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Before this week's reading, I never considered color-blindness as a physical disability. I don't know why - my father-in-law is color-blind so I am very aware of the problem. I chose this bookmark because it contains some simple steps that can be used to make your website easier to read for someone with color-blindness. Since the very definition of Web 2.0 involves user created content, blogs, website, etc. - I feel that it is very easy to follow the simple steps described in this blog posting when participating in Web 2.0 techniques.

Marianne, I have a brother that is color blind. I have always known about this, but never have I heard him ever complain about it in any way except that he doesn't match his socks very well. He says that he really never pays attention to it and just deals with it. I don't know that I know anyone else that is color blind. I read that there are different levels of severity to color blindness, so maybe my brother is very mild. Like you, I really have never considered this as a physical disability. I do on the other hand have a cousin that is totally blind, which I know is not anything to do with this, except, that is what I guess I consider a physcial disability. Interesting blog. Made me think a little! :)

Marianne, This website is so extremely useful. Thank you for finding, bookmarking and sharing. The site did an excellent job of listing and analyzing various Web 2.0 technolgies and I thought it was really beneficial to see how they rated them, Once that stuck out at me that I have never heard of was Access Menu. This Web 2.0 seemed to be rated extremely high for nearly every disability. Have you ever heard or used Access Menu before? I am going to do a bit of exploring, but it interested me to know if you or anyone for that matter has used Access Menu. Once again thanks for researching and sharing this site. I am going to share it with staff members in my building as well as our Special Services/Needs/Ed Departments. Awesome resource. Jeff

"The Internet's potential helps eliminate discrimination that exists in the context of a real-world social environment in which discrimination still prevails. Therefore, the disabled are more likely to achieve equality. Moreover, the idea that identity can be constructed according to the demands of the situation is a powerful framework for disabled people, because it permits a creative space for developing ideas about the self (Bowker & Tuffin, 2003)." "A good design can not only make visualization accessible, but can also make the information more accessible. Web 2.0 is available to be used by people in their everyday lives. It also has the potential to open up the world to people with disabilities, and is often presented as a way to eradicate disability as it is socially constructed."  If either of these two quotes strikes your interest please read this article. I know it was written in 2008 and some of the statistics are going to be off. Also, I'm sure that some of the issues that are being discussed have been resolved or updated. Some might even still be in the works to resolve them for people with disabilities, but I loved the article and it was an easy interesting read. It opened my eyes to how people saw Web 2.0 five years ago and how it is or is not  accessible to people with disabilities. 

I chose this site because it lists a lot of different disabilities with access to statistics and further information on each disability by clicking on the name. Not only that, but it give a description of what actual challenges that specific disability might face when attempting to access Web 2.0. A few sites I have visited mention aging difficulties and I never thought much about this being or causing barriers. This article touches on that topic along with other issues such as internet speed, age of equipment and location of your home. I thought it was a very good article that touched on a lot of 

Paula, Thanks for the website. I found it very interesting to learn about the different disabilities listed and how much information it had on each. I was not aware of the some of the different challenges someone with a disability faces in light of web 2.0 tools. I think I was in the dark way to long. Thanks for opening my eyes. Mel

Hi Paula, This was an interesting website that brought up a lot of valid points for website developers. I liked how it stated the economic and workplace benefits, as well as the legal requirements for websites being accessible for all. The latest statistics mentioned were from 2008. I'm sure that the numbers have increased a lot more since then. The common problems for disabled users mentioned were good as well. I didn't even think about problems like older technologies or location. I think those are still around today. Web site developers have to keep a lot in mind when designing their websites. They want to reach everyone so every problem that comes up needs to have a solution. Good website!

Information on how to make your website more accessible.

Strategy Tutor is a web-based tool designed to support students and teachers doing reading and research on the internet. For students, Strategy Tutor helps you read, research, collect and understand information better and more efficiently. For teachers, Strategy Tutor provides a way to easily create web-based lessons embedded with research-based, highly effective learning strategy and vocabulary supports. And, because it is web-based, Strategy Tutor allows you to check on your students' progress easily, at any time, and from any computer. There are two "views" of Strategy Tutor. The Student Strategy Tutor website is where students work. On the student homepage, you can read messages from your teacher, work on your own work or teacher-created lessons, and collect work log entries that are like note cards. Your work log entries are tagged with source citations and a strategy category; that makes research easier and more effective. You can also check out the research project tutorial and feature demonstration videos to learn how to use Strategy Tutor more effectively.