Transcript Defining Accessibility - E

Defining Accessibility
Defining Accessibility
• This PowerPoint will cover the following
topics:
– What is Accessibility?
– Examples of Accessibility
– Accommodations for Students
– Universal Design
– History of Internet Accessibility
What is Accessibility?
• In regards to digital content, a document is accessible when it can
be used by a wide variety of programs and is developed with
adherence to standards.
• Accessible documents can be used by adaptive technology that
delivers the content in a mode that is accessible to the student.
• Adaptive Technology refers to a wide variety of software and
hardware that acts as translator for the student.
– Screen Readers on a computer read contents of a screen with a
synthetic voice (ex. JAWS / NVDA)
– Text-to-Speech programs allow students to highlight text that software
reads back to them. (Ex. NaturalReaders)
– Magnifiers enlarge content on the screen for visual impairments (Ex.
ZoomText).
– Braille displays turn all computer commands and documents into
Braille. (Ex. PAC Mate).
Examples of Accessibility
• Accessible documents are often easy to adapt for
many situations:
– An article scanned in as a PDF and saved is not
accessible. However, accessibility can be added to the
document and that document is now searchable and
also easy to use with text-to-speech programs.
– Websites are often initially made inaccessible, but
once they are made to standards, they are not only
accessible, but also optimized for many types of
browsers including smartphones
– Check K-Access for more examples of accessibility.
Accommodations for Students
• Accommodations are made for students to avoid any barriers to
accessibility.
• Accommodations such as captioning or alternative text (availability
of text in formats other than the printed word) are made because
we often don’t create media with captions or our traditional
methods, a textbook, are not accessible.
• Accommodations are set so that all stakeholders (faculty and
students) are aware of changes that may need to be made to the
existing environment.
• Ideally, all physical and digital environments would be universally
accessible.
• Universal design of content is ideal; universal design is the creation
of documents and media in such a way that it is malleable for any
circumstance and adapts to many situations and adaptive
technology.
Universal Design
• Excellent article by the Disabilities, Opportunities,
Internetworking and Technology center
• Seven Principles
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Equitable use
Flexibility in use
Simple and intuitive
Perceptible information
Tolerance of error
Low physical effort
Size and space for approach and use (for physical
access)
History of Internet Accessibility
• Most of this module is covering internet
accessibility. Although there have been
challenges with new technology the last two
decades, it is important to remember the words
of Tim Berners-Lee, the current director of the
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), credited as
one of the inventors of the World Wide Web. His
exemplary quote on global accessibility states :
"The power of the Web is in its universality.
Access by everyone regardless of disability is an
essential aspect."