is available for a page on our web site you will see an orange icon on the page (usually straight after the menu), or a link to the news feed. On our site this icon is used:
(Example only). There are text links available on these pages for those who are surfing with images disabled.
How to Subscribe to St Brendan's feeds
St Brendan's currently has 2 RSS feeds - one linked to the News page and one linked to the Job Vacancies page.
To subscribe to either feed, firstly make sure that you have a news reader. See the News on Feeds Website for a list of RSS readers. Then go to our news page or vacancies page (whichever you want to be kept informed on), and do one of the following:
- Drag the RSS icon into your news reader.
- Click on the RSS icon (your browser/reader might ask you if you wish to subscribe).
- Click on the RSS icon and if you can only see a page of confusing looking code, cut and paste the page address (http://www.stbrn.ac.uk/newsfeed.xml) into your news reader, or click and drag it into your reader. Don't worry that the page looks illegible - the code is for your computer to use, not for you to read.
- Some browsers automatically check for an RSS feed on a page and alert you so you can choose to subscribe.
St Brendan's uses xml feeds containing valid RSS 2.0.
Printing
If you print out any part of this website, only the text will appear on the printed page - no images will be printed (with the exception of the images which are important, for example maps on the map page) and the menu will not be printed out.
If you are using Netscape Navigator all of the text and images will be printed out.
It is sometimes possible to print larger text by increasing the size of text in your browser (see above) and then printing.
Accessing Moodle
Only staff and students of St Brendan's can access St Brendan's Moodle. Follow the link on the home page of this website and then follow the login link at the top of the Moodle home page. Enter your network username and password. It may help to use Internet Explorer rather than another browser if you encounter problems. If doing this does not let you into Moodle, ask an IT technician for help.
Copyright
The copyright of all content and code on this web site is owned by St Brendan's Sixth Form College, unless otherwise stated. Web pages which do not have any other copyright statements attached may be printed in their entirety for use in non-profit educational establishments. The copying and pasting of text and images is not permitted without the consent of the copyright holder.
If you follow a link to another site from any page on this website, the target site will be copyrighted by the owner of that site, not St Brendan's. Please read the copyright statement on the target site before using any of their material.
St Brendan's internet connection is provided through JANET. Policy documents relating to JANET's service can be viewed on their website.
The photographs were taken by Ian Cartwright's Caramel Photography, Bristol, Geoff Collard, Janine Blackmore, Chris Hayward and Helen Trembeth.
Technical Info
Every effort has been made to develop and maintain this website to adhere to the WAI Priority 2 (AA) guidelines.
Testing
This site has been tested in Internet Explorer 5 and 6, Opera 9 and above, Firefox 2.0 and above on Windows and in IE and Safari on Mac (OS X) and iPod Touch. If you have any problems viewing the pages or if you would like to make any comments concerning any aspects of the site, please e-mail the Web Administrator at webmaster@stbrn.ac.uk.
The links are checked on a regular basis, but if you should find any links that don't work, please e-mail the Web Administrator at webmaster@stbrn.ac.uk.
The colour contrast on this site has been checked using Juicystudio's colour contrast analyser.
Validation
This site was created using Notepad++ and Macromedia Flash Professional 8. The logos were created and images edited in Macromedia Fireworks 8.
The Cascading Style Sheets, XHTML and RSS used have been validated by W3C.
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Terms Explained
Terminology used in this page:
- Accessibility
- Web accessibility ensures that the widest range of people possible can use the web whatever their ability or whatever hardware they use. This includes the 'disabled' (for example, the visually, hearing or motor impaired), whether their disability is permanent or temporary (for example, RSI, broken arm). It is also for those who have a need which is not seen as a disability for example, long sightedness, colour blindness or those of us who just find the text can be too small or difficult to read. It applies to those using different methods to view the Web, be that mobile phone or braille reader. In short, web accessibility should enhance everyone's experience of the Web. There is more information on How People with Disabilities Use the Web on the W3C site.
- Browser
- The application you use to look at web pages. Most people use Internet Explorer or Firefox, but there are many others available, for example, Opera, Chrome, Safari, Konqueror. Wikipedia has a page on comparisons of web browsers which includes a comparison of accessibility features which you might find useful when choosing a new browser. It is usually a good idea to have the latest version of your preferred browser installed.