Accessibility – Rubric Standard VIII.1
During the peer review process, time and again one of the most discussed topics is accessibility. In fact, at the May 2006 workshop, many participants requested more information about what LSC is doing as far as recognizing the importance of ADA requirements in online learning. Following is the webaddress for access e-learning which is used by LSC faculty and staff (completing a certain number of modules is a requirement). http://www.accesselearning.net/ According to the website: access e-learning is “A free, online ten-module tutorial that offers information, instructional techniques, and practice labs on how to make the most common needs in distance education accessible for individuals with disabilities, and enhance the usability of online materials for all students.”
Another good source of information, of course, are the MnSCU Web Accessibility Guidelines found here: http://webmasters.mnscu.edu/access/guidelines/
Barry Dahl, LSC Vice President of Technology and the Virtual Campus, writes a great deal more about accessibility issues in the October 6th entry of his blog: http://desire2blog.blogspot.com/
Peer review rubric standard VIII.1 states: There is evidence of effort to recognize the importance of ADA requirements (such as equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content, webpage links that are self-describing and meaningful, and information conveyed on webpages in color is also available without color).
Generally, as peer reviewers, we find that most online instructors do make an effort to provide accessible courses. Recommendations we seem to make most frequently include avoiding colorful backgrounds (stick to white), use colorful text sparingly–and when using it, use bold, as well, use alt tags for all graphics, and any audio used should also be made available in written form. In addition, it is required that faculty include the following statement on their syllabi regarding disability services available to students:
Individuals who have a documented disability which might affect their ability to perform in this class are encouraged to inform the instructor and the Disabilties Coordinator, E2114 (218)733-7650 (voice) or (218)722-6893 (TTY), at the start of the semester. All discussions will remain confidential.
Hi Susan,
Nice blog.
You stated: “and any audio used should also be made available in written form.” So true. Some advice that I always give is for people to write a script prior to making an audio file. It makes the audio file creation go more smoothly (ad libbing doesn’t always work out so well), and gives them the needed text equivalent for posting along with the audio file.
Keep up the great work. Barry