Key Issues In Assuring That National Information Infrastructure (NII)
in Classrooms is Accessible - (A 2-Page Quicksheet)
In assuring that NII deployments in classrooms are accessible there are three key areas that need to be addressed.
1.
1.
Is the SOURCE MATERIAL Accessible?
- (Responsibility of Content Producers, Web Sites, and Purchasing agents at schools)
2.
Are the TRANSMISSION MECHANISMS capable of transmitting the material without dropping
the access features?
-(Responsibility of the Internet Architects like W3C and Software Companies)
3.
Is the VIEWER/CONTROLLER technology (INCLUDING SOFTWARE) used to present the
information to the user accessible / usable accessible?
-(Responsibility hardware and software vendors and the Purchasing agents at schools)
SOURCE MATERIAL
Any material being developed needs to be flexible enough to allow access by people with disabilities. This
includes videos, web sites, educational computer programs, reference materials, etc.
For each item or material:
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2.
Is all information that is provided in auditory form also available in visual form?
- e.g. Does the materials support captions and ShowSounds?
Is all information that is provided in visual form also available in auditory form?
- e.g. Do the materials provide text or audio descriptions of all graphics or movies?
Is the information presented at a cognitive level appropriate to the material?
- e.g. Is the minimum necessary cognitive level used?
Does the source material itself require fine motor control to use?
- e.g. Is a mouse required to operate the educational material or program?.
If the materials are document like, can they be made available or translated into ASCII text?
If materials or software programs are not directly accessible, are they compatible with assistive
technologies? (See viewer accessibility below)
TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
The wires used to bring NII information into a school (the Internet today) are not inherently inaccessible
themselves. They just bring in bits of data and there is nothing much that will make them more or less
accessible. The accessibility issues around the TRANSMISSION MECHANISMS fall into two categories.
1.) Where do the wires run?
 Are special education programs and facilities included in wiring plans?
 Are regular education programs and facilities accessible?
2.) What data formats are used to transport the information. Do they support alternate modality
presentation of information?
 Do the Video Data and Transport standards used support captioning and audio descriptions (such
as QuickTime does)?
 Do the Graphic Data and Transport standards used support inclusion of descriptive text in the
graphic data file (such as PNG does)?
 Do the Audio Data and Transport standards used support inclusion of time synchronized text in
the audio data file (no standard audio only format today though QuickTime could be used)?
 Do the Object Data and Transport standards support keyboard access to all control and input (Java
1.0 did not support this, later versions allow it.)
3.
VIEWER/CONTROLLER TECHNOLOGY (INCLUDING SOFTWARE)
The technologies that are used to create or present information to the user must be accessible or the user with a
disability will not be able to operate the technology to navigate through, create or view the information. Much
of this access (or lack of access) is a function of the software used. Sometimes this software is provided along
with or as part of the educational materials. In other cases (as with a web browser) one vendors software is used
to view or present another vendors educational materials.
Again, as educational programs get more complicated and more interactive, built in accessibility usually
provides the best access solution. Where this is not possible, then compatibility with assistive devices should be
provided.
Key questions to ask regarding DIRECT ACCESSIBILITY (which does not require assistive technology) are:
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Does the viewer software support the presentation of any captions or video descriptions that are
present in the data (educational material)?
Can the viewer software be controlled completely from a keyboard? (Which also makes it controllable
from alternate keyboards.)
Are other controls designed to be operated with minimal physical ability and without sight.
Is the material fully usable and effective if you turn the monitor off? (i.e. Is the information available
in audio)
Is the material fully usable and effective if you turn the speaker(s) off?
Is volume adjustable and is a headphone or speaker jack provided?
If the Viewer/Controller Hardware and Software (or the source material) is not directly accessible and usable by
people with one or another type of disability, then is it compatible with assistive technologies they may use to
gain access to it?
Key questions regarding COMPATIBILITY with assistive technologies include:
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Is the software and source material fully screen reader compatible?
- e.g. work well with (voice or braille) screen readers used by students who are blind.
Is all documentation available in accessible formats?
- e.g. ASCII text, braille, audio recording
- (as above) Is viewer software completely controllable from keyboard.
WHAT DOES ACCESSIBLE MEAN?
Not all software can be made accessible to all people with all disabilities or combinations of disabilities. The
question therefore is not an absolute “Is this software or feature accessible?” because no program or material will be
accessible to all. Rather a more difficult pair of questions:
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Is this software or feature or service as accessible as it could be?
(This is more than “Does it meet minimum access standards”.)
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If there is no way to make this (type of) program or material accessible, what is the consequence if it is
used in a classroom? Who will get left out? Is there and alternative way for them to learn the concept? Is
there an alternative way that works well for both those with and without disabilities?
HOW TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM ACCESSIBILITY?
Some strategies for maximizing the accessibility of your software and systems.
 Work with disability and accessibility groups on BOTH local and national level to get the best information
available (national) and direct experience (local) with disability access.
 Request or demand that educational material vendors provide materials that are accessible. If they don’t
have it today they won’t have it ever if they feel no demand for it.
 Stay up to date. Things change rapidly.
Prepared by Gregg Vanderheiden, Trace R & D Center, Univ. of Wisc. (http://trace.wisc.edu)
2/1/97