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