DO-IT - IT

Creating Accessible Documents

eol — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 19:57:54 +0000

This video explains why and how to create electronic documents that are accessible to all users.

Project:

AccessComputing

AccessCS10K

Year:

2022

Creating Accessible Documents

Featured:

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UD Topic:

Our Technology for Equal Access: Sensory Impairments

eol — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:37:15 +0000

Students with sensory impairments talk about the assistive technology they use in educational settings.

Year:

2019

Our Technology for Equal Access: Sensory Impairments

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off

UD Topic:

Our Technology for Equal Access: Mobility Impairments

eol — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:36:37 +0000

Students with mobility impairments talk about the assistive technology they use in educational settings.

Year:

2019

Our Technology for Equal Access: Mobility Impairments

Featured:

off

UD Topic:

Our Technology for Equal Access: Learning Disabilities

eol — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:35:52 +0000

Students with learning disabilities talk about the assistive technology they use in educational settings.

Project:

ITEST NNL

Year:

2019

Our Technology for Equal Access: Learning Disabilities

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UD Topic:

Teamwork: Making IT Accessible at the ��ԭ�� and Statewide

eol — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 21:19:09 +0000

This video highlights efforts at the ��ԭ�� and other state schools regarding the procurement, development and use of accessible IT.

Project:

AccessADVANCE

Assistive Technology

Year:

2019

Teamwork: Making IT Accessible at the ��ԭ�� and Statewide

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UD Topic:

Lists:

Educator Resource

Making Videos Accessible

eol — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 18:29:33 +0000

Learn what to consider when creating a video that it is accessible to all viewers, from pre-production techniques to the provision of captioning and audio description.

Project:

Year:

2017

Making Videos Accessible

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UD Topic:

Student Services

Using a Screen Reader

eol — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 18:26:23 +0000

Hadi Rangin is an expert user of screen reader software. In this video, he demonstrates the elements of a well designed web page and how they sound to someone who is blind. Issues discussed include ARIA landmarks, headings, and text content.

Project:

AccessADVANCE

Year:

2017

Using a Screen Reader

Featured:

off

UD Topic:

How can Office for Civil Rights resolutions help guide campuses in making information technology accessible?

lylac — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 20:05:03 +0000

Date Updated:

05/26/22

In order for information technology (IT) to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, it must afford these individuals the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in interactions, and obtain services as people without disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Department of Justice (DoJ), and courts of law have resolved civil rights complaints with respect to IT access for individuals with disabilities at more than a dozen postsecondary institutions in the United States.

Resolutions to OCR and DoJ complaints regarding inaccessible IT suggest that institutions of higher education consider:

developing corrective action strategies, e.g., to systematically review and update websites and PDF files to be more accessible
developing and disseminating an accessible IT policy
creating IT accessibility standards
providing training and education
developing procurement policies and procedures
developing and publicizing grievance procedures
addressing accessibility within already developed, procured, and used IT, including websites, learning management systems (LMSs), classroom technologies, and purchased software

Beyond that, ideally an institution of higher education might have:

a campus-level task force with annual reports
a IT accessibility guidance website
standard accessible web page templates
IT accessibility consulting/testing services
accessibility included on IT development and support teams
collaboration between vendors and staff for creating and purchasing accessible software and technology
IT accessibility courses offered
accessibility included in general IT training
accessibility included in IT job postings
an IT accessibility leader in each campus unit
captions promoted as a best practice
grant writers encouraged to include accessible technology in grant outcomes
accessibility-awareness activities and products
IT accessibility capacity-building institutes
grants secured to supplement and expand the reach of IT accessibility efforts
leadership related to IT accessibility in professional organizations and publications
students with disabilities as accessibility testers

Find more information consult legal cases by issue on the ��ԭ��’s website. Consult the Information Technology resource section of the DO-IT website for additional information regarding the implementation of universal design principles to make IT accessible to everyone.

What can campus leaders do to ensure IT is accessible?

lylac — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 22:12:36 +0000

Date Updated:

05/23/22

Inaccessible IT sends the message that a campus is not welcoming to individuals with disabilities and may discourage or prevent people with disabilities from learning, conducting research, or working at an institution. Although there are legal requirements requiring IT to be accessible, not all postsecondary institutions comply.

Having the support of campus leadership can help to ensure that the accessibility of information technology (IT) is a priority and that policies and procedures that reflect this priority are put in place. Considering accessibility as products are developed or acquired leads to the best results. Administrators and other campus leaders can take steps to make sure this happens.

Watch IT Accessibility: What Campus Leaders Have to Say to learn more about the perspective of campus leaders who place a high priority on making IT accessible on their campuses. Also, read what others have shared on this topic through the Chronicle of Higher Education and the EDUCAUSE blog.

For more information on web accessibility, visit AccessWeb.

Blue Ridge Community College: A Promising Practice in Using Student Feedback to Improve Access to Information Technology

Lyla — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 21:25:35 +0000

Date Updated:

05/23/22

In 2002 Blue Ridge Community College, in Flat Rock, North Carolina received funding for a two-year initiative to improve access to information technology in community colleges. The project used student feedback to identify barriers; assess and upgrade existing information technology on campus; and implement faculty-wide trainings on overcoming barriers to information technology experienced by students with disabilities.

The first step in the project was to form an eight-member Student Advisory Board. Each of the eight members of the Advisory Board was given a grant equal to the tuition, activity fee, technical fee, and insurance fee of a 4-hour course ($147.25 in 2002) for each semester of participation. To conform to Business Office requirements, the students' time was designated as contracted services.

At the time of the project (Fall 2002), 126 (out of an enrollment of 1,988) students were identified as having disabilities: 51.6% had learning disabilities; 26.6% had visual disabilities; 22.7% had an orthopedic disability; 18.9% were deaf or hard of hearing; 15.1% had a psychiatric disability; 6.3% had a speech disability; and 17.6% had other disabilities. The makeup of the Student Advisory Board reflected the diversity of disabilities represented in the student body: two members had learning disabilities, while each of the other six members had a different disability type.

The Student Advisory Board conducted a campus-wide survey to identify barriers students with disabilities faced when attempting to access information technology at the institution. Survey results revealed that the most common physical and technical barriers were: difficulty with assistive technology (such as using JAWS® with Blackboard®) on campus; difficulty using wheelchairs at computer stations due to cramped computer labs and cords; and difficulties in accessing websites and online classes. The number one barrier cited by the students, however, was the lack of faculty knowledge about providing equal access to students with disabilities.

The college's response to the findings of the Student Advisory Board's survey was two-fold. First, the North Carolina Assistive Technology Project (NCATP) was asked to do a technology and physical access survey of the Blue Ridge Community College main campus in Flat Rock and its Transylvania Center in Brevard. Eleven student computer labs, one media center and the student library were evaluated on the main campus. One Learning Center (GED) classroom, the library, two computer lab classrooms, and one distance-learning classroom were assessed at the Brevard campus.

Although both surveys found much of the information technology and the campus facilities accessible, some access barriers remained. In response to the NCATP surveys, new accessible workstations were installed in the library at Flat Rock; the main website was redesigned with accessibility in the forefront; computer labs were redesigned to provide more space for persons using wheelchairs; and all new copiers have accessible controls.

The college's second response to overcoming barriers identified by the Student Advisory Board was to develop and implement three trainings for faculty, and to create a faculty handbook on disability and access to information technology. The first faculty workshop addressed full-time faculty and focused on accommodating students with learning disabilities (the most prevalent disability on campus). The training lasted 90 minutes on a workday and was conducted by an outside trainer with expert knowledge of learning disabilities. Faculty response to the training was positive.

The second faculty workshop was directed to adjunct faculty. This workshop focused on basic information about disability, the law, barriers commonly encountered, and accommodations that can be made to overcome or avoid these barriers. Faculty, staff and administration were invited to the third faculty workshop, an information session on web accessibility, which was conducted by a trainer from NCATP.

Indicators of Success

Two documented, long-term results of the project were (1) the creation of a faculty handbook and (2) an increase in the accessibility of information technology on two campuses.

Students with disabilities and Disability Services staff collaborated on creating The Faculty Handbook: A Desk Resource Guide to Removing Information and Education Barriers to Students with Disabilities. The guide drew from several existing sources of disability and access information, including accessibility information from DO-IT at the ��ԭ��, educational information technology resources from the Southeast ADA Center (DBTAC), and suggestions from the Blue Ridge College Student Advisory Board. It consists of a review of the Americans with Disabilities Act mandated rights and responsibilities affecting both faculty and students with disabilities, followed by a discussion of accommodation procedures for tests. It then provides an introductory overview of information technology, access and testing barriers and suggested accommodations for students with blindness/visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, speech impairments, and psychological disabilities.

Following both the student identification of barriers to information access and the two-campus survey by NCATP, new accessible workstations were installed in the library at Flat Rock; the main website was redesigned with accessibility in the forefront; computer labs were redesigned to provide more space for persons using wheelchairs; and all new copiers have accessible controls.

Although the Information Technology Departments at both campuses had procurement policies in place prior to this project, none of these policies included guidelines for accessibility of new hardware and software. The Disability Services Office and the Information Technology Department have developed and proposed new policies.

Note:
This promising practice was edited and reproduced with permission. It is a part of a collection titled Promising Practices in Accessibility of IT for Post Secondary Education in the Southeast Region. Developed by CATEA's Southeast ADA Center with funding from NIDRR under U.S. Department of Education Grant #H133D010207.

DO-IT - IT

Creating Accessible Documents

Our Technology for Equal Access: Sensory Impairments

Our Technology for Equal Access: Mobility Impairments

Our Technology for Equal Access: Learning Disabilities

Teamwork: Making IT Accessible at the ����ԭ�� and Statewide

Making Videos Accessible

Using a Screen Reader

How can Office for Civil Rights resolutions help guide campuses in making information technology accessible?

What can campus leaders do to ensure IT is accessible?

Blue Ridge Community College: A Promising Practice in Using Student Feedback to Improve Access to Information Technology

Indicators of Success

Teamwork: Making IT Accessible at the ��ԭ�� and Statewide