Group items tagged

"EASI: EQUAL ACCESS TO SOFTWARE & INFORMATION. EASI is a non-profit organization, committed to the belief that students and professionals with disabilities have the same right to access information technology as everyone else. EASI's mission is to serve as a resource by providing information and guidance in the area of access-to-information technologies by individuals with disabilities. We stay informed about developments and advancements within the adaptive computer technology field and spread that information to colleges, universities, K-12 schools, libraries and into the workplace. EASI disseminates know-how about accessible information technology through online courses that can lead to the Certificate in Accessible Information Technology and through frequent both free and fee-based Webinars."

Official webpage of the AIM Commission: "The Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities, established by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, will study the current state of accessible materials for students with disabilities in postsecondary education and make recommendations to the U.S. Congress for improving access to and the distribution of instructional materials in accessible formats. This is the first commission in history charged with examining accessible instructional materials for postsecondary students with disabilities."

Full list of Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards: "The purpose of this part is to implement section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d). Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency."

"Despite the ability of Flash to create highly accessible content, there are some major issues you must be aware of regarding Flash and accessibility. These include using plenty of contrast, consistent navigation, understandable language, etc. Here are some specific strategies to make Flash accessible to different disability types."

"In 2010, a team of approximately fifteen volunteers from seven different CSU campuses and one from the UC system to evaluate the accessibility of Google Apps. The team also recruited student volunteers and screen reader users to assist with the automated, manual, and screen reader testing. We discovered a number of accessibility issues during our testing. These issues are outlined in the report as well as "workarounds" that can be used to improve the user experience for persons with disabilities. When campuses choose to use Google Apps, they are required to provide an equally effective service for people with disabilities and it is critical for campuses to ensure that the "workarounds" meet the educational needs of the student and/or faculty. The March 15, 2011 USA TODAY online news article "Complaint: Google programs hard for blind students" illustrates possible legal problems that may result from adopting the Google Apps for Education suite. "

In 2010 and 2012, we tested and evaluated four major LMS for accessibility/usability: Blackboard, Desired2Learn, Moodel, and SAKAI. The results have been publicized in CSUN (2010) and Midwest Educause (2012) conferences. Since then, we have observed that LMS vendors have continued to strengthen the accessibility and usability of their systems, while also working to incorporate some of the features suggested in our evaluations. In light of this ongoing interest and activity, we have revised and enhanced our evaluation criteria based on common features, streamlined our evaluation process, and rescored our LMS systems. At CSUN 2013, we presented a high-level overview of the results of our new evaluation, along with side-by-side comparisons that support our recommendations for improving learning management systems for users with disabilities.

""Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility" is a multi-page resource suite that outlines different approaches for evaluating Web sites for accessibility. While it does not provide checkpoint-by-checkpoint testing techniques, it does provide general procedures and tips for evaluation in different situations, from evaluation during Web site development to ongoing monitoring of existing sites. The approaches in these pages are intended to supplement other content management and quality assurance procedures."

"This Checklist should serve as a tool for evaluating the extent to which software applications are accessible to most people with disabilities. This document is based on the U.S. Department of Education's "Requirements for Accessible Software Design," including the technical guidance that appears as Appendix A to the "Requirements.""

"This article is designed to help users who are new to NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) learn the basic controls for testing web content, and to serve as a reference for the occasional NVDA user. NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free and open source screen reader for the Microsoft Windows operating system. It supports over 20 languages and can run on any computer entirely from a USB drive with no installation."

"NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free and open source screen reader for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Providing feedback via synthetic speech and Braille, it enables blind or vision impaired people to access computers running Windows for no more cost than a sighted person. Major features include support for over 20 languages and the ability to run entirely from a USB drive with no installation."

Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn. All lectures were recorded in the Yale College classroom and are available in video, audio, and text transcript format. Registration is not required and no course credit is available.

A digital story combines text and images with narration in the student's own voice to form a short digital movie. Digital Storyteller is a web-based tool that offers teachers and students frictionless access to digital images and materials that enable them to construct compelling personal narratives. Digital Storyteller was developed as an initiative of Primary Access.

Useful resource with instructions for creating accessible documents in multiple formats and using many of the most common software (e.g., Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, Google Docs, Acrobat, iWork, etc.)

Article arguing the importance of testing for web accessibility, and the relative ease of doing so. It describes each of the standards and how it can be tested (when special technology, such as a screenreader, is needed to test, when it can easily be done with no additional technology).

The International Journal of ePortfolio (IJeP) is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, open access journal freely available online. Subscriptions and fees are not required to access this journal; however, readers desiring hardcopies of issues can order them via our Current Issue and Past Issues links above. The mission of the International Journal of ePortfolio (IJeP) is to encourage the study of practices and pedagogies associated with ePortfolio in educational settings. The journal's focus includes the explanation, interpretation, application, and dissemination of researchers', practitioners', and developers' experiences relevant to ePortfolio. It also serves to provide a multi-faceted, single source of information for those engaging in projects and practices associated with ePortfolio. A refereed (blind) peer-reviewed journal, IJeP embraces inquiry into ePortfolio in educational settings holistically; therefore, manuscripts considering the following areas of investigation are welcomed: instruction and principles of learning that utilize and inform practical, effective ePortfolio methodologies; evaluation and assessment methodologies and practices supported by ePortfolio; case studies and best practices regarding applications of ePortfolio for learning, assessment, and professional development supported by scholarship of teaching and learning practices and research methodologies; theoretically rich accounts of the principles grounding ePortfolio work and its relationship to larger social and cultural phenomena; and innovative development and applications of technologies that enable new ePortfolio practices. IJeP employs a rolling submission process; however, those wishing to be considered for the next issue of IJeP should plan to submit their manuscript by December 1, 2011. Those submitting manuscripts to IJeP can expect the review process to take approximately 90 days.

MultiTree is a searchable database of hypotheses on language relationships. * compare language trees and access bibliographical information on them * see a graphical representation of every scholarly hypothesis on language relationships * view information on every language * share comments on hypotheses and add new hypotheses (as a registered user) * access an interactive map of the language or family of your choice through LLMap

Free publications which give basic etiquette for working with persons with disabilities as well as information about accessibility options.

"Follow the steps to have your document converted into an alternative, accessible format. The result will be delivered to you via e-mail. Conversion is currently limited to individuals with a Stanford University e-mail address. Select your file and upload it to the server (max 32 mb). Supported file types are .doc, .docx, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .txt, .xml, .html, .htm, .rtf, .epub, .mobi, .tiff, .tif, .gif, .jpg, .bmp, .pcx, .dcx, .j2k, .jp2, .jpx, .djv and .asc"

"For many educators and students, online video is no longer just an accessory it has become a primary medium for teaching and learning. This change has brought legal and ethical pressures to add closed captions to make video accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing. Join Georgia Tech and Indiana University, Purdue University - Fort Wayne to discuss their lecture capture and closed captioning solutions. Sponsored by: Tegrity/3Play Media"

A tool that lets you enter foreground/background color combinations to check if they meet accessibility standards for legibility.