Spring13T2 Web 2.0 Access Barriers

This is a website done by San Francisco State University that explains the common problems disabled users run into when accessing websites. This site also gives solutions for these problems. A list is provided for popular Web 2.0 websites (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn) and links to their accessibility reports. It also gives resources for disabled users to use while on those sites.

I found this controversial article about a deaf woman and her lawsuit against eBay for having limited accessibility for disabled users. She wants to be a seller on eBay, but due to not being able to verify that she is a seller because she would have to retrieve and submit a password via a phone call, she chose to bring a lawsuit against the company. The judge, however, dismissed her case due to her lack of evidence. Ebay claims their were other ways she could have verified, but she chose not to. The woman will continue to appeal the ruling. The article also talks about a similar case with Netflix. The comments at the end were interesting to read as well, because some of them claim the woman is using the "deaf card" and looking for financial gain. Like I said, interesting article...

This website is personally important to me because I have deaf family members. My cousin (who is not deaf, but has always been involved in the deaf community) created an interpreting business. I'm proud to highlight her website. This website explains the services they offer for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. It also gives facts about deafness and related links for the deaf community.

This site is a wonderful resource. When I first started in education I worked with a hearing impaired student. It was very enlightening for me to work with him and see his progress with the limited tools we had available. Imagine if we had access to the internet and sites like this to find resources, how much more progress he could have made while in school.

article about web 2.0 accessibility for visually impaired

Website with tons of web 2.0 resources. I bookmarked this one because it is full of links and resources for using web 2.0 tools for all students including those with disabilities.

Information on how to make your website more accessible.

A short article which examines how people without hands are able to use computers.

Deque university is a website that offers two products WordSpace 5 and FireEyes. The website also offer several courses such as web 2.0 accessability which teaches students about websites that make uses of JavaScript and AJAX

This looks like a good site to help you learn about web 2.0 accessibility. I see the FireEyes is free for non-commercial use.

This is a web-based platform to help meet web accessibility needs. Some of the services it provides include auditing for ADA compliance, detailed reports of the findings, training courses and more to help ensure your website is in compliance. There is a free trial available. I first came across AMP Express which is part of the SSB Bart platform. You type your URL into the space provided and it will test your site for accessibility.

Thought this was interesting for mobile devices!

Great find. I did not even think about people with disabilities overcoming their barriers in accordance with mobile electronic devices. I just was focusing in on computers. I found it very interesting the tools and ideas that your site shared. Excellent work!!! Jeff

This discribes in detail the negative side of Web 2.0 for the disabled. I book marked this material because it seemed to give a striaght forward view of the negative side. It went into detail about how the web2.0 was moving to fast to keep up with being accessible.

"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 choose to bookmark this page as it did a nice job defining assistive technologies and web 2.0 accessibility. It provided examples of different assistive technologies, as well as discussed how website developers need to keep the "disabled" in mind so their product can meet the needs of all people.

I bookmarked this page as it really made me think about using websites in my classroom. It points out that the best test of any website is human interaction and judgement. As an educator, it is probably best for me to try a website out before expecting my students to use it...especially those with certain barriers. I don't want students becoming discouraged in their learning because of the tools I am expecting them to use. This blog goes on to give examples of what to test when using a website as well as evaluation tools.

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.

I love how this site provides real world connections and examples to math concepts that we sometimes only see in black and white. Website is for all grade levels and provides access to those visual learners.

I chose this article because it explained what Web 2.0 is and what implications it might have for disabled people who use the Web, particularly the use of Ajax (which I had no idea what that meant before) for interactive web pages. It also gave suggestions for ways to make sure the applications are accessible.

Katy, Thanks for researching and finding AJAX. Your comment above hooked me into to know more as Ajax is the name of one of my favorite soccer teams in Europe. They play in the Dutch league, but Ajax soccer and Ajax the tool are much different. I like how the site recommended how to apply Ajax and how it could be applied incorrectly. Great research and thanks for sharing. Jeff

Jeff--like we read in one of the articles, the problem with tagging is the tag might mislead you to what you are looking for! We just demonstrated that.....You saw AJAX and thought of your favorite soccer team, but the AJAX I tagged was for the web application! HA

What is Zac Browser ZAC is the first web browser developed specifically for children with autism and autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) and PDD-NOS. We have made this browser for children... for their enjoyment, enrichment, and freedom.

This is an amazing find that I can share with my families. Due to the conditions of autism (especially Aspergers) many of my families at our school enroll because they feel that there child is getting lost in the sea of 32 children in a classroom. With our virtual setting their children on the same playing field due to the fact that they are behind the screen and only a voice. It is amazing to see how the students once placed into our program flourish without the questioning stares and bullying. This is just one more tool to help them proceed further and reach their full potential.

This is great! I currently have a student with autism. I want to become more familiar with it and try it with him. He loves getting on the computer, so I'm anxious to see how this may help him.