G - M

G

glaucoma: A disease of the eye which is characterised by increased pressure within the eye. This pressure narrows the field of vision and can eventually cause blindness.
grade level: School year. A grade level of eight is equavalent to year eight.

header: A Header or Heading is a title given to a section of text to describe it. Headers help organise the page and allow the user to scan for information quickly. They are assigned layers such as <h1> or <h2> to indicate levels and sublevels of of a page.
hotkey: A shortcut allowing the user to press either CTRL or ALT and another key on the keyboard to launch a menu command. For example, pressing Alt+F in any Windows program will open the File menu. Assistive technologies such as screen readers and screen magnifiers will have numerous hotkeys to enable their users to work more quickly.
hotspot: A set area of an imagemap which is a hyperlink to another page.
HTML: Hypertext markup language. The computer language used to create webpages.

idiom: - A phrase which is unique to a certain language which makes no sense when translated literally but will be understood by native speakers. For example, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" or "it's raining cats and dogs."
image map: A graphic or image with different areas of the graphic labelled as unique hyperlinks.
index (in relation to search engines): In relation to search engines the index is either the list of web pages which the search engine will display when a user searches for a keyword or it is the verb describing what the search engine does with the web pages it finds.
inline frame: A section on the page that loads content from another URL. It is contained within a cell and can be anywhere on a page.
input device: What a user uses to send information to the computer. This can be a keyboard, mouse, switch, puff and sip device or anything other form of assistive technology that people use to operate their computers.

JavaScript: A simple program included in the HTML or XHTML of a web page which will run as part of the function of the page. For example, a JavaScript might cause a link to turn a different colour when you put your mouse over it.
JAWS: Job Access With Speech. A popular screen reader.

keystroke: Pressing a key on the keyboard.
keyword: Important words describing a specific subject. When you search on the internet the words you type into the search box are keywords.

label: A label is attached to a form field in the code of a webpage which tells the screen reader the name of the field or the information required. It should look like: <label for="name">Please enter your first name.</label> <input type="text" name="first name" id="name">
layout table: A table which is used to order the way information displays visually on a webpage. These should be avoided.
linerarisation: The order in which information on a page is read by a screen reader or search engine spider or displayed on a text browser. This will often be different from the way it is visually shown on a page. A page needs to make sense which it is read in a linear order.
link text: The words that make up a hyperlink.
list markup: The HTML or XHTML code used to indicate a list.
longdesc: Like alt text, a longdesc is used to tell users who can't see graphics about an image. The longdesc element adds a link to a new page with a description of an image. For use when you need to give more information than you can in an alt text.
low vision: Problems with eyesight that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
low-literacy: The condition of having below average reading skills.

meta tag: Information on a web page which is given in the <HEAD> that the user does not see but will provide information about the page. This can include information such as a short description of the page, the name of the author, important keywords, what software was used to create the page, the date of creation, copyright information and the location of the author/business.
metadata: As used on this site, the metadata is information supplied in the meta tags.
mobile device: Any electronic gadget that enables a user to access the internet without wires from anywhere. Devices include mobile phones, PDAs, palmtop computers, etc.
multimedia: Web content which contains a mix of audio, video/animation, text and pictures.