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Accessibility and eLearning (18 Links)
- Accessible e-Learning (TechDis Staff Pack).
"These training materials explore the theme of accessibility in relation to simple 'home grown' e-Learning, illustrating how simple techniques can greatly add to the learning experience of many students".
- Access All Areas: Disability, Technology and Learning (PDF format - 963Kb)
edited by Lawrie Phipps, Allan Sutherland and Jane Sutherland of TechDis.
This document is a collection of articles covering legislation, the role of assistive technologies in supporting student learning and making e-learning accessible.
- Access and Equity in Online Learning: Assistive Technologies for Online Training Delivery for People with Disabilities (PDF format - 76Kb)
by Rhonda Daniell, ANTA (Australian National Training Authority), December 2001.
This report outlines the issues and barriers faced by people with disabilities when accessing information. This is one of many resources from the Australian Flexible Learning Network's Access and Equity in Online Learning section.
- ATRC (Adaptive Technology Resource Center) Library: Papers and Presentations on Accessible Learning Technology
ATRC, at the University of Toronto, has a library page containing a range of articles on accessibility and online learning.
- Barrierfree Project (Creating Barrier-Free Broadband Learning Environments)
The Barrierfree Project has developed tools for creating and repurposing accessible learning content. It also provides learners with an on-line curriculum that adapts to their learning and access needs.
- Creation of Learning Content
by TechDis.
A set of resources organised by disability, which describes ways of making e-learning resources accessible. As the holistic approach to e-learning, is taken, there also suggestions for using non-electronic resources.
- Distance Learning: Boon or Bane?
by Art Blaser, September 2001.
This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning and the cost effectiveness.
- eLISU Resource on Accessible e-Learning
This resource covers the whys and wherefores of accessibility and provides tutorials and information on making websites and software accessible.
- Implementing a Holistic Approach to e-Learning Accessibility
by Brian Kelly (University of Bath), Lawrie Phipps (The Network Centre) and Caro Howell (University of Bristol) (2005).
This paper disputes the suitability of the "one size fits all" approach to e-learning accessibility and suggests a framework for a more holistic approach.
- Information Technology and Disabilities: Special Edition on "Accessibility of Web-Based Information Resources for People with Disabilities"
Information Technology and Disabilities, Vol. 8, No 1, January 2002.
Includes the following articles:
- Universal Design of Distance Learning; A Survey of Online Instructional Issues and Strategies for Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities;
- The Design of Accessible Distance Education Environments that use Collaborative Learning;
- Distance Learning and Disability: A View from the Instructor's Side of the Virtual Lectern.
- Karlen Communications - Accessible e-Learning Resources
This site has a number of e-learning resources relating to accessibility including links to resources about: accessible web content; access key guidelines; application guidelines (standards and specifications); auditory feedback guidelines; collaboration tools; graphics, images and charts; Java and JavaScript accessibility; metadata resources; maths (math) and science guidelines; multimedia tools; and PDF Accessibility tools.
- LexDis Ideas for e-Learning
LexDis provides real strategies developed by students who have first hand experience of e-learning and tips on technologies to help make e-learning easier.
- Making Multi-media Web-based Lectures Accessible: Experiences, Problems, and Solutions
by M Litzkow, A Anders and C B Bundy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004.
This paper presents an overview of some of the issues screen reader users may face when accessing online content. It also describes some of the adjustments that have been made to the University's eTEACH software.
- NEMO (Non Excluding Models for Web Based Education)
The work of the NEMO project is to improve the life long learning process for people with hearing impairments, people with learning disabilities and elderly people via the use of internet technologies and tools.
- Overcoming Organizational Obstacles to E-Learning Access
A list of articles in published in BEEP (Best Educational E-Practices), No. 5, February 1st 2001, which cover various aspects of e-learning including Administrative Issues, Cost Issues, Regulatory Issues, and Issues of Access for People with Disabilities.
- Planet Special Edition 3: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities - Learning and Teaching Guidance for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Includes the following articles:
- The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) 2001 - An Introduction to the New Legislation;
- Introducing the QAA Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education - Students with Disabilities;
- Learning, Teaching and Disability: The Need for a New Approach;
- Using Online Learning to Disseminate Disability-related Staff Development Materials;
- The Teachability Project: Creating an Accessible Curriculum for Students with Disabilities;
- Of Mountains and Molehills: An Overview of Accessibility and Technology for Learning and Teaching;
- Mobility impaired students could Face Access and Location Problems on Entering Higher Education;
- Dyslexia: Implications for Learning, Teaching and Support;
- Disabled Students and Fieldwork: Towards Inclusivity?
- Able Student, Disabled Person: Practical Activities and Disabled Students;
- Academic Assessment and Students with Disabilities;
- Disability: The Students' View;
- QAA Code of Practice on Students with Disabilities.
- Skills for Access
The Skills for Access website has a number of resources based on creating accessible multimedia for e-learning. It includes case studies, articles, challenges to e-learning, and basic design techniques for making multimedia accessible.
- The Imagination Gap: Making Web-based Instructional Resources Accessible to Students and Colleagues with Disabilities
by John Slatin, Currents in Electronic Literacy, Issue 6, Spring 2002.
This article describes the "AccessFirst" design principle as a way to approach the technical challenge of making web-based resources accessible to all students.
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Accessible Blogs and Chat (2 Links)
- A-Chat
A-Chat is an accessible web-based chat tool for synchronous text chat. It runs on the user's web browser and features a screen reader "friendly" layout, customizable screen colours and text sizes, and keyboard "friendly" navigation.
- How to Make Your Blog Accessible to Blind Readers
Tips on making blogs accessible from the American Foundation for the Blind.
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Accessible eLearning Resources (8 Links)
- Adobe Authorware
For the creation of e-learning applications and content (compliant with American law and international standards) incorporating graphics, sound, animation, text, and video. Student progress and results can be monitored with built-in data-tracking and database connectivity.
- ATutor: Adaptive Learning Environment
ATutor is an open source web-based accessible course authoring tool and adaptive learning environment. It is available for free non-commercial use.
- Bookshare.org
Bookshare.org is an online library of accessible digital books for people with disabilities. The O'Reilly series of computer books has also recently been included in Bookshare's catalogue. Bookshare is a subscription service.
- DCMP (Described and Captioned Media Programme).
The DCMP provides captioned educational media and supportive collateral materials for people with hearing impairments.
- Curriculum Online
The DFES (Department for Education and Skills) in the UK (United Kingdom) has a metadata search tool for the National Curriculum. Curriculum Online uses a tailored version of the IEEE LOM standard and has over 2,000 subject specific keywords. Although the National Curriculum covers Primary and Secondary (rather than Further and Higher) Education, it is useful to see the types of metadata used to describe resources for disabled students.
- e-Book Locator
This e-book search engine contains links to thousands of e-books, although they may not all be accessible.
- Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
This American site provides has a catalogue of audio recorded text books available for loan to students. Recordings are currently available as a four-track cassette for use in America. The recordings will be available as digital recordings using the DAISY Specification on CD and via the internet.
- RNIB Library Catalogue
This web site brings together information about services and resources for visually impaired people and can be used to find accessible books and tactile diagrams in the UK (United Kingdom).
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Accessible Online Courses (5 Links)
- Access E-Learning.
Access E-Learning is a free ten-module tutorial on making distance education accessible. It covers PowerPoint, video, Flash, Word, Excel, PDF (Portable Digital Format), HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language), and Scripts and Java.
- Accessibility of eLearning.
This is a 15 hour open access online module run by the Open University, which examines the main challenges facing disabled students in eLearning, the types of technology used by disabled students, and the adjustments that can be made.
- Accessible Online Learning Module: The Medical and Social Model of Disability.
A pilot website developed following a research project on e-learning and accessibility by the Self Direction Community Project and the ALFA Project. This website provides a free course on disability models.
- EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information)
EASI is an American site, which provides information and guidance on access-to-information technologies for people with disabilities. It also runs online courses on accessible information technology, and provides a consultancy service for post-secondary education institutions.
- Eurochance - Language Courses for Visually Impaired People.
Free online language courses with a vocational focus aimed at visually impaired people. Available courses include: Intermediate English, Intermediate German, Advanced English, and Advanced German. The Intermediate courses are written for speakers of Czech, English, German, Norwegian, Slovak, and Spanish.
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eAssessment (1 Link)
- e-Assessment (TechDis Staff Pack).
"These training materials consider the benefits of assessing online and draw out the accessibility issues, problems and solutions associated with e-Assessment".
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Guidelines for Accessible Online Learning (6 Links)
- Electronic Textbook Design Guidelines
by Ruth Wilson and Monica Landoni, University of Strathclyde, 2002.
These guidelines cover the design of eBook content and of the actual eBook hardware.
- Guidelines for Accessible Online Courses (HTML format)
by Elaine Pearson and Tony Koppi, University of New South Wales, April 2001.
Guidelines for WebCT and other VLE course designers.
- Guidelines for Authors of Learning Objects
by Rachel Smith, NMC (New Media Consortium), 2004.
These guidelines describe learning objects and how to design them, including pedagogy, copyright issues, and usability.
- Paving the Way to Excellence in e-Learning (PDF Format - 2Mb)
by NLN Materials Team, BECTA.
These guidelines cover pedagogy, accessibility, standards and quality assurance for e-learning.
- Usable and Accessible e-Learning
by the University of Aberdeen.
A detailed checklist of accessibility tips. Links lead to more extensive descriptions including accessibility of WebCT.
- White Paper: Accessibility and E-Learning (Link to Request Details)
by Donald Clark, Epic Group plc.
This paper gives some useful checklists and guidelines for making e-learning accessible and can be requested from Epic either in electronic or hard copy format.
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Maths and Science (8 Links)
- Accessible Mathematics Made Easy
by Neil Soiffer, Design Science, Inc, 2004.
This paper gives a brief introduction to MathML (Mathematical Mark-up Language).
- EASI Street to: Science, Engineering and Mathematics - Access for People with Disabilities
by EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information), 1995.
This paper gives some simple accessibility solutions for students in the science, engineering and maths fields.
- Effective Practices for Description of Science Content within Digital Talking Books
by NCAM (National Centre for Accessible Media).
Whilst this resource is aimed at describing scientific content for digital talking books, many of the suggestions and examples will be of use. The resource covers Bar Charts, Line Charts, Venn Diagrams, Scatter Plots, Tables, Pie Charts, Flow Charts, Standard Diagrams, Complex Diagrams, and Maths Equations.
- MathPlayer.
MathPlayer enables Microsoft Internet Explorer to display and speak mathematical (maths) notation, using MathML (Mathematical Mark-up Language). It is also compatible with certain screen readers and can be downloaded for free.
- Infty: Research Project on Mathematical Document Information Processing.
The Infty Research Project includes a number of different strands, including Mathematical Formula Recognition. This is the development of an integrated mathematical document reader system using OCR (Optical Character Recognition), which recognizes scanned page images of scientific documents, including mathematical expressions, and then outputs the results in LaTeX, HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language), XML etc. It could also be useful in the retro-digitization of mathematical journals, and in the automatic transcripion of scientific documents into Braille codes, etc.
- MathSpeak
by A Nemeth.
This article describes the way in which MathSpeak "speaks" mathematical equations. The MathSpeak mechanism creates the necessary HTML or XML tags so that screen readers, such as JAWS and Window-Eyes, can read HTML and MathML or XML pages containing mathematical expressions. MathSpeak can be created using MathEQ. A 30 day demo is available.
- MathTalk.com.
Metroplex Voice Computing has speech recognition products for mathematics, that do not require use of a keyboard or mouse. MathTalk works with Dragon NaturallySpeaking Products and covers trigonometry, calculus, statistics and algebra.
- Virtual Pencil.
The Virtual Pencil from Henter Math is a tool that can be used to interactively solve maths problems for people who are "pencil impaired". It is not a tutorial but rather a tool to be used for mathematics, where a pencil would normally be used to work out a mathematical equation. A free demonstration is available.
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Mobile Learning (1 Link)
- Upwardly Mobile: Getting Started in Inclusive m-Learning
by TechDis.
The Upwardly Mobile resources describes the advantages and disadvantages of mobile learning, approaches to using and tips on distributing mobile content.
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Music (2 Links)
- Dancing Dots' GOODFEEL Braille Music Translator.
Enables sighted people to prepare Braille music scores, and blind musicians to notate compositions.
- Toccata.
Toccata allows Braille music to be produced in a variety of formats, either from scanned sheet music, or from scratch, using Toccata's Notation Editor.
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Repositories (2 Links)
- eduSource Canada
The eduSource Canada project is creating a testbed of linked and interoperable learning object repositories that will be fully bilingual (French and English) and accessible.
- The JISC Learning Materials Repository Service - JORUM Scoping and Technical Appraisal Study: Volume VI. Accessibility
This study describes the accessibility considerations which can be made when designing repositories.
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VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) Accessibility (12 Links)
- AccessAbility: Enabling Technology for Life Long Learning Inclusion in an Electronic Classroom
by Robert Luke, Educational Technology and Society, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2002.
The study examined six courseware environments (BlackBoard, Mallard, TopClass, VirtualU, Web Course in a Box, and WebCT) and observed people with various disabilities accessing and conducting tasks with them.
- Accessibility in Online Learning Management Systems (LMS)
by AnnMarie Johnson and Sean Ruppert, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, 2001.
Results of research by the University of Wisconsin into the accessibility of Blackboard 4 and 5, Prometheus 3, and WebCT 3.
- ALERT (Accessibility in Learning Environments and Related Technologies) Guidelines
by Durham University and Bournemouth University, July 2005.
These guidelines give recommendations on how best to include accessibility when using VLEs. They concentrate on the pedagogical, practical, and strategic aspects of VLE accessibility.
- An Accessibility Audit of WebCT
by Dey Alexander, Monash University.
This report outlines the accessibility problems with WebCT and suggests strategies for working round them.
- Comparison of Course Management Systems
This website from EduTools compares around 40 course management systems and VLEs by product name or features (including accessibility).
- Disability Access to Virtual Learning Environments
by Professor Mark Stiles, Staffordshire University, January 2002.
This article identifies some of the problems encountered by disabled students using VLEs and also some of the solutions.
- Making Your Module Accessible in Blackboard 5.5
by Carol Doyle, University of Wales Institute, December 2001.
This website offers some quick tips on making content accessible in Blackboad.
- Moodle Accessibility Specification
The Moodle Accessibility Specification gives some guidelines as well as identifies some of the outstanding accessibility issues with Moodle.
- Providing Extended Time on Quizzes in Blackboard Vista 4
Instructions on how to make it possible to create 'selective-release' online quizzes for students requiring additional time in Blackboard Vista 4.
- Return to SENDA? Implementing Accessibility for Disabled Students in Virtual Learning Environments in UK Further and Higher Education
by Sara Dunn, City University, September 2003.
This study examines the accessibility of VLEs via literature and web reviews, interviews and a survey, and concludes that VLEs are still relatively inaccessible.
- Some Thoughts on Accessibility & Universal Design as applied to the Internet, in general, and WebCT, in particular
by Stephen Rehberg, Georgia State University.
Tips on making web-based and WebCT-based content accessible.
- Towards Accessible Virtual Learning Environments
by Chris Cann, Simon Ball, and Allan Sutherland, TechDis, January 2003.
A summary of the accessibility of seven VLEs - Blackboard, COSE, FD Learning Environment, Futuremedia Solstra, Granada LearnWise, Teknical, and WebCT.
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