Transcript Fostering Diversity through Technology

Fostering Diversity Through
Technology:
Universal Usability
Kris Muschal
Nancy Sullivan
Objectives
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Increase awareness of barriers that students with
disabilities and others face as they navigate web sites,
online learning systems, and utilize popular
technologies
Provide practical tools and offer solutions
Inspire enthusiasm in making communicating with
diverse audiences increasingly universal
Agenda
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Key Definitions
National Context: What’s the Big Deal?
Types of Content affected by Universal Usability
Rational: Disabilities & Benefits
Rules & Guidelines for Accessibility
Universal Design Best Practices
Summary and questions
Resources
Key Definitions
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Accessibility: making items available and usable to the
largest range of people possible including individuals
with disabilities by removing potential barriers to access
Usability: the ability to retrieve, understand, and
navigate information and interact in an effective
manner
Assistive Technology: tools used by people with
disabilities to help them improve access to their
environments: trackballs, screenreaders, magnification
software, etc.
Universal usability
Fusing universal design and usability
Universal design: Anticipate needs and
integrate accessible elements into
design
Usability: Ease of use
Universal usability: Ease of use for all
National Context
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Changing the nature of education
 90%
of public institutions offer distance
education
 15%
offered complete degree/certification
programs
 Internet
courses
 90%
offered asynchronous courses
 43%
offered synchronous courses
Source: U.S. Department of Education NCES Report July 2003
National Context
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Changing the nature of education
 Web
is used for more things than ever before in
education . . .
 Admission
 Registration
& payment
 Financial aid, housing, meal plans
 Employment
 Social aspects of campus (e.g., news, club
announcements)
 Entertainment
National Context
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Changing the nature of education
 Web
is used for more things than ever before
in education . . .
 Courses
 Assignments
 Research
National Context
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Reported use of accessible Web content
in postsecondary education
 95%
used websites for courses
 18%
followed accessibility guidelines to major extent
 28%
to moderate extent
 18%
to minor extent
 3%
did not follow guidelines
 33%
didn’t know if they followed guidelines
Source: U.S. Department of Education NCES Report July 2003
What’s the big deal?
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Prospective students who can’t register
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Students who can’t get course content or complete
assignments
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Instructors who can’t engage in forums or chats
with students
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Staff who can’t process financial records
Types of Web Content Affected by
Universal Usability
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Applications: Remote Access, Calendars
File Sharing: Documents, Presentations
Online Learning Systems
Web Pages
Major Categories of Disability Types in
Regard to Technology Usage
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The major categories of disability types are:
Visual
 blindness, low vision, color-blindness
Hearing
 deafness
Motor
 inability to use an input device, slow response time, limited
fine motor control
Cognitive
 learning disabilities, distractibility, inability to remember or
focus on large amounts of information
Rationale: Disabilities
DISABILITIES SPRING 2007
120
100
80
60
40
20
D
PE
N
I
M
I
TB
O
N
VI
SI
R
HE
A
PH
YS
PS
YC
H
LD
/A
DH
D
0
Rationale: Other Challenges
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Aging Population
Age
Percentage
15-24
25-39
42.4%
26.4%
40+
13.7%
Rational: Other Challenges
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Second-Language Access: People who don’t
speak or understand English fluently
People using slower Internet connections
People using older/slower software or
equipment
Access to Internet on alternative devices (PDAs,
cell phones, etc.)
Rationale: Benefits
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Respect for diversity (broad definition)
Users with low literacy level
Reading literacy
 Technological literacy
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Users with different learning styles
Active/Reflective
 Sensing/Intuitive
 Visual/Verbal
 Sequential/Global
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Equitable Use
The design is useful and marketable to
people with diverse abilities
Provide the same means of use for all
users: identical whenever possible;
equivalent when not
— Principles of Universal Design
Rules & Guidelines for Accessibility
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US Government Section 508 Standards
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Part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Web Accessibility Initiative (WIA):
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World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
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Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0)
published in 1999
Illinois Web Accessibility Standards (IWAS)
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Incorporates Section 508 Standards as well as W3C
guidelines.
Universal Design Best Practices
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Illinois Center for Instructional Technology
Accessibility at the University of Illinois at
Urbana/Champaign (ICITA)
Things to Avoid
Things to Include
Tools
Usability Testing
Access by design…
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…not accommodation
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DEFINITIONS
Same or equivalent means of use for
all users…
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EQUITABLE USE
…as opposed to alternate access
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EQUITABLE USE
Things to Avoid
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Using only color to convey a message
Things to Avoid
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Low contrast style
Things to Avoid
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Absolute Font Sizes
Frames
Pop-up Windows
Nested Tables
Tables to layout your
web page presentation
Image-based Navigation
or image maps
Transparent Images
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Browser Specific Tags
Links that create a new
browser window
Auto-refresh
Animated/Blinking
/Scrolling Fonts or
Images
Applets & Plug-ins
PDF documents **
Things to Include
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Text Equivalents
Alternate (Alt) tags for images
 Captions or transcripts for audio elements
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Consistent Navigation
Text Links
 Skip Navigation
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Relative Font Sizes
Labels for all tables & charts
Things to Include
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Labels for all Form Elements
Clear and Simple Language
Style Sheets for Presentation of Web Pages
Header Tags rather than “INLINE” formatting
Links to accessible versions of any browser plug-ins the
site requires
Content is available without having to use scripts
Content makes sense when style sheets and tables are
disabled
Tools: Built-In Accessibility Features
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Course Management Systems
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WebCT/Blackboard
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Compliant with ADA Section 508 Guidelines
Conducts internal and external accessibility audits against industry standards
(WAIS, W3C) and Section 508 guidelines
Accessibility features
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Option not to auto-refresh (problematic for adaptive technologies)
Ability to selectively release course materials designed specifically for users with
disabilities or to allow more time to complete tasks
Confirmation of completed tasks – top item on the page
Color set options (high-contrast version for users with color-blindness or poor
vision)
Header tags to convey page structure and help users of screenreaders scan pages
faster
List mark-up for easy navigation
Titled framesets
Personal settings for choosing font size and style
Tools
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Built-in Accessibility Features
Windows
 Mac OS
 Microsoft Office
 Adobe Creative Suite 3
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Accessible Web Publishing Wizard
http://www.accessiblewizards.uiuc.edu/index.php
 Word and PowerPoint
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Usability Testing
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Tools
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Center for Applied
Special Technology (Cast)
– Bobby
WAVE
A-Prompt
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Browsers
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Internet Explorer
Firefox
Safari
Netscape Navigator
Opera
Summary and Discussion
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Questions
Feedback
Resources
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http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/
http://www.accessiblewizards.uiuc.edu/index.php
http://www.section508.gov/
http://www.w3.org/
http://www.illinois.gov/iwas/
http://www.cast.org
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/accessibility/webaccessibi
lity/accessibility_brochure.pdf
http://www.maccaws.org/kit/primer/
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/index.html
http://www.universalusability.com/resources.html