Making the University Learning Environment More Accessible for the Visually Disabled Student

Sally Kuhlenschmidt

Darleen Pigford

Allan Heaps

Cristina Abrell

Western Kentucky University

April 9, 2001

• Why Care?
• Obstacles
• Tools

• Laws
• Good Teaching and Design
• Increases Accessibility for all
• Easy to do

• American Disability Act 1990
• Reasonable Accommodation
• Level playing Field
• (vs. Public Schools: Optimal Performance)
• Telecommunications Act 1996
• Equipment and Service Providers accessible

• 1998 California CC ordered to make electronic information available
• Rehabilitation Act, Sec 508 : State colleges must
• make web sites accessible and
• purchase accessible equipment/software

• Individualizing education
• Number of students w/disabilities is growing
• 3% in 1978 to 9% in 1998
• 74% of working age blind are unemployed

• Helps many learners, not only visually disabled
• Aging population = Aging eyes
• Nontraditional students
• Range of visual impairment
• Large classroom!

• Mindless Teaching
• Web Site Design
• Color, Images, Multimedia
• Tables
• Equipment/Software
• Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• DOS, Software

• Syllabus
• Ask if special learning needs
• Some schools have required statement
• Presentations
• Explain visual displays, connect to text
• Overheads: use large arrow cutout
• Handouts (large font), posting on-line
• Permit taping

• Provide orientation or tour
• Ask before invading body space
• Place for a guide dog to wait
• Readability
• Light, larger labels , raised dots, talking equipment
• Trained Lab Assistant
• Extra time

• Imagine what your page
• Sounds through a speech synthesizer
• Feels like in Braille
• Looks like in large font
• Imagine navigating it
• by voice
• or keyboard

• Classic design principles
• Central web page with overview
• Consistent structure
• List/headings
• Headlines as text, not images
• Cascading Style Sheets
• separates display from the information
• Contrast in colors

• Favor frames over tables
• Label frames with name/title attributes
• Favor html over PDF, doc
• Image Maps: use Client Side maps and text or ‘Alt’ tags for hotspots

• Images: ‘Alt’ tag
• Links: meaningful
• not "link here" but "CNN newsroom"
• Graphs and charts: summary text
• Audio/video content: captions/transcripts

• Avoid
• Scripts, applets, or plug-ins
• or provide alternates. Java Accessibility
• Animated images
• Color-coded information
• Multi-column tables
• line by line reading must be sensible
• summarize

• Chat rooms
• challenge to follow
• Reflect before doing
• Opportunity if designed for accessibility
• Obstacle if not

• Accessibility
• http://cast.org/bobby/
• HTML usage
• http://validator.w3.org/

• Equipment/Software
• Good Administration

• Monitor
• Screen magnification 1.5-20x
• MAGic (DOS, Win), In-Large (Mac)
• Lock on cursor, zoom, white on black.
• Screen Readers
• JAWS, MacoutSpoken
• Keyboard Commands

• Color/contrast of cursor
• Pointer Trail
• Sonar option helps to locate cursor
• Sound options
• Screen Magnification 2-9 times

• Braille notetakers, printers, keyboards
• Email MyInbox: voice commands
• Faxes, Video/multimedia equipment
• Copier that enlarges

• Computer Labs need accessibility options as well.
• Windows Accessibility Options
• Screen Magnification or Readers
• Sound: may need headphones
• User profiles
• Course Softwares
• Check in advance of term

• Coordinated design
• Build in from the start
• Build alternate site
• Campus wide adaptive technology policy
• includes print policy for Braille documents

• NFB filed lawsuit against AOL
• AOL had to promise to make next browser accessible
• Internet Explorer internal support
• HomePage Reader (w/NN)
• Net-Tamer (DOS)

• Handout
• On the Web
• http://www.wku.edu/~sally.kuhlenschmidt/access/

• Go home
• Remove your mouse
• Navigate your website
• Make modifications

• Plan for Accessibility
• Describe what you are doing
• in Person
• on a WebSite
• Follow-up with external checks
• Profit from accessible teaching