A statement by the President's Council on Disability:
Technology for most people makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.
Seeing People with Disabilities as a Culture
Some people may be offended by the idea of viewing people with disabilities as a culture. On first consideration, this seems to go against the idea of inclusion or equal participation by everyone. In the context of eLearning, however, and what we know about cultural differences in a learning environment, viewing people with disabilities as a culture may enable us to consider the differences in the way people engage, interact and learn in a digital environment. This shift in perspective during the development phase of a project can minimize, perhaps even close the gap that often times exists as a barrier to information access.
Recognizing Differences in the Way People Learn or Accept Information
Just as cultural differences bring diversity into the learning environment, so do the abilities and disabilities of the students and participants who will populate that environment. To build an accessible eLearning module, it is first necessary to understand the different ways people with disabilities learn or accept information. A broad understanding of the different types of functional disabilities and the assistive technology that people use to interact with computers is a natural place to start.
Some people may be offended by the idea of viewing people with disabilities as a culture. On first consideration, this seems to go against the idea of inclusion or equal participation by everyone. In the context of eLearning, however, and what we know about cultural differences in a learning environment, viewing people with disabilities as a culture may enable us to consider the differences in the way people engage, interact and learn in a digital environment. This shift in perspective during the development phase of a project can minimize, perhaps even close the gap that often times exists as a barrier to information access.
Recognizing Differences in the Way People Learn or Accept Information
Just as cultural differences bring diversity into the learning environment, so do the abilities and disabilities of the students and participants who will populate that environment. To build an accessible eLearning module, it is first necessary to understand the different ways people with disabilities learn or accept information. A broad understanding of the different types of functional disabilities and the assistive technology that people use to interact with computers is a natural place to start.
Types of Disabilities
Vision Impairment (Blind, Low Vision, or Color Blind)
• A blind person will not be able to see the computer monitor, the PowerPoint, or the video and may be using Braille output or a screen reader. A person with low vision may use ZoomText or the web browser to enlarge the text on the computer monitor. Make sure your presentation can accommodate these types of assistive technology. Also consider that during a webcast, visual information such as images, charts and graphs will not be seen by participants who are visually impaired. This does not have to be a problem if you include this type of important information in the audio portion of the training. If there is no audio component, include this information in the content of the training. In other words, do not use images alone to convey important information.
• Color blindness affects 8 to 10% of males of European origin. If important information is conveyed by color only, such as, “All form fields in red are required” some of the audience will not see it, and consequently, be left out. Do not use color alone to convey important information. Use words along with color to enhance usability for everyone.
• When using video, consider audio description to make sure that non-visual learners have access to all the information. One type of audio description is a synchronized audio file that accompanies a video or movie. In the quiet areas, a voice is describing the most important visual information such as who are the important players, place, time of day, dress, people (character information), action/movement/body-language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Don’t be afraid to use color as a descriptor. Some visual impairments are acquired later in life, so color can be very meaningful. If synchronized audio description is not available or necessary, set the stage with a text description as an introduction to the video. This can be useful for everyone, not only people with vision impairments.
Hearing Impairment (Hard of Hearing, Deafness)
• Use captions with movies and video so people who are deaf and hard of hearing have access to all the information. Captions are useful for others as well. If anyone is not sure exactly what was said, the information can quickly be found in the captions. It is also useful to people who have English as a second language. Search engines can find files with captions as well. In fact, you can consider search engines as blind and deaf because they can only search for textual information.
Mobility Impairment (Physical Disability)
• Mobility impairment may be caused by traumatic Injuries, spinal cord injury, diseases or congenital conditions which cause loss or damage of limb(s).
• People with mobility impairments may use other ways to interact with the computer, such as: alternative keyboards, electronic pointing devices, sip-and-puff systems, wands and sticks, joysticks, trackballs, touch screens, and speech recognition programs. These are only a few examples. There are many kinds of assistive technology and many kinds of mobility impairments. New technologies are being developed every day to assist people with mobility impairments in using computers.
Cognitive impairment (functional cognitive disability)
• Cognitive impairment may involve:
1. Perception or understanding
2. Expression which includes speech, writing and appropriate behavior
3. Memory – short term and long term
4. Processing such as focusing and staying on task
• People with cognitive impairment may need additional time to complete a task. Additional time may be needed to read and comprehend the information, to respond or interact.
• Changes that occur automatically in a training module could be problematic. Offer the user a way to control the timing. By allowing the user to take the amount of time needed, focusing and staying on task will also be enhanced.
• Avoid moving or flickering objects as these can be distracting to people with cognitive impairment.
Other Considerations
What is the learning environment?
Is this a static online presentation in HTML?
Is this an interactive online presentation?
Is this a live webinar?
Is this a video or Flash presentation?
Summary: What software is being used and will it work with assistive technology?
How will you know if or when some of your audience has been locked out due to incompatible technology?
Is there a HELP section built into the eLearning module?
Have accessibility concerns been addressed in the Introduction?
Have you offered contact information to assist users in the worst case scenario?
What about registration and tracking for the class?
Who is responsible for registration?
If technology is being used for registration or tracking, are these processes accessible to users of assistive technology?
Things You Can Do to Address Accessibility Concerns
Provide written instructions.
• Consider offering a guide, user’s manual or HELP section to assist users when they encounter issues working with your presentation. The guide should include information such as:
1. The best browser for viewing your online presentation.
2. The software used to create the presentation.
3. Assistive technology that was used to test the presentation for accessibility.
4. Any accessibility considerations that were made when the presentation was built, such as adherence to WCAG Standards or compliance with Section 508 (see Do your Homework).
• Be sure contact information is included so that users who cannot work out their technical issues on their own may contact you to describe their experience and get a response on how to proceed. This not only shows that you want everyone to have equal access to the material, it will also assist you in troubleshooting the problem and finding a resolution.
Plan ahead and make appropriate accommodations.
• Know your audience and be willing to make appropriate accommodations. Consider the possible challenges or obstacles in plenty of time prior to a training event to offer accommodations to those who may need them. Accommodations may include sending a digital text version of the presentation and materials prior to the training. This will allow a person with a disability to become familiar with the material and prepare for the training. For a person with low vision, send a large print text version.
• An accommodation for someone who cannot hear may be a sign language interpreter to make a live webcast accessible. Real time captioning of a live webcast gives information access to a deaf user.
• If you are using a web application that offers user participation, be sure that screen reader users also have access. The application must be completely keyboard accessible and not require using a mouse. All of the text information must be available so that a screen reader can read it aloud.
• To accommodate users with cognitive disabilities, pages should be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. Movement on the screen can be very distracting, not only to people with cognitive disabilities, such as traumatic brain injuries, or ADHD, but also to many other people in the general population and should be avoided if at all possible. Adhering to these frequency standards will also ensure that your presentations will not induce seizures.
• Use plain language at the appropriate grade level. This requires knowing your audience. If you are creating an eLearning module for college educated professionals, use language that is appropriate. If you are creating an eLearning module for the general public, consider writing at a lower comprehension level. This grade level discrepancy can make or break a successful training module.
• Keep it simple. Be consistent in layout and design, and especially in navigation. Use a template if possible. The more time the user can spend on the content, the easier it is to navigate within the module.
Do your Homework
To build a better eLearning application, learn more about the different ways people access information online. The following resources address many aspects of accessibility, including more information about specific disabilities, different types of assistive technology, disabilities etiquette and using appropriate language and terminology.
• WebAIM: http://webaim.org/intro/
An Introduction to Web Accessibility (in multiple languages).
• Web AIM: Considering the User Perspective: http://www.webaim.org/articles/userperspective/
A Summary of Design Issues; challenges that people with disabilities encounter when accessing digital information, and solutions to those issues.
• Disabilities Etiquette and People First Language:
http://www.unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf
Using appropriate language and terminology; United Spinal Association publication
• Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, on Assistive Technology:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology
• City of San Antonio Disability Etiquette Handbook
http://www.sanantonio.gov/ada/EtiquetteHandbook.asp
The following list includes tools to assist in building accessible web sites as well as tools for testing sites for accessibility. Keep in mind that automated tools can identify less than 25% of a web site’s accessibility. Only a manual check by a human can determine if electronic information is truly accessible, such as appropriate alt text. The list also includes educational resources, sources for web site testing and remediation, and information about web standards and best practices.
• WCAG 2.0 conformance: http://www.webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist
Checklist for implementing HTML-related principles and techniques for those seeking WCAG 2.0 conformance.
• Section 508: http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist
Standards excerpted from Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, with PASS and FAIL criteria.
• AChecker: http://www.atutor.ca/achecker/
Achecker is an open source web accessibility evaluation tool. It can be used to review the accessibility of web pages based on a variety of guidelines, including the latest WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). There is an online version and a downloadable version to run on your own computer.
• AIS Accessibility Toolbar: http://www.webaim.org/resources/ais
This free downloadable toolbar for Internet Explorer offers tools to test page validation, alt tags for images, color contrast, structural tags and more.
• A-Prompt: http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/index.html
A-Prompt allows the user to diagnose and repair accessibility problems. It requires that you download it (free) to your computer.
• EASI: http://easi.cc/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/youability
Equal Access to Software and Information, a non-profit organization, is part of the Teaching Learning and Technology Group, affiliated with the American Association for Higher Education with a mission to help make information technologies more accessible to users with disabilities. The YouTube channel has accessible videos about how to create accessible multimedia, as well as other accessibility information.
• ITTATC Course by Jim Thatcher: http://jimthatcher.com/webcourse1.htm
This course was written for the Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC) by Jim Thatcher. Funded in support of Section 508 by NIDRR and GSA at the Georgia Institute of Technology Center for Rehabilitation Technology, it includes a side-by-side comparison of the WCAG priority 1 checkpoints and the 508 web accessibility provisions.
• Knowbility: http://knowbility.org/
Knowbility's mission is to ensure barrier-free I.T. - supporting the independence of people with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology.
• LBJ School RGK Center:
http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/rgk/serviceleader/virtual/working.php
Working with online volunteers who have disabilities
• Trace Research and Development Center Designing More Usable Web Sites:
http://www.trace.wisc.edu/world/web/index.html
Trace is a non-profit research center which focuses on making off the shelf technologies and systems like computers, the Internet, and information kiosks more accessible for everyone through the process known as universal or accessible design. Primarily funded through the US Department of Education, Trace provides an excellent list of resources including many of the ones previously mentioned, as well as an overview of assistive technologies and further research.
• The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): http://www.w3.org/WAI/
An activity sponsored by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WAI’s purpose is to make the Web more accessible to people with disabilities. The WAI has five major areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development. W3C is an industry consortium created to develop common protocols that enhance the interoperability and promote the evolution of the Web.
Summary
Culture, as a social practice, is not something that individuals possess. Rather, it is a social process in which individuals participate, in the context of changing historical conditions. As a "historical reservoir", culture is an important factor in shaping identity[1] Some critics of cultural identity argue that the preservation of cultural identity, being based upon difference, is a divisive force in society, and that cosmopolitanism gives individuals a greater sense of shared citizenship.[2]. That is not to always be divisive.
Wikipedia on Cultural Identity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_identity
Viewing people with disabilities as a culture can be a tool for the eLearning developer. An understanding of the technical challenges and limitations encountered today by people with disabilities and users of assistive technology can form a foundation for development of accessible eLearning modules. This can lead to a transition in the eLearning environment from one that historically locks out users of assistive technology, to a more user-friendly and accessible digital system for all users.
Efforts in the development of accessible electronic media are one step toward a more inclusive society, a society where universal design is the norm and where one’s abilities or disabilities or cultural differences do not limit one’s opportunities to participate.
More on Culture
Merriam-Webster online http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Main Entry: 1cul•ture
Pronunciation: \ˈkəl-chər\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, cultivated land, cultivation, from Anglo-French, from Latin cultura, from cultus, past participle
Date: 15th century
1 : cultivation, tillage
2 : the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education
3 : expert care and training
4 a : enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training b : acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills
5 a : the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations b : the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time
6 : the act or process of cultivating living material (as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient media; also : a product of such cultivation
Kathy Keller Matejek
Accessibility Counsel of Texas, Chair
Accessibility and Disability Rights Coordinator, GCPD
3009 Larson Cove, Austin TX 78748-1210
512-921-0776 or 512-441-6184
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