Case Studies

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Accessibility Policies and Strategies (5 Links)  Developing and Publicising a Workable Accessibility Strategy. by Lawrie Phipps, Sue Harrison, David Sloan, and Betty Willder, January 2004. This article suggests ways in which a web accessibility strategy can be written. 

Guidance on Preparing Accessibility Strategies. This site relates to the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 and gives some suggested headings for an accessibility strategy. 

University of Bristol Web Accessibility Policy Statement. This web accessibilility policy statement includes information on legislation, guidelines, and implementation.  University of Dundee Web Code of Practice. This code of conduct includes a section Disability Discrimination (in the "Legal Requirements" section) and recommends to which guidelines the University's websites should comply. 

University of Leeds University Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines give an introduction to SENDA (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act), a description of what needs to be done, a definition of accessibility, some tips and a list of resources.

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Best Practice Examples (3 Links)  Accessibility of Online Learning Materials by Peter Jeffels and Phil Marston, University of Aberdeen. The final report from this project based on research into the accessibility of online content at the University of Aberdeen. 

Accessibility Study of BBCi: Problems faced by Users with Disabilities (PDF format - 1.7Mb). This report, commissioned by the BBC to assess the accessibility of their BBCi website, contains many tips on making web based content accessible. It also contains their website user testing results and outlines some of the problems faced by people with disabilities in accessing web based information. </li>

DEMOS Project. The DEMOS project has developed an online learning package, which aimed specifically at academic staff and which examines the issues faced by disabled students in HE (Higher Education).</li></ol>

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Case Studies (6 Links)  ALERT (Accessibility in Learning Environments and Related Technologies) Case Studies. These case studies are profiles of disabled students and their use of a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). </li> Iamdyslexic.com. This site has been developed by a British dyslexic schoolboy, Barnaby Blackburn, who describes the first-hand effects of dyslexia on his learning and the solutions that he has found in order to help him study. Although his experiences are currently at the under 16 level, they may mirror some of the experiences faced by HE (Higher Education) and FE students. There is also an option to change the background colour on this site, which has been developed as part of Nigel Cummings' research at Newcastle College. </li>

Making Reasonable Adjustments with Disabled Students in Higher Education (PDF Format - 1.5Mb) by Margaret Herrington (ed) with Dawn Simpson; produced by the University of Nottingham. This document is intended for academic staff, disability specialists and staff development personnel in HE institutions in the UK (United Kingdom). It focuses on what can be expected from academic staff in making 'reasonable adjustments' to teaching, learning and assessment processes and includes several case studies. </li>

SCIPILOT (Spinal Cord Injury Peer Information Library on Technology). A resource describing the assistive technology experiences of individuals with quadriplegia from their own perspective. </li>

Usability Testing and Students with Disabilities: Achieving Universal Access on a Library Web Site (PDF format - 437Kb) by Suzanne Byerley and Mary Beth Chambers, University of Colorado, March 2001. This paper describes how usability testing was used to improve the accessibility of a library website. </li> Using Handhelds to Help People with Motor Impairments by Brad Myers, Jacob Wobbrock, Sunny Yang, Brian Yeung, Jeffrey Nichols, and Robert Miller, Carnegie Mellon University. This report describes the results of case studies and adaptations made to software for people with motor disabilities.</li></ol> Back to Top of Page

Web Accessibility in Higher Education (5 Links)  DMAG (Digital Media Access Group). DMAG provides consultancy and research into accessible and usable design. </li>

How Accessible are Australian University Websites? by Dey Alexander, Monash University, January 2004. This article examines the results of a study into the accessibility of Australian university web-sites and discusses the common errors and their solutions. </li>

Online Distance Education - "Anytime, Anywhere" but Not for Everyone by Axel Schmetzke, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, April 2001. This article presents the findings of research into the accessibility of web and other online pages at the University of Wisconsin. </li>

Web Accessibility Survey Site by A Schmetzke. Surveys on the accessibility of American college web-sites. </li>

WebWatch: An Accessibility Analysis of UK University Entry Points by Brian Kelly, UKOLN, September 2002. This article presents the findings of research into the accessibility of UK university home (entry point) pages.</li></ol>

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