Ashleigh Lodge
CODE Author
Ashleigh is the Application Development Manager at Neovation Learning Solutions (https://www.neovation.com/) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She manages a team of over 20 developers, UX designers, and QA analysts who work to maintain and grow two products. A graduate of the Computer/Analyst Programmer (CAP) program at Red River College, she has held various development and management roles in the tech industry for the past 10 years.
Ashleigh is a vocal advocate for accessibility and inclusive design, working to make Neovation's products more accessible to users of all types and abilities. She has also spoken about accessibility to a variety of audiences, including at Prairie Dev Con Winnipeg in 2018 and Prairie Dev Con Winnipeg and Regina in 2019. In 2019, Ashleigh was a speaker at TedxWinnipeg, bringing the idea and foundations of digital accessibility to an audience of nearly 700 Winnipeggers.
In her free time, Ashleigh consumes a truly frightening amount of pop-culture media, including movies, TV shows, comic books, and novels. You can usually find her with Pokémon Go open on her phone, no matter where she is or what she's (supposed to be) doing.
Contact Information:
Articles Authored
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First Rule of ARIA: Don’t Use ARIA
Last updated: Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Published in: CODE Magazine: 2024 - November/December
As an accessibility tool, ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) can be mystifying. Ashleigh emphasizes the importance of prioritizing native HTML elements for web accessibility before resorting to ARIA. She explains that ARIA should act as a last resort, filling gaps in HTML semantics only when necessary, and highlights ARIA's complexity and potential for misuse. The article outlines foundational ARIA concepts—role, relationship, and state—while stressing the importance of testing and validating ARIA implementation. Lodge cites studies showing ARIA's frequent misapplication, advocating for thoughtful, minimal use to maintain web accessibility integrity.
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Easy Accessibility Wins: Better Accessibility in Five Minutes or Less
Last updated: Saturday, November 25, 2023
Published in: CODE Magazine: 2023 - November/December
The list of things a company can do to make their website more accessible for people with Vision challenges or ADHD can be long, but there are small changes that many websites can make that will address the common problems, and they don't require a lot of buy in from your company. Ashleigh Lodge notes that several are improvements that you can make that most people won't notice, but if you use a screen reader, they make a big difference.
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Accessibility Guidelines and Tools: How Do I Know My Website Is Accessible?
Last updated: Friday, March 12, 2021
Published in: CODE Magazine: 2020 - January/February
You can improve accessibility in your application, making it easier for people with disabilities to use it. Use the How to Meet WCAG Quick Reference to get started.
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POURing Over Your Website: An Introduction to Digital Accessibility
Last updated: Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Published in: CODE Magazine: 2019 - November/December
Everyone knows that there are standards when it comes to building apps. And most people know that there are standards for accessibility. But did you know that writing accessible apps is better for everyone? Ashleigh shows you what to think about the next time you sit down to create something.