Slide 1
Welcome to the 2008 Accessible Technology Webinar
DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center
The content and materials of this training are property of the DBTAC - Great Lakes ADA Center and cannot be used and/or distributed without permission.  This training is develop under NIDRR grant #H133A060097. For permission to use training content or obtain copies of materials used as part of this program please contact us by email at gldbtac@uic.edu or toll free (800)949-4232 (V/TTY) in IL, IN, MI, MN, OH and WI or 312-413-1407 (V/TTY) other locations.
Center for Assistive Technology & Environmental Access
College of Architecture

Slide 2
E-Learning and Accessibility
Robert L. Todd, Senior Research Scientist
Center for Assistive Technology & Environmental Access 
Georgia Institute of Technology
404-894-4960 (v/tty)      404-894-9320 (fax)
www.catea.gatech.edu 
robert.todd@coa.gatech.edu

Slide 3
CATEA
•	Multidisciplinary research center
•	College of Architecture, GA Tech
•	Primarily federally-funded projects
•	Two major foci:
–	Development, evaluation, and utilization of assistive technology
–	Design and development of accessible environments
–	www.catea.gatech.edu 

Slide 4
CATEA
Multiple projects at CATEA include online training and education
•	GRADE (www.catea.gatech.edu/grade)
•	Workplace RERC (www.workplacererc.org/) 
•	Assistivetech.net (www.assistivetech.net) 

Slide 5
Accessible E-Learning Fundamentals
The Bottom Line: Whether you use a Content Management System (CMS), Learning Management System (LMS) or not, always create materials to be accessible.
Don’t rely upon the CMS/LMS to “make” everything accessible after the fact (i.e., Blackboard, Sakai, Moodle).

Slide 6
Accessible E-Learning Fundamentals
How? By following accepted guidelines and standards when you create materials. 
If the guidelines do not cover a specific case, apply the principles of Universal Design. These are best learned by studying and applying the guidelines when you create materials.

Slide 7
Accessible E-Learning Fundamentals
Universal Design - "Universal Design” is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.”
–Ron Mace, Founder, Center for Universal Design

Slide 8
Guidelines and Standards – Web
–	WCAG Guidelines (www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/)
–	Section 508 Standards (www.section508.gov/index.cfm?&FuseAction=Content&ID=12#Web), also www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist

Slide 9
Sample Accessibility Concerns
•	 Text equivalents for all non-text content.

•	 Check contrast and don’t depend on color alone to convey information.

•	 Make links distinct and able to stand-alone.

Slide 10
Text Equivalents (images)
Navigational elements or bitmap text  
–	ALL images require descriptive alt text
–	If the image is text, the alt description must be the same as the visual description
–	Each area of an image map must have a unique alt description as well as an overall descriptor

Slide 11
Text Equivalents (images)
Navigational elements or bitmap text  
–	Buttons that are images (NOT code/html generated) require action alt description

Two images of the Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) logo. The first logo is labeled “RESNA Logotype”. The second logo is labeled, “Go to RESNA Home”.

Slide 12
Text Equivalents
Two images. The first image is of courthouse statues labeled with text box, “Federal Court Concepts.”
The second image is a mailbox with a letter going into it, labeled with two text boxes, “kwajex.gif (45K)” and “Letter entering mailbox”.
Slide 13
Text Equivalents
•	Two images of a cartoon globe of the earth. The first earth image is labeled, “If this were a navigational element:
Alt=“msn home page”. The second earth image is labeled, “If this were decorative graphic: Alt=“globe of the earth” OR Alt=“” “

Slide 14
Text Equivalents (images)
Spacer Images
–	Non-informational & Spacers
•	Null alt
–	<img src=“clear.gif alt=““>
•	Allows AT to *ignore* non-informational images

Slide 15
Color and Contrast

 If the colors used in a site have poor contrast, it may be difficult to read for some users.
    (i.e. light blue text on light green background)

 This text has better contrast, but the heading on this slide is even better.
   (i.e. black text on light green background; white or yellow text on black background)

Slide 16
Color and Contrast
Contrast
–	Example of opposite hues converted to monochrome

Two images. One of an orange box with the text “contrast” in the box in blue font. Second image a medium grey box with the text “contrast” in the box in dark grey font. 

Slide 17
Color and Contrast
Three images:  maps of the United States. Each map has a divides the U.S. into regions using various color schemes. 

Slide 18
Sample Usability Concerns
•	Intuitive navigation.

•	Clear content.

•	Quick access to information.

•	Fast load times.

•	Prominent search mechanisms.

Slide 19
Usability
How NOT to design for usability: 
Web Pages that Suck - http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/

A (mostly) good example: Google.com – www.google.com

Slide 20
Accessibility/Usability
•	 Logical extension to include all people.
–	 Increased accessibility leads to greater usability.
•	 Accessibility does not guarantee usability.
–	 Follow guidelines and still undermine usability.
•	 Necessary to build both from the start.

Slide 21
Guidelines and Standards – Other Docs for E-Learning
Georgia Tech Research On Accessible Distance Education (GRADE) - http://www.catea.gatech.edu/grade/ 

GRADE Guidelines for Accessible E-Learning - http://www.catea.gatech.edu/grade/guides/introduction.php 

Slide 22
Guidelines in Practice
DBTAC: Southeast ADA Center Education Leadership Academy - http://www.catea.gatech.edu/training/ela/index.php 

Slide 23
Web 2.0 Tools for E-Learning
Many so-called Web 2.0 tools can also be made accessible for e-learning purposes.
A very useful pairing of these tools – Blogs and RSS Feeds/Podcasts 

Slide 24
Blogs and RSS
•	Web logs, Weblogs, or Blogs consist of regularly updated entries displayed in reverse chronological order.
•	RSS can stand for many things, but a working definition is “Really Simple Syndication”

Slide 25
RSS, Blogs and Online Education
•	Since RSS is web based, great tool for collaboration
•	Can be used to create dynamic web pages, dynamic libraries, and learning objects by automatically updating content

Slide 26
How Blogs served through RSS Can Aid Learning
•	Student research
•	Group projects
•	Communication between teachers and students
RSS Readers allow information to be stored and organized in folders in a single and remotely accessible location

Slide 27
How Blogs served through RSS Can Aid Learning
Easy for students and teachers to set up their own Blogs via a service such as Bloglines (www.bloglines.com/), in order to:
•	Organize and share research
•	Keep journal entries
•	Open topic-specific dialogues

Slide 28
How RSS/Podcasts Can Aid Learning
And … because all of the storage of content in a Blog is based on XML, any information in a Blog can be syndicated, allowing students and teachers to subscribe to specific sections of each other’s Blogs 

Slide 29
How Blogs served through RSS Can Aid Learning
•	Easier to use and potentially more accessible than most traditional database structures
•	Information can be organized into folders from any remote location allowing for easy and accessible collaboration

Slide 30
How Blogs served through RSS Can Aid Learning
•	Superior to keeping research groups up-to-date via email lists where each person in the group must organize the information into individual folders, creating multiple copies of the same information
•	Teachers can use to distribute info

Slide 31
RSS and Accessibility
See the American Federation for the Blind test of RSS Readers at: www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=57&TopicID=167&DocumentID=2916 
Result: AFB recommends Bloglines (www.bloglines.com/), but recognizes that Readers are a fast-changing set of software

Slide 32
Accessible Blogging: Choosing a Service
AFB found that Bloglines had a fairly accessible registration process with simple forms that had proper labels, with a validation email containing a link back to Bloglines. They found account setup and the process of posting to your Blog to be straightforward. 

Slide 33
Accessible Blogging: Choosing a Service
However, Bloglines does not allow for easy posting of comments. If you want to set up a Blog that lets subscribers comment on material, then WordPress with an accessible template is a good option.

Slide 34
Blogs and Accessibility
Another choice, with accessible templates:
WordPress (www.wordpress.org)_

Slide 35
Blogs and Accessibility
An example of WordPress Accessibility in action
DBTAC: Southeast ADA Center “Strategies for Employment Success” – 
 http://www.sedbtac.org/blogs/employment/ 

Slide 36
Accessible Blogs: Right from the Start
But regardless of the affordances provided by Blog services/RSS Readers, the information is only as accessible and usable as its initial construction. For this reason, Blogs also need to follow standard guidelines for web-based material

Slide 37
Questions? Comments?
Robert L. Todd, Senior Research Scientist

Center for Assistive Technology & Environmental Access 
Georgia Institute of Technology

404-894-4960 (v/tty)      404-894-9320 (fax)
www.catea.gatech.edu 
robert.todd@coa.gatech.edu