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Facts sheets from Grade Project | Web Based Tutorials | Resources

In order to view some of the paper based tutorials, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Fact Sheets from Grade Project

• How do Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Access Online Education? Students who are deaf or hard of hearing communicate in a traditional classroom in a variety of ways, utilizing American Sign Language or lip-reading or computer-aided real-time captioning. Students with hearing impairments may also use different types of assistive technology to connect with professors or other students, such as hearing aids, a text telephone connecting to a relay service, or an assistive listening system.

• How do Students Who are Blind or Have Low Vision Access Online Education? Students who are blind or have low vision participate in a traditional classroom in a variety of ways. For some students, it may be as simple as having the instructor read information written on a chalkboard, or having other students identify themselves when they speak in class. Other students may utilize note-takers, or use assistive technology devices like a Braille notepad to take notes.

• How do Students With Seizure Disorders Access Online Education? Students with seizure disorders may have little or no difficulty accessing traditional classroom education. However, these students may experience severe seizures involving loss of consciousness and involuntary movements, or what appears to be a lapse of consciousness. After a seizure, a student may experience symptoms such as confusion, fatigue, muscle weakness, headache, or pain. Additionally, students taking medication to control seizures may experience side effects like drowsiness or blurred vision.

• What Laws and Rulings Impact the Accessibility of Online Distance Education? As usage of the computer and Internet proliferates, there is an increasing need for information technology, including online distance education, to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Several laws provide requirements or guidance to ensure that all students, including students with disabilities, have equal access to online learning.

• Describing Graphic Files for Students with Visual Impairments Graphic files are very commonly used in online distance education, whether as clip art in a Microsoft Word document, a chart in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, or as an illustration in an HTML document. Providing a text alternative for these graphic files provides students with visual impairments with an opportunity to have the same level of information as other students accessing these files.

• Making Adobe PDF Files Accessible for Student with Disabilities Adobe PDF files, or Portable Document Format files, are popular in distance learning because they provide a cross-platform solution for presenting content, including words, images, tables, and forms.

• Introduction to HTML Accessibility Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the common language of the Internet. Over 3.3 billion files on the World Wide Web use HTML to communicate a dizzying array of information. HTML is flexible, easy to use and understand, and can be used to communicate information in almost any format, from desktop computers to cellular phones. The nearly -universal nature of HTML makes it indispensable in distance education.

• Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are an increasingly common way for website developers to control the look and feel of their web pages. A style sheet allows the website developer to specify the size, font and color of text for an entire website without having to code the information in each page. Style sheets separate the style (or look and feel) of the document from the structure (or the content and ordering of information).

• Making Email Accessible for Students with Disabilities One industry source estimates that over 31 billion e-mails are sent each day around the world. E-mail is so widely used in education that most, if not all, students are assigned an e-mail address during the registration process. In distance education, e-mail is especially important because it may be the only way that students can communicate directly with instructors.

The above paper based tutorials were created by Georgia Tech: College of Architecture via a grant from the US Department of Education, Office of Post-Secondary Education, Grant #P333A020050.  Grade Project Fact Sheet Website: http://www.catea.org/grade/factsheets.php

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Websites

• AccessIT: National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education AccessIT promotes the use of electronic and information technology (E&IT) for students and employees with disabilities in educational institutions at all academic levels. This Web site features the AccessIT Knowledge Base, a searchable, growing database of questions and answers regarding accessible E&IT. It is designed for educators, policy makers, librarians, technical support staff, and students and employees with disabilities and their advocates

• Working Together: Faculty and Students with Disabilities  Faculty members are encouraged to be responsive to the pedagogical needs of all students. However, students with disabilities may have some additional educational needs which they should discuss with each faculty member. It is good to think about the broad range of abilities, disabilities, and other characteristics of potential students as you design your curriculum.

• Accommodations and Universal Design  The best accommodations are unique to the individual and develop from a cooperative relationship between the faculty member and the student, sometimes with the assistance of the campus disabled student services office. In this area of The Faculty Room you will learn strategies for fully including students with disabilities in your course activities.

• Accessible Web-based Distance Education: Principles and Best Practices (Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto)  Why should developers take the time to ensure that Web-based educational resources are based on universal design principles? There are several factors that should motivate us to learn about accessible design, and implement it in our online programming. The first is a fundamental ideal that access to education is one of our basic human rights.

• Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI)  EASI is the premiere provider of online training on adaptive technology and how institutions can provide barrier-free computer and information technology systems for persons with disabilities. EASI courses have reached over 5,000 people in more than 3 dozen countries since 1993.

• ADE: Accessibility in Distance Education The Accessibility in Distance Education (ADE) Web site focuses on helping faculty develop accessible online learning materials for people with disabilities. It is divided into five major sections, targeting common accessibility questions.

• WebAim (Web Accessibility in Mind) Screen Reader Simulation  This simulation will help you to understand what it is like for a person with vision loss or low vision to access the Internet using a software program called a "screen reader."

• WebAim (Accessibility Features in Acrobat Reader 7 Not everyone creates PDF (Portable Document Format) files, but almost everyone who uses the Web uses Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF's. This is the program that allows you to view PDF files on the Web and on your computer. Unfortunately, PDF files have not always been as accessible as they are now. In the past, Adobe PDF files could be very inaccessible, especially to people using screen readers...(article in PDF format)

• WebCT Course Design and Accessibility One may have an image in mind of a "typical" computer user, who sits at a desk using a conventional keyboard, mouse and monitor. However, a learner may need to use specialized adaptive hardware or software to access the educational resources on the Web. A vision impairment may result in the need to use screen reader software to hear the information instead of viewing it on a screen. Limitations in mobility could mean that the student uses an adapted keyboard or mouse to navigate the Web. The following is a list of commonly used adaptive technologies:

• Adobe online conversion tools for Adobe PDF documents  This conversion service will convert to text Adobe PDF files that are in English and most West European languages.

• Blackboard Tutorial for an individual who uses a screen reader The Blackboard Learning System Screen Reader Tutorial provides users that access the Blackboard Learning System through a screen reader with information to help them use the Blackboard Learning System successfully. Currently, the tutorial includes information on logging in, the portal layout, and course Web sites.

• Usable Web 970 links about web usability

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Resources

• National Center on Disability & Access to Education The National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE) monitors and promotes electronically-mediated distance education policies and practices that enhance the lives of people with disabilities and their families.

• Pacific ADA & IT Center (Pacific DBTAC) Region IX The purpose of the Pacific ADA & IT Center (Pacific DBTAC) is to build a partnership between the disability and business communities and to promote full and unrestricted participation in society for persons with disabilities through education and technical assistance.

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General Information | Blackboard | WebCT | Graphics, Clip Art and Multimedia | Accessibility 

 Resources | Dictionaries, Thesaurus, Encyclopedias | News, Articles, and Books | Plug-ins and Freeware

Microsoft Tutorials | Internet Search and Techniques | Careers and Resumes | WiFi and Campus Hotspots