Web Accessibility Policy for Students with Disabilities in U.S. Postsecondary Distance Education

2010 ◽  
pp. 357-373
Author(s):  
Heidi L. Wilkes
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Web Accessibility ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Education Demand ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
Accessibility Issues

“Web accessibility” is the ability to access information online. In distance education, most instructional material is located online, and anything that prevents a person from accessing these materials becomes a barrier to distance education. Demand for distance education is growing, and the Web is the most common mechanism for its delivery. Not all Websites are accessible, despite the availability of design guidelines. The purpose of this chapter is to inform Web accessibility policy decisions at U.S. postsecondary institutions by increasing the awareness of Web accessibility issues in distance education, examining societal implications, and discussing methods for improvement. This chapter also reviews the current U.S. legal context and provides alternative cost-justification and cost-benefit frameworks for consideration by policymakers.

Web Accessibility Policy for Students with Disabilities in U.S. Postsecondary Distance Education

2010 ◽  
pp. 1644-1660
Author(s):  
Heidi L. Wilkes
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Instructional Material ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Web Accessibility ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Access Information ◽  
The Web

“Web accessibility” is the ability to access information online. In distance education, most instructional material is located online, and anything that prevents a person from accessing these materials becomes a barrier to distanceeducation. Demand for distance education is growing, and the Web is the most common mechanism for its delivery. Not all Websites are accessible, despite the availability of design guidelines. The purpose of this chapter is to informWeb accessibility policy decisions at U.S. postsecondaryinstitutions by increasing the awareness of Webaccessibility issues in distance education, examining societal implications, and discussing methods forimprovement. This chapter also reviews the current U.S.legal context and provides alternative cost-justification and cost-benefit frameworks for consideration by policymakers.

Removing the Disability from Distance Education

2014 ◽  
pp. 156-168
Author(s):  
Christina Yuknis
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Education Courses

Students with disabilities are increasingly opting to take distance education courses. As a result, many courses are not prepared to adequately meet the needs of their students. This chapter provides an overview of the main accessibility issues, including the delay in technology use and adaptation and assistive technology integration for people with disabilities in distance education courses. To mitigate these issues, a framework for instructional design, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), is presented. UDL is a set of three principles that, when applied from the beginning of the course design, can reduce the need for later modifications or accommodations. Instructors may use UDL to ensure that the course is accessible, not just for students with disabilities, but for all students in the course.

Removing the Disability from Distance Education

2016 ◽  
pp. 254-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Yuknis
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Education Courses

Students with disabilities are increasingly opting to take distance education courses. As a result, many courses are not prepared to adequately meet the needs of their students. This chapter provides an overview of the main accessibility issues, including the delay in technology use and adaptation and assistive technology integration for people with disabilities in distance education courses. To mitigate these issues, a framework for instructional design, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), is presented. UDL is a set of three principles that, when applied from the beginning of the course design, can reduce the need for later modifications or accommodations. Instructors may use UDL to ensure that the course is accessible, not just for students with disabilities, but for all students in the course.

Comparing ten WCAG tools for accessibility evaluation of websites

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Shashank Kumar ◽  
Jeevitha Shree DV ◽  
Pradipta Biswas
Keyword(s):  
User Interaction ◽  
Web Accessibility ◽  
User Profile ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Color Contrast ◽  
Careful Evaluation ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Web Developers ◽  
Compare And Contrast ◽  
Common User

BACKGROUND: Web accessibility is one of the most important aspects of building a website. It is important for web developers to ensure that their website is accessible according to WCAG standards for people with different range of abilities. There is plethora of tools for ensuring conformance to WCAG standards but not many studies compared performance of automatic WCAG tools. OBJECTIVE: This paper compares a set of ten WCAG tools and their results in terms of ease of comprehension and interpretation by web developers. We proposed a Common User Profile format to help personalize contents of website making it accessible to people with different range of abilities. METHODS: We selected ten WCAG tools from World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to evaluate landing pages of two popular websites. For each webpage, we identified accessibility issues and recommended alternate suggestions to help developers improve accessibility. Further, we highlighted accessibility issues that cannot be captured only through conformance to WCAG tools; and proposed additional methods to evaluate accessibility through an Inclusive User Model. We then demonstrated how simulation of user interaction can capture usability and accessibility issues that are not detected through only syntactic analysis of websites’ content. Finally, we proposed a Common User Profile format that can be used to compare and contrast accessibility systems and services, and to simulate and personalize interaction for users with different range of abilities. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: After careful evaluation of two websites using the ten tools, we noted that, both websites lacked color contrast between background and foreground; lack of sign language alternatives; opening of pop-ups without proper warnings and so on. Further, results from comparative analysis of selected web accessibility tools noted that, there is no single tool that can be found ideal in all aspects. However, from our study, Utilitia Validator by Utilitia SP. z O.O was considered the most feasible tool. By rectifying and incorporating issues and alternate suggestions by simulation study and Common User Profile format respectively, developers can improve both websites making it accessible to maximum audience.

Web Accessibility Research and Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-49
Author(s):  
Mona M. Alnahari ◽  
Joyram Chakraborty ◽  
Mona Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Web Accessibility ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Wcag 2.0 ◽  
Arabian Gulf Region ◽  
The World ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Arabic Speaking

Web accessibility is the practice of having websites that are accessible to all people, including persons with disabilities. Several research studies have been done around the world to improve web accessibility. However, advances in Arabic web accessibility studies are limited. Research has indicated that a significant number of Arabic websites have accessibility issues, which becomes a restraint to people with disabilities from accessing and using the web. This research reviews current studies in web accessibility presented within the cultural background of several Arabic-speaking countries, particularly the Arabian Gulf region of Gulf Cooperation Council, and addresses services offered by the countries. The authors evaluate 54 websites in the Gulf region regarding accessibility issues. The results show that all websites do not satisfy WCAG 2.0 (AA). This paper highlights the deficiencies in Arabic web accessibility and provide some recommendations and suggestions for improvements.

Universal Design for Online Education

2004 ◽  
pp. 67-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosangela K. Boyd ◽  
Bonnie Moulton
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Functional Ability ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Potential Barriers ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter will discuss accessibility issues related to online education. It will provide rationale for designing online courses that cater to different levels of functional ability. It will also present an overview of the challenges faced by students with disabilities in accessing and interacting with online course materials and activities. In order to address the potential barriers to full participation, national and international guidelines will be examined, with particular emphasis on their implications for specific course components. In addition, mechanisms for validation of web accessibility will be suggested and resources will be listed for those interested in obtaining further information on the topic.

Web Accessibility and the Law

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Yu
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Web Design ◽  
Web Accessibility ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Section 508 ◽  
Rehabilitation Act ◽  
Accessibility Issues

Through a series of federal and state laws and standards, the legal foundation concerning Web accessibility that impact people with disabilities and their ability to fully overcome digital barriers and participate in the Web environment has been established. Currently, the concept of accessible design or universal design is increasingly becoming an important component of Web design. However, the unanswered questions in laws, the absence of the obligation in fulfilling legal requirements, and the general unawareness of the need to make Web pages accessible have created barriers in implementing the Americans with disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1998, and others. In many cases, the absence of obligations is due to unfamiliarity with legal responsibility of creating accessible Web sites. As a result, the response to Web accessibility concerns frequently comes about only on an ad hoc basis. Identifying these barriers is the first step toward solutions. There are legal and practical approaches for addressing Web accessibility issues in policies, education, research and development, and technology and tools.

The Ethics of Web Design

2008 ◽  
pp. 3410-3429
Author(s):  
Jack S. Cook ◽  
Laura Cook
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Web Site ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Web Design ◽  
Web Accessibility ◽  
The World ◽  
Technological Issue ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Web Designers ◽  
Complete Access

Web accessibility is really not a technological issue but rather a cultural problem. A Web site is said to be Web accessible if anyone, regardless of capabilities or disabilities, using any kind of Web browsing technology to visit the site has full and complete access to the site’s content and has the ability to interact with the site if required. If properly planned from the start, a Web site can be functional, accessible and aesthetically pleasing. This chapter focuses on ensuring access to information available on the Internet. The overall objective is to increase awareness of Web accessibility issues by providing rationale for why Web designers should be interested in creating accessible sites. Specifically, this chapter identifies some of the emerging digital barriers to accessibility encountered by those with disabilities. Current efforts to address these barriers legally are identified and their effectiveness for breaking down barriers is discussed. The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C’s) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is discussed, followed by a study of the 50 most visited Web sites. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of this topic and future developments.

Universal Design for Online Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 1219-1251
Author(s):  
Rosangela K. Boyd ◽  
Bonnie Moulton
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Functional Ability ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Potential Barriers ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter will discuss accessibility issues related to online education. It will provide rationale for designing online courses that cater to different levels of functional ability. It will also present an overview of the challenges faced by students with disabilities in accessing and interacting with online course materials and activities. In order to address the potential barriers to full participation, national and international guidelines will be examined, with particular emphasis on their implications for specific course components. In addition, mechanisms for validation of web accessibility will be suggested and resources will be listed for those interested in obtaining further information on the topic.

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