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A picture is can’t worth see a thousand words… Unless you the picture… Making Instructional Technology Accessible To Students With Disabilities Montgomery County Community College Ninth Annual Technology and Learning Conference October 17, 2003 Presenters Saul Finkle Russ Loverdi Director of Services for Students with Disabilities Coordinates services and accommodations for students and advises faculty and staff on disability related issues Russell Loverdi, Counselor/Assistant Professor Formerly, the primary service provider for students with disabilities. Currently, the Interim Counseling Team-Leader providing counseling services to students with disabilities. Pat Rahmlow Assistant Professor, Computer Science Teaches online, face-to-face and hybrid courses Why Should We Make Instructional Technology Accessible? Legal Issues Pedagogical Issues Legal Issues 1973 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act Section 504 Prohibits colleges and universities from discriminating against qualified students with disabilities Requires that appropriate accommodations and auxiliary aids be provided to ensure equal access to educational programs, services, and activities Americans with Disabilities Act: Title II and Title III Upholds and extends the standards of 504 to employment, communications and all policies, procedures and practices that impact on the treatment of students with disabilities Americans with Disabilities Act: Title II and Title III Title II (public institutions) and Title III (private institutions) requires effective communication for individuals with disabilities, including telecommunications, computer technology, and internet based information Pedagogical Issues Impact of Instructional Technology on Learning Universal Instructional Design Advantages of Instructional Technology Provides opportunity for visual, handson, and auditory learning Stores, manipulates, and shares information Disadvantages of Instructional Technology that is not accessible Students who are not visual learners Blindness Low vision Color blindness Learning Disabilities Disadvantages of Instructional Technology that is not accessible Students who are not auditory learners Deaf HOH Learning Disabilities Disadvantages of Instructional Technology that is not accessible Students who are not hands-on learners Neuromuscular disorders Paralysis Learning Disabilities Universal Instructional Design “The basic premise of Universal Instructional Design is that curriculum should include alternatives to make it accessible and applicable to students with different backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and disabilities.” Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) www.cast.org Some Principles of Universal Instructional Design Create a welcoming classroom environment that encourages students to identify their needs Syllabus statement regarding accommodations Some Principles of Universal Instructional Design Provide varied instructional methods Lectures Videos Text Diagrams Charts Some Principles of Universal Instructional Design Provide a variety of ways for students to demonstrate knowledge Tests Papers Oral presentations Multi-media projects Some Principles of Universal Instructional Design Provide natural supports for learning Study guides Discussion groups Practice tests Web sites Some Principles of Universal Instructional Design Encourage faculty-student contact Interactive learning activities Mini interviews Some Principles of Universal Instructional Design Use technology to enhance learning and to increase accessibility PowerPoint and Smart Board presentations Videos that are closed-captioned Web-based materials and lecture notes that are accessible to screen readers Four Reasons Why Instructional Technology May be Inaccessible The student cannot navigate the screen using a mouse due to blindness or physical impairment Four Reasons Why Instructional Technology May be Inaccessible The student cannot read print or has difficulty reading due to blindness, low vision, or learning disabilities Four Reasons Why Instructional Technology May be Inaccessible The student cannot hear audio description due to deafness or hearing loss Four Reasons Why Instructional Technology May be Inaccessible The student cannot comprehend or remember information easily due to cognitive impairment Assistive Technology JAWS ZoomText Dragon Naturally Speaking Kurzweil 1000 and 3000 Assistive Technology Trackballs Intellikeys Large Monitors Braille Printer and Translation Software Assistive Technology IBM Home Page Reader Office XP Read and Write Instructional Technology Considerations Web Based Documents Content Headings Dates Date or math? Color based instructions Punctuation and paragraphs Always have an alternative indicator Font size Relative to allow user to increase as needed Instructional Technology Considerations Web Based Documents Images Names Screen reader will speak Importance Do you need to hear a name or should you skip this picture? Instructional Technology Considerations Web Based Documents Links Ability to skip Placement Option to skip repetitive links on each page Ability to hear content first Content Avoid “click here” – use meaningful link text Instructional Technology Considerations Web Based Documents Tables Layout Vertical versus horizontal Headers Linking content cells to column and row headings Instructional Technology Considerations Web Based Documents Forms Placement of titles What is this text box for? Use default text for instruction Buttons Names Instructional Technology Considerations Web Based Documents Frames Name each frame – screen reader will read to identify Instructional Technology Considerations Word Processing Documents Headings Invisible punctuation Dates October 17, 2003 vs. 10/17/03 Tables Layout Instructional Technology Considerations Color Blindness Contrast Color based instructions Light / dark Provide an alternative Resources colorfilter.wickline.org/colorblind/filter/ See your web page from view of color blind user www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.html Tests for color blindness Instructional Technology Considerations Other Disabilities Motor Skills Can’t use mouse Specialized hardware Hearing Impaired Video: Closed Captioning Audio: Transcript Reference Material cast.org/bobby/ Check web sites for accessibility compliance www.w3.org/WAI/ Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) faculty.mc3.edu/prahmlow/tech03 PowerPoint presentation Web site list Questions