What’s it like to learn Python as a visually impaired or blind developer? How can you improve the accessibility of your Python web applications and learn current guidelines? This week on the show, Real Python community member Audrey van Breederode discusses her programming journey, web accessibility, and assistive technology.

Audrey shares her background as a system administrator and instructor. While she was learning Python, she discovered Real Python. Audrey provided some feedback about the built-in video player’s accessibility. Dan reached out and worked with Audrey on some website improvements for the visually impaired.

We discuss navigating modern websites and using assistive technology. Audrey also provides resources Python developers can use to improve the accessibility of their applications.

Course Spotlight: HTML and CSS Foundations for Python Developers

There’s no way around HTML and CSS when you want to build web apps. Even if you’re not aiming to become a web developer, knowing the basics of HTML and CSS will help you understand the Web better. In this video course, you’ll get an introduction to HTML and CSS for Python programmers.

Topics:

00:00:00 – Introduction
00:03:12 – Work background
00:08:30 – Language for assistive tools and programming
00:10:30 – What led you to learning Python?
00:13:48 – Screen readers, braille display, and white space
00:17:22 – Discovering Real Python
00:22:41 – Accessibility survey and navigating websites
00:30:04 – Digging deeper into learning Python
00:35:42 – Video Course Spotlight
00:37:03 – Navigating changes in code
00:39:53 – Working with the terminal
00:42:14 – Accessibility of Python GUI libraries
00:44:22 – Django framework
00:47:11 – Screen readers and JAWS
00:53:19 – What are you excited about in the world of assistive technology?
00:57:03 – What are you excited about in the world of Python?
00:59:11 – What do you want to learn next?
01:00:09 – Thanks and goodbye

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