Making Course Accessibility Accessible Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D. Christian Vinten-Johansen Penn State

What is Accessibility? “Universal Design”  Designing for the largest audience possible regardless of disability or ability – UMN Duluth Web Glossary “Universal Access” “…regardless of disability, location, device or speed of connection to the Internet [or audio]”

Example Needs Visually impaired  On a screen reader Hearing Impaired  Captions/transcripts needed Low Vision  Legibility crucial, may zoon to 200% Motion Impaired (hands)  Keyboard access critical

Stakeholders Users with disabilities  Multiple needs for visual, hearing, motion, cognitive disabilities Web Developers  Training & tools needed  Some chamomille tea as well? Instructors  How do we handle immense volume online materials from “non- professionals”?

Case: Severe Visual Impairment Requires a screen reader to read Web content aloud  Multimedia, images need to be described Not all descriptions need to be hidden  Program elements need to identify themselves Hidden Audience  Text-based mobile device, missing plugin, images disabled, or broken image link

What the “ALT Tag” does Piston diagram images Text describes piston position

ALT Tagger in ANGEL CMS Enter information “Alternative Text” field when uploading images

New Apps Gotcha Not all apps and plugins include information for screen reader  Old iTunes: MP3 music files were accessbile, but navigation in iTunes was not  Some users encounter difficulty creating a login! (esp Flash based interface)  Web Forms – Need to signal new information See WAI-ARIA for how to code. JavaScript CAN be accessible.

Case: Hearing Impaired You cannot hear content  Captions, captions, captions (or transcript)  Some users more fluent in sign language Hidden Users  Forgot headphone in lab  Audio cuts out  Can’t find one of 5 volume controls  Poor audio quality (even for normal hearing)  50% students used captions in online class

Captions Reveal Information Caption shows how to spell Cole Camplese’s name.

MovCaption Tool

Issues: Can we simplify training without losing functionality? Can accessibility be included in curriculum for tech professionals? Who will listen? “Professionals” yes, but others?

Results of Website Scans Few pages are accessible

Raising Awareness Events  Multi-modal f2f/online Website scans & review meetings Surveys on resource use & constraints Training

Strategy: Training

Strategy: Tools Accessible Web Publishing Wizard  Microsoft® Word to HTML Microsoft® Powerpoint to HTML MovCaptioner  Practical video captioning  Shareware – Functional Accessibility Evaluator   Small, easy to understand reports

Strategy: Transform ad-hoc to Controlled Processes Deploy content management systems Leverage workflow and roles Obtain media services Automate testing Manual inspection and publication Build community

Processes Content Management Systems  Protected templates and styles preserve accessible markup  Workflow for quality assurance  Roles for Web publishing Author, designer, faculty SME, editor New role: accessibility editor?

Strategy: New Role Accessibility Editor CMS workflow-based role  Manual review of content  Focus on structure and quality Responsibility and accountability  Compliance with Section 508  User testing

Strategy: Building Community Community membership: Users, providers, designers, developers, stakeholders Communication IRC, lists, blogs, fora, conferences Collaboration Code repositories, wikis, ticketing

Strategy: Building Community Community participation is good for accessibility

CIC Accessibility Advisory Group Subcommittees: Education and promotion Multimedia and alternative technologies Purchasing Library systems

Where to Learn More

Making Course Accessibility Accessible Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D. Christian Vinten-Johansen Penn State