Accessibility Challenges in University Web Environments Mandy Eppley, Online Learning Consultant Parker Owens, Web Accessibility Coordinator Eastern Kentucky University KY AHEAD Conference 08

Accessibility Challenges in University Web Environments How can we take advantage of innovative learning environments and still meet ADA requirements for education? – Websites – Online Classes – Web 2 Blogs Wikis Virtual Worlds Social Networking

PEW – Teens and Social Media, 12/19/ % of online teenagers ages 12 to 17 engage in at least one type of content creation, up from 57% of online teens in % of all teen girls blog, compared with 20% of online boys, and 54% of wired girls post photos online compared with 40% of online boys. Online teen boys are nearly twice as likely as online girls (19% vs. 10%) to have posted a video online somewhere where someone else could see it.

Demographics of Internet Users

PEW - Information Searches That Solve Problems, 12/ % used the internet to get help. 53% professionals such as doctors, lawyers or financial experts 45% sought out friends and family 36% consulted newspapers and magazines 13% went to the public library

PEW –Teens and Technology, April, % of teens say they write for their own pleasure 85% of teens ages engage in some form of electronic personal communication ( , chat) 60% do not think of e-text as “writing” 50% use informal writing styles instead of proper capitalization and punctuation in their school assignments 38% have used text shortcuts in school work (“LOL”) 25% have used emoticons ☺ in school work

Web Challenges Educational organizational challenges – Peer sharing different than a hierarchy – Ownership – Privacy – Control of content – Legal challenges ADA Safety Ownership Personal organizational challenges – Multiple IDs, passwords, avatars, websites

Web Challenges Technological challenges – Bandwidth – Operating systems/software – Skill levels – Computer hardware

Accessibility Challenges Lack of keyboard shortcuts Not AT compatible Limitations to accessibility – How do you describe a google map? – Can you provide transcripts for video content on another site?

Websites

Department, Association or Group Class or Event Instructor Public Private Online class

Different Requirements for Different Needs

Cyber Y Center Shared Website – Life on the Streets

Website Accessibility Issues Training – web skills Public or private access University branding Accessibility of technology, software, and interface

Free Websites