DO-IT - Distance Learning

Distance education for people with visual impairments.

muszkl — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 00:09:44 +0000

By:

Liakou, M., & Manousou, E.

UD Citation:

Article or Chapter

2015

Online Education and Website Accessibility

eol — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 06:01:09 +0000

Online Education and Website Accessibility

A short video from the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights that explains the US legal requirements on this topic.

UD Topic:

Distance Learning

Online Learning Strategies for Students with Disabilities

eol — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 20:07:49 +0000

Online_Strategies_5_5_20.pdf

Over the last few years, postsecondary institutions continue to move many of their courses online. In this publication, some participants in projects supported by the DO-IT center at the ��ԭ�� share their experiences and recommendations for other students with disabilities who are taking online courses.

Executive Functioning

Develop a schedule for yourself that incorporates classes, meals, sleep, and other aspects of self-care.
As your space allows, set up a comfortable workstation with any materials you need to access throughout your day.
Determine how to handle distractions. Find a quieter space, use earplugs or noise canceling headphones, and/or silence your phone. Communicate with your family or roommates in order to minimize distractions when you are online.
Add class sessions, assignments, exams, and other tasks to your calendar. Use reminders if it helps you to complete these tasks.
Print the syllabus or other documents that you might want to access frequently.
Determine what tutoring, coaching, or writing center resources are available online at your institution.
Begin your work early to ensure you meet deadlines. Work ahead, if it helps you manage your workload.
Take breaks as needed. Set a timer and get back to work after the timer goes off.

Self-Advocate

Connect with faculty via email or utilize online office hours.
Advocate for your accommodations. Give faculty feedback about what helps you learn and what does not.
Be mindful that your accommodations may change as classes move online. You may want to request access to recordings of class lectures or the option to use external software like voice recognition specific word processing programs during online exams. Involve your disability resources office as appropriate.
Make sure you understand expectations about participation and communication. Ask questions of your instructor or classmates as necessary.

Technological Resources

Direct faculty toward resources related to accessible online learning. A good resource is DO-IT’s 20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course.
Learn how to connect to online meetings. Get comfortable with the settings and learn how to connect via phone if you experience difficulties connecting online.
Familiarize yourself with course management tools and document sharing tools used at your university.
Format responses for online discussions using familiar software (like spelling and grammar check in your word processor or a speech recognition tool) and then cut and paste the text into the online discussion tool.

Online Etiquette

In synchronous online classes and meetings consider ways that you can facilitate access for yourself and others:

Ask your instructor to set clear expectations for how to engage. This may include utilizing chat functions, asking questions verbally, or using hand-raising functions in conferencing software and/or using the course discussion board.
Use the chat window for sharing URLs or other resources.
Look at your name in the participant list and be sure it shows your preferred name.
Be mindful of whether your camera is turned on or off. Try to keep your laptop relatively still and ensure you appear professional when your camera is on.
Mute yourself when you are not speaking to avoid background noise.

Consider how to appear professional over email:

Use your school-issued email address.
Consider whether to use an email signature that includes your full name, your college, your anticipated graduation year, and your major(s) and minor(s).
Check spelling and grammar of emails.

Other Resources

2020

How can students with disabilities arrange for accommodations in an online course?

lylac — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 19:26:40 +0000

Date Updated:

05/23/22

Common accommodations students with disabilities request in online courses include the remediation of inaccessible PDFs and other documents into accessible formats, captioned videos, and extra time on assignments and tests. Accommodations should be requested in the same way they are requested for onsite courses. To receive accommodations from a postsecondary institution, students should contact the campus disability services office for information about documentation requirements and procedures. For a description of their rights and responsibilities with respect to access to online courses, students can consult Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities.

To receive accommodations for online presentations and courses offered by entities other than a postsecondary institution, students should contact administrators of the host organization.

Equal Access: Universal Design of Cyberlearning Projects

kmw721 — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 17:20:50 +0000

EA_UD_Cyberlearning_06_07_19.pdf

By:

Burgstahler, Sheryl, Ph.D.

A checklist for making Cyberlearning projects welcoming, accessible, and usable

The Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies (Cyberlearning) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) supports projects that integrate the capabilities of emerging technologies with advances in what is known about how people learn. These projects advance innovation, the understanding of how people learn in technology-rich environments, and broad use and transferability of new genres.

As increasing numbers of people with disabilities participate in academic opportunities and careers, the accessibility of classes, services, electronic resources, events, and other Cyberlearning project activities increases in importance. The goal is simply equal access; everyone who qualifies to use Cyberlearning resources or participate in sponsored research and other activities should be able to do so comfortably and efficiently. Cyberlearning tools and pedagogy should be fully accessible to students and intructors with disabilities.

Legal Issues

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008 mandate that no otherwise qualified person with a disability shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in public programs. This means that courses, student services, information technology (IT) resources, and project activities should be accessible to qualified individuals with disabilities.

Universal Design

An approach to making facilities, information, and activities accessible to and usable by everyone is called universal design (UD). Universal design means that rather than designing for the average user, you design for people with differing native languages, genders, racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, and disabilities. Each UD practice is accessible, usable, and inclusive. The universal design of your Cyberlearning offerings will make everyone feel welcome and minimize the need for special accommodations for individual participants. Make sure that project staff and volunteers are trained to support people with disabilities, respond to specific requests for accommodations in a timely manner, and know who to contact regarding disability-related issues.

Guidelines and Examples

Addressing the following questions provides a good starting point for making your facility, products and resources, and project activities universally accessible. This content does not provide legal advice. Contact the U.S. Office of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) about legal mandates.

Planning, Policies, and Evaluation

Consider diversity issues as you plan and evaluate Cyberlearning project activities.

Are people with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, men and women, young and old students, and other groups represented in the project planning processes in numbers proportional to those of the whole campus or community?
Do Cyberlearning project policies and procedures ensure access to facilities, events, resources, and IT for people with disabilities?
Are disability-related access issues and other diversity issues addressed in data collection, research, evaluation, and instruments?
Do you address issues related to the inclusion of participants with disabilities in grant proposals, perhaps by partnering with an organization with expertise in this area?

Information Resources and Technology

Computers and computer facilities, IT, as well as information resources, used in your Cyberlearning project should be accessibly designed. Staff should be aware of accessibility options, and systems should be in place to make accommodations when requested.

Do pictures in your publications and website include people with diverse characteristics with respect to race, gender, age, and disability?
In key publications, do you include a statement about your commitment to access and procedures for requesting disability-related accommodations? For example, you could include the following statement: “A project goal is to make materials, IT, and activities accessible to all participants. Please inform organization leaders of accessibility barriers you encounter and request accommodations that will make project activities and information resources accessible to you.”
Are all printed publications available (immediately or in a timely manner) in alternate formats such as Braille, large print, and accessibly-designed electronic text?
Are key documents provided in language(s) other than English?
Are printed materials in your facility or at an event within easy reach from a variety of heights and without furniture blocking access?
Do electronic resources, including web pages, adhere to accessibility standards adopted by your institution, or your project or funding source? For example, are text alternatives provided for graphic images on web pages? Can the content be accessed with a text-only browser and by using the keyboard alone? The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines are most commonly used. For general information about making your IT website accessible to everyone, consult World Wide Access: Accessible Web Design.
Do you include a statement on your website affirming your commitment to accessible design? For example, you could include the following statement: “We strive to make our website accessible to everyone. We provide text descriptions of graphic images and photos. Video clips are open-captioned and audio-described. Suggestions for increasing the accessibility of these pages are welcome.”
Do videos developed or used in the project have captions? Are they audio-described?
Is an adjustable-height table available for each type of workstation to assist participants who use wheelchairs or are small or large in stature?
Do you provide adequate work space for both left- and right-handed users?
Is a large monitor available to assist people with low vision?
Do you provide a trackball to be used by someone who has difficulty controlling a mouse?
Are staff members aware of accessibility options (e.g., enlarged text feature) included in computer operating systems and of assistive technology available in the facility?
Are procedures in place for a timely response to requests for assistive technology?

Project and Activity Facilities

Ensure that facilities, activities, materials, and equipment are physically accessible to and usable by all participants, and that all potential characteristics are addressed in safety considerations.

Are all spaces welcoming, accessible, comfortable, and safe to a variety of abilities, racial and ethnic backgrounds, genders, and ages?
Are there parking areas, pathways, and entrances to the building that are wheelchair accessible and clearly identified?
Are all levels of the facility connected via an accessible route of travel?
Are aisles kept wide and clear of obstructions for the safety of users who have mobility or visual impairments?
Are wheelchair-accessible and child-friendly restrooms with well-marked signs available in or near the facility?
Is at least part of a service counter at a height accessible from a seated position?
Is adequate light available?
Are there ample high-contrast, large-print directional signs to and throughout the facility, including directions to accessible routes? When appropriate are these signs marked in Braille?

Consult the ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal for more suggestions. For accessibility guidelines for specific facilities (e.g., engineering labs, makerspaces, computer labs), see the collection of DO-IT resources.

Staff

Make sure staff are prepared to work with all Cyberlearning project participants.

Do staff members know how to respond to requests for disability-related accommodations, such as sign language interpreters?
Are staff and contractors in specific assignment areas (e.g., web page development, video creation) knowledgeable about accessibility requirements and considerations?
Are staff members aware of issues related to communicating with participants who have disabilities? Do staff deliver conference presentations and exhibits that are accessible to all participants? See Presentation, Exhibit, and Other Communication Hints are at the end of this publication. For suggestions, consult Equal Access: Universal Design of Your Presentation.

Checklist Updates

To increase the usefulness of this working document, send suggested improvements todoit@uw.edu.

Communication Hints

Treat people with disabilities with the same respect and consideration with which you treat others. Here are some helpful hints when it comes to delivering a presentation, hosting an exhibit, and otherwise relating to people with disabilities.

General

Ask a person with a disability if that person needs help before providing assistance.
Talk directly to the person with a disability, not through their companion or interpreter.
Refer to a person’s disability only if it is relevant to the conversation.
Avoid derogatory slang or negative descriptions of a person’s disability. For example, “a person who uses a wheelchair” is more appropriate than “a person confined to a wheelchair.” A wheelchair is not confining—it’s liberating!
Provide information in alternate means (e.g., written, spoken, diagrams).
Do not interact with a person’s guide dog or service dog unless you have received permission to do so.
Do not be afraid to use common terms and phrases, like “see you later” or “let’s go for a walk” around people with disabilities.
Do not touch mobility devices or assistive technology without the owner’s consent.
Do not assume physical contact—like handshakes, high-fives, or hugs—is okay.
Understand that not everyone uses eye contact.

Blind or Low Vision

Be descriptive. Say, “The computer is about three feet to your left,” rather than “The computer is over there.”
Speak all of the projected content when presenting and describe the content of charts, graphs, and pictures.
When guiding people with visual impairments, offer them your arm rather than grabbing or pushing them.

Learning Disabilities

Offer directions or instructions both orally and in writing. If asked, read instructions to individuals who have specific learning disabilities.

Mobility Impairments

Consider carrying on a long conversation with an individual who has a mobility impairment from a seated position.

Speech Impairments

Listen carefully. Repeat what you think you understand and then ask the person with a speech impairment to clarify or repeat the portion that you did not understand.

Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Face people with hearing impairments, and avoid covering your mouth, so they can see your lips. Avoid talking while chewing gum or eating.
Speak clearly at a normal volume. Speak louder only if requested.
Repeat questions from audience members.
Use paper and pencil, or type things out on your cell phone, if the person who is deaf does not read lips or if more accurate communication is needed.
When using an interpreter, speak directly to the person who is deaf; when an interpreter voices what a person who is deaf signs, look at the person who is deaf, not the interpreter.

Psychiatric Impairments

Provide information in clear, calm, respectful tones.
Allow opportunities for addressing specific questions.

Additional Resources

To learn about applications of universal design consult The Center for Universal Design in Education. The book Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice, Second Edition published by Harvard Education Press shares perspectives of UD leaders nationwide.

��ԭ�� DO-IT

DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) serves to increase the successful participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers such as those in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology.

For further information, to be placed on the DO-IT mailing list, to request materials in an alternate format, or to make comments or suggestions about DO-IT publications or web pages, contact:

DO-IT
Box 354842
��ԭ��
Seattle, WA 98195-4842
doit@uw.edu
www.uw.edu/doit/
206-685-DOIT (3648) (voice/TTY)
888-972-DOIT (3648) (toll free voice/TTY)
509-328-9331 (voice/TTY) Spokane
206-221-4171 (fax)
Founder and Director: Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D.

Acknowledgment

This publication is based upon work supported by the NSF (Grant #1550477). It is adapted from an earlier publication by the U.S. Department of Education (FIPSE Grant #P116D990138-01) and the National Science Foundation (Cooperative Agreement #0227995). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding sources.

20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course

eol — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 00:28:37 +0000

20_Tips_Designing_Courses.pdf

By:

Burgstahler, Sheryl, Ph.D.

I taught the first online learning course at the ��ԭ�� in 1995. My co‑instructor was Dr. Norm Coombs, at the time a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. We designed the course to be accessible to anyone, including students who were blind, were deaf, had physical disabilities, or had multiple learning preferences. Norm himself is blind. He uses a screen reader and speech synthesizer to read text presented on the screen. We employed the latest technology of the time—email, discussion list, Gopher, file transfer protocol, and telnet (no World Wide Web yet!). All online materials were in a text-based format, and videos, presented in VHS format with captions and audio description, were mailed to the students. When asked if any of our students had disabilities, we were proud to say that we did not know. Why? Because no one needed to disclose a disability since all of the course materials and teaching methods were accessibly designed.

Technology has changed dramatically since I first taught online, but the basic principles that can guide the design of accessible courses have not. The term UD was coined by Ronald Mace, an architect, product designer, and wheelchair user whose work led to the creation of the Center for Universal Design (CUD) at North Carolina State University and its seven principles of UD. UD is defined as "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design." The UD definition, principles, and guidelines were created to make any application accessible, usable, and inclusive and, thus, are a logical choice to underpin practices that ensure that online courses meet the needs of potential students with a wide variety of characteristics that include those related to gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, marital status, age, abilities, interests, values, learning preferences, socioeconomic status, and religious beliefs.

For a history of UD, the basic principles of UD and those that later evolved to address issues specific to the design of learning activities and IT, consult my book Creating Inclusive Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Universal Design Toolkit and other resources presented in the Center for Universal Design in Education, which is hosted by DO-IT Center at the ��ԭ��—where DO-IT stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology. For resources specific to applications of UD to online learning, including accessibility checkers, legal issues, technical details, and promising practices, consult AccessDL.

A statement about how students can request disability-related accommodations should be included in the syllabus. Then instructors can apply the 20 tips I list below, as they begin to work toward making their online courses more inclusive. The complementary video, 20 Tips for Instructors about Making Online Learning Courses Accessible, may be viewed online, along with a tutorial for further background and directions for implementing these tips.

Tips

Nine tips for course materials follow. Consult Accessible Technology at uw.edu/accessibility for details on the design, selection, and use of accessible IT as well as accessibility checkers that help you identify accessibility problems in materials you use or create:

Use clear, consistent layouts, navigation, and organization schemes to present content. Keep paragraphs short and avoid flashing content.
Use descriptive wording for hyperlink text (e.g., “DO-IT website” rather than “click here”).
Use a text-based format and structure headings, lists, and tables using style and formatting features within your Learning Management System (LMS) and content creation software, such as Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint and Adobe InDesign and Acrobat; use built-in page layouts where applicable.
Avoid creating PDF documents. Post most instructor-created content within LMS content pages (i.e., in HTML) and, if a PDF is desired, link to it only as a secondary source of the information.
Provide concise text descriptions of content presented within images (text descriptions web resource).
Use large, bold, sans serif fonts on uncluttered pages with plain backgrounds.
Use color combinations that are high contrast and can be distinguished by those who are colorblind (color contrast web resource). Do not use color alone to convey meaning.
Caption videos and transcribe audio content.
Don’t overburden students with learning to operate a large number of technology products unless they are related to the topic of the course; use asynchronous tools; make sure IT used requires the use of the keyboard alone and otherwise employs accessible design practices.

Eleven tips for inclusive pedagogy follow; many are particularly beneficial for students who are neurodiverse (e.g., those on the autism spectrum or who have learning disabilities). Consult Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction for more guidance.

Recommend videos and written materials to students where they can gain technical skills needed for course participation.
Provide multiple ways for students to learn (e.g., use a combination of text, video, audio, and/or image; speak aloud all content presented on slides in synchronous presentations and then record them for later viewing).
Provide multiple ways to communicate and collaborate that are accessible to individuals with a variety of disabilities.
Provide multiple ways for students to demonstrate what they have learned (e.g., different types of test items, portfolios, presentations, single-topic discussions).
Address a wide range of language skills as you write content (e.g., use plain English, spell out acronyms, define terms, avoid or define jargon).
Make instructions and expectations clear for activities, projects, discussions and readings.
Make examples and assignments relevant to learners with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds.
Offer outlines and other scaffolding tools and share tips that might help students learn.
Provide adequate opportunities to practice.
Allow adequate time for activities, projects, and tests (e.g., give details of all project assignments at the beginning of the course).
Provide feedback on project parts and offer corrective opportunities.

These tips apply to both synchronous and asynchronous teaching. Additional tips for synchronous presentations (e.g., speak all content presented visually, turn on the caption feature of your conferencing software, do not require students to have their cameras on) can be found in Equal Access: Universal Design of Your Presentation.

Acknowledgments

DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) serves to increase the success of individuals with disabilities. This publication was partially funded through DO-IT’s AccessCyberlearning project that is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant #1550477). Any questions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. More information about DO-IT can be found at uw.edu/doit.

Issue:

Universal Design

2021

Improving distance education for students with special needs: A qualitative study of students’ experiences with an online library research course

kayladb — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 23:00:44 +0000

By:

Catalano, A.

UD Citation:

Book

Accessible Distance Learning

eol — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 23:21:13 +0000

AccessDL_Color_2012_tagged.pdf

Motivations

Distance learning designers make courses accessible to students with disabilities:

Accessible design is good design, and often benefits all users.
Accessible design ensures that content is reaching the largest possible audience.
Web users are diverse. They include people using phones, tablets, and a wide variety of other devices. People with disabilities are part of this diverse mix.
An accessible website makes people with disabilities feel welcome.
Accessibility is required by law.

Access Challenges

Mainstream technology is inaccessible to some people.

People who are blind may use screen reader software or Braille devices to access a website; they can only access content that is text-based.
People who are deaf cannot access audio content unless it is captioned or transcribed.
Some individuals may not be able to use a mouse; they need to be able to navigate a web page and access all content with the keyboard alone.
Some people with low vision, dyslexia, attention deficit, or cognitive disabilities have difficulty processing long lines of text and/or cluttered screens, and depend on white space, simple screen images, and good color contrast.

Principles

Design websites to be:

Perceivable

Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
Caption multimedia.
Present content in different ways.

Operable

Make all functionality available from keyboard alone.
Allow enough time to read content.
Help users navigate and find content.

Understandable

Make content appear and operate predictably.
Help users avoid and correct errors.

Robust

Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools.

Program Accessibility

Explore ten indicators of distance learning program accessibility at: www.washington.edu/doit/ten-indicators-distance-learning-program-accessibility
In an iterative process, the Indicators were shared with and refined with formative feedback from disabled student service and distance learning staff at sixteen postsecondary institutions as part of a DO-IT project. Each Indicator relates to one of four key stakeholders in the delivery of distance learning courses:

students and potential students,
distance learning designers,
distance learning faculty, and
distance learning program evaluators.

Impact

Making courses accessible to students with disabilities benefits society by:

enhancing academic and career fields with the expertise and perspectives of people with disabilities.
making learning opportunities available to more citizens.
providing more and better structured data for indexing and searching websites, documents, and media.

Resources

The following resources can help you get started in designing inclusive distance learning programs.

Standards & Guidelines

Further Guidance

Funding

DO-IT is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the State of ��ԭ��. The Boeing Company, Microsoft, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and other organizations and individuals also contribute to DO-IT efforts.

Leadership

DO-IT: Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology
DO-IT is a collaboration of:
College of Engineering
College of Education
UW Information Technology

��ԭ��
Box 354842
Seattle, ��ԭ�� 98195
uw.edu/doit
Founder and Director: Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D.

2012