Teaching Accessibility and Universal Design in Higher Education Curriculum: Benefits, Approaches and Resources Howard Kramer University of Colorado-Boulder hkramer@colorado.edu, 303-492-8672 AHEAD 2017

Presentation posted at slideshare http://slideshare.net/hkramer99/ https://goo.gl/AFjnts UD-in-Curriculum-AHEAD- 2017.pptx

Introduction Howard Kramer University of Colorado-Boulder Conference: hkramer@colorado.edu, 303-492-8672 Conference: Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web & Technology Class: Universal Design for Digital Media - 14 week class Grant Project: Promoting the Integration of Universal Design in University Curriculum (UDUC) Member of EOWG of WAI

Today’s Outline What do we mean by Universal Design? Importance is teaching about UD and accessibility Examples & models for including UD content in curriculum Resources for teaching about UD/accessibility Resources & future plans of UDUC project Round Table - your input & feedback

Today’s Objective(s) Acquire a sampling of examples of UD in curriculum that you may replicate or build upon   Provide you with ideas for promoting UD curriculum at your own institutions Inspire you to become involved with this project by using our resources, recommending resources or collaboration

Universal Design – What do we mean? Universal Design (Defined/Origins)

Universal Design – What do we mean? Universal Design (Defined/Origins) Universal Design is 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 – Ron Mace, Architect

UD Defined – variations on a theme …[T]he practice of designing products or environments that can be effectively and efficiently used by people with a wide range of abilities operating in a wide range of situations (Vanderheiden, 1997, p. 2014). …[B]uilding products that are robust and accommodating. Universal designs take account of differences in sight, hearing, mobility, speech, and cognition. Universal design helps not only people with disabilities, but also any of us when we’re tired, busy, or juggling many tasks (Francik, 1996).

“Universal design implies a process that goes beyond minimum access codes and standards, to design environments that are comfortably usable by people from childhood into their oldest years.” - Nasar & Evans-Cowley, eds. 2007. Universal Design & Visitability.

Definition of Accessibility

Definition of Accessibility Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities. [1]  Includes both "direct access" (i.e. unassisted) and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.

What about accessibility? How is it different from usability? Vs. Usability What about accessibility? How is it different from usability?

Vs. Usability What about accessibility? Isn’t that a part of usability? And they’re right of course. Unless you’re going to make a blanket statement that people with disability are not apart of your audience, you really can’t say your site is usable unless it’s accessible. - Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

Universal Design vs. Accessibility

Assistive Technology or Special Adaptation Universal Design After the fact Before the fact Individual adjusts to unaltered environment Alters environment and information Burden on the user Burden on the designer Consumable, with limited use Used by many in various circumstances High cost Lower cost Juli Albiero-Walton, Incorporating UDL into Online Curriculum [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved July 28, 2014 from http://s3.goeshow.com/atia/orlando/2014/profile.cfm?profile_name=download&Handout_key=53163B6C-B7CB-4346-B171-D6A1FE5709A6&xtemplate=1

Skating Ring - Ottawa, Ontario BART – San Francisco Graham Park Shanghai, China

Skating Ring - Ottawa, Ontario Accessibility vs. UD Skating Ring - Ottawa, Ontario Shanghai, China

Accessibility vs. UD Graham Park BART – San Francisco

Importance of Teaching UD Social Case The power of the web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect. Tim Berners-Lee It’s the right thing to do. Aging population. World is increasingly globalized.

Importance of Teaching UD Business Case Teach Access Survey Tech company language on hiring folks with disabilities Accessibility consultant shortage ATLAS class survey

Importance of diversity in business case studies NPR Story “Harvard Business School Moves To Study More Diverse Cases” Importance of diversity in business case studies How does it relate to UD and Accessibility? http://www.npr.org/2017/05/02/526514154/harvard-business-school-moves-to-study-more-diverse-cases

Campus & Faculty Conceptions of Universal Design “[F]ew postsecondary administrators, faculty, and staff are even marginally acquainted with Universal Design or Universal Instructional Design” (Higbee & Goff, eds. 2008) Faculty at CU – may not have the definitive definition or understanding of UD Confusion on the distinction of “UD content”.

Example Courses

Universal Design for Digital Media Course Outline (text version on next slide)

Course Outline Week 1 (Introduction to Universal Design: for whom are we designing and why?) Week 2 (Learning the language of design...) Week 3 (General design principles, introduction to web design) Week 4 (Interaction Design & Information architecture) Week 5 (The Case for Web Standards) Week 6 (Structure & Semantics: Document Object Model )- Week 7 (Structure, xhtml...) Week 8 (Presentation w\ a dash of Behavior, CSS) Week 9 (Presentation continued…, behavior) Week 10 (Accessibility) Week 11 - Break Week 12 (The Mobile Web & Accessibility) Week 13 (Rich Internet Applications) Week 14 (HTML 5)

Universal Design vs. Web Standards vs. Accessibility

Web Standards our strategy for UD for the Web

Web Standards Using Web Standards as a Universal Design foundation semantic HTML markup CSS layout, the separating of content from layout & formatting Standard coding

Universal Design – pyramid comprised of Web Standards Foundation, followed above with Usability / Design Best Practices with Accessibility at the top of the pyramid Universal Design Accessibility Keyboard Access Alternate Text Usability / Design Best Practices Consistent & Clear Navigation Visibility Feedback Visual Alignment Typography User control Web   Standards Semantic Markup Separation of style from content Standard coding

Books & Curriculum Material A Web for Everyone: Designing Accessible User Experiences Norman, David A. The Design of Everyday Things (2002). Cooper, Alan; Reimann Robert M. About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design (2003) InterACT with Web Standards: A holistic approach to web design, Anderson, et. al.

A Web For Everyone Personas Excerpts http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-for-everyone/#excerpts

No Book Version WAI – How people with disabilities use the web https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-web/ Universal Design for Digital Media (eBook) http://www.uduc.org/resources.php

Aspects of Course that particularly effective at promoting UD Emphasis on multi-faceted benefits – mobile, SEO, etc. AT User Interview Use of screen reader and other evaluation tools Opportunity for them to redesign a site of their choice

Other Courses Intro to HCI: Teaching Accessibility & Universal Design Concepts Through the Use of Public Policy Projects Jonathan Lazar, Universal Usability Laboratory, Towson University

Intro to Human Computer Interaction Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects. Intro to Human Computer Interaction Students Learn: Range of user abilities / disabilities International guidelines related to web a11y – WCAG 2.0 Assistive Technology Specific details of federal & state laws related to accessibility Accessibility Testing

Accessibility Testing Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects. Accessibility Testing Screenreader Written set of instructions for absolute minimal accessibility inspection (amai) Manual testing – avoids automated tools After training on testing, students then perform series of tests on websites required under law to be accessible. Reports sent to government agencies

Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects. Sites to Test Starts with university home page, then department pages, then local pages students are familiar with. Course content & student administrative sites – school application, registration, parking, etc. Local government and commercial sites that are legally required to be accessible.

Student & Pedagogical Benefits Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects. Student & Pedagogical Benefits Students learn technological skills to determine a11y Develop empathy Promote advocacy The intersection (and limitations) of public policy and accessibility

Teach Access Other Resources / Projects Originated at Yahoo! Goal Collaboration between tech companies, faculty and accessibility specialists Goal Increase accessibility knowledge and skills among tech and design professionals

Teach Access - Initiatives Other Resources / Projects Teach Access - Initiatives Include accessibility in tech job requirements Conduct faculty training Provide guest speakers from tech companies for the classroom Develop training tutorials on accessibility

Other Resources / Projects Promoting the Integration of UD Content into University Curriculum (UDUC) Increasing the amount of classes that address UD (content) in post-secondary Determining resource needs for teaching UD Developing resources for teaching UD – syllabi, curriculum, teaching resources, etc. Sampling familiarity of students taking design/tech classes Surveying benefit of UD and accessibility skills in obtaining employment

Other Resources / Projects Promoting the Integration of UD Content into University Curriculum (UDUC)

Other Resources / Projects Promoting the Integration of UD Content into University Curriculum (UDUC) Increasing the amount of classes that address UD (content) in post-secondary Determining resource needs for teaching UD Developing resources for teaching UD – syllabi, curriculum, teaching resources, etc. Sampling familiarity of students taking design/tech classes Surveying benefit of UD and accessibility skills in obtaining employment

Other Resources / Projects W3C WAI Resources Before and After Demonstration (BAD) Web Accessibility Tutorials Developing Presentations and Training Future Resources

Opportunities for Collaboration Sharing of Resources E-text book Joining UDUC network/mailing list Distributing surveys – initial knowledge of UD/a11y and follow-up

Other Curriculum Resources A List Apart - Link-Rodrigue, The Inclusion Principle, http://www.alistapart.com/articles/the-inclusion-principle/ W3C Web Standards Curriculum https://www.w3.org/community/webed/wiki/Main_Page Usability.gov http://usability.gov/methods/test_refine/heuristic.html Sitepoint.com http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/information-architecture

Other Curriculum Resources First Principles of Interaction Design” (http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html); “Personas” http://wiki.fluidproject.org/display/fluid/Personas

Accessing Higher Ground Conference Accessible Media, Web & Technology November 13 – 19, 2017 Westin Hotel - between Boulder & Denver Faculty boot camp – collaboration with Teach Access Still accepting proposals until end of May http://accessinghigherground.org