ADA Online Courses Dr. Brian Newberry California State University San Bernardino 20:54

ADA compliance has implications across a college or university campus. For example, buildings and other campus infrastructure must be equipped with certain accessibility features to ensure reduction of physical barriers to use of the infrastructure. Some types of disabilities require specific accommodations for students. In such cases students must work with the Services to Students with Disabilities office who will verify the disability and assign a SSD councilor who will work with the student and the student’s instructors to develop reasonable accommodations. As you will see, instructors of online classes must ensure a certain level of accommodations for a variety of physical disabilities when they design and develop course materials. ADA

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) refers to law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and specifies certain conditions to ensure that discrimination doesn’t occur. There are several laws and some specific sections of laws that are most often what is meant at a University when someone discusses ADA. Law

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Mandates that employers and any institution that receives Federal money provide equal access to information, activities, program and services to all individuals with disabilities Amendment to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act specifies requirements for Internet resources that are guidelines to be used. Americans with Disabilities ACT 1990 extends the equal opportunity provision to private organizations. Law

There have been a number of lawsuits that involve ADA compliance at educational institutions. Lawsuits often establish parameters for required accommodations, modifications and alternative formats. Lawsuits also establish who must pay for modifications. ADA is not fully litigated, meaning there are many issues that are part of ADA accommodation that haven’t yet been tested fully in court cases. Institutions are aware of this and many are doing the best that they can to avoid being involved in such lawsuits, and to provide adequate accommodations to students with disabilities. Lawsuits

These are examples of ADA policy from various institutions: The University of XYZ is committed to providing equal opportunity for persons with disabilities. This commitment includes complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of In addition, all of the University's websites and online courses will comply with the web page design standards established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Priority One Compliance. The university should adopt a plan, whose adoption should not extend past three years, for bringing all Internet sites and on-line courses into Priority One compliance with W3C guidelines ( or to exceed them. Instructional Material. Faculty members posting instructional materials online or utilizing course management software should plan to assure their accessibility. Laws + (Lawsuits x Lawyers) = Policy

More Actual Policy: The development of new courses and new course content, including instructional materials and instructional websites will incorporate accessible design. If incorporating accessibility is not possible or would constitute an undue burden, then a plan to provide an equally effective alternate form of access must be developed, documented, and communicated. Existing course content will be made accessible at the point of course redesign or when a student with a disability enrolls in the course. Policy

Designing, developing and delivering accessible online courses is a good thing! It is the right thing to do. It is not always an easy thing to do. Commitment to Accessibility

Developing Accessible eLearning Understand Disability Characteristics and Appropriate Accommodations Resources Time and “Overhead” Issues

ADD-ADHD-Learning Disabilities, TBI etc. Accommodations are only made when a student with a disability enrolls in a class. Typically Student Registers With Campus Office to document disability. Accommodations that meet the student’s needs are listed. The instructor is notified and the assistance is provided where needed. At CSUSB this is the Services to Students with Disabilities office Disability Characteristics and Accommodations

Online Materials Must Be Developed To Meet The Needs Of Individuals With A Variety Of Disabilities Even If No Student With These Disabilities Is In The Class. This is by extension of the Section 504 rules for online resources (such as university websites) being extended to online course media. Textbooks and Other Commercial Media Need To Be Identified Well in Advance So Accessible Versions Can be Located If Needed. Disability Characteristics and Accommodations

Visual Color Blindness High Contrast Avoid Red-Green-Blue Combinations Don't Use Color to Convey Meaning Make Use of a User Changeable Font Text Version Disability Characteristics and Accommodations

Visual Low Vision – No Vision High Contrast Make Use of a User Changeable Font Navigation Requirements Configurability – Screen Reader Compatibility Text Version Disability Characteristics and Accommodations 20:54

Seizure Avoid Strobes Such As: Flickering Images Fast Animations High Contrast Close Lines (optical illusions) Disability Characteristics and Accommodations

Auditory Alternatives to Audio Such As: Text Version Captioning Videos and Slide Shows with Audio (Multimedia) Disability Characteristics and Accommodations 20:54

Motor Navigability Issues, Provide: Keyboard Control Instead of Mouse Internal Navigation to Skip Through Long Sections User Configurability Disability Characteristics and Accommodations 20:54

Text Version is Key – This is because text or screen readers can change text into speech and because text can be easily enlarged/magnified. Alternative Formats and Resources – When you create media in a format other than text, you will need to also provide a text equivalent. Web Standards W3C - HTML and CSS – These are technical issues. By ensuring that HTML and CSS comply with web standards you ensure that the content and formatting are separated and that tools like screen readers will be able to assist disabled students. Multimedia (slide shows, videos) Must Be Captioned (CSUSB) Requirements and Recommendations 20:54

Since text versions of content are crucial, means of producing text are important: Dragon Naturally Speaking – Software that converts speech to text. Automatic Sync ( – Fee service for production of transcripts. Current Resources 20:54

Faculty don’t typically have to worry about ensuring accessibility of the CMS/LMS. More advanced developers do need to ensure web resources they create meet accessibility guidelines. The first level of this is to ensure the validity of their HTML and CSS. HTML Validation CSS Validation Current Resources 20:54

Captioning Multimedia Apple’s Quicktime Pro – This what was used to caption the orientation video. This process is time and labor intensive. Automatic Sync ( – Fee service for production of captions for multimedia. Current Resources 20:54

Preparing to Develop Understand Overhead Involved in Production of Accessible Media/Alternative Formats

Development and Delivery Overhead Note: Description of this graphic available in web format.

Reliable and Affordable Real Time Audio to Text Transformation – Closed Captions etc. Reliable and Affordable Real Time Video and Still Picture Descriptions Better Institutional Support for Media Development Lawsuits – Lots and lots of lawsuits. What Must Be Done To Achieve Accessibility Whose Responsibility – Who Pays Do The Unintended Consequences Burden Others? Future Trends and Resources 20:54

Law, Policy, Best Practices and Doing the Right Thing calls for development of accessible materials that meet the needs of all students. Lawsuits and Lawyers Dictate Policy. It is important to understand types of disabilities and the accommodations needed for each. There are numerous resources available to assist in the creation of accessible class materials. Creating online class materials can with more production overhead than teaching face to-face. Creating accessible online class materials even more so. This production overhead comes with unintended consequences including better instruction, less online classes, less innovation, less diversity of resources, more reused materials. Text is key (for now) because reliable text readers are available. In the future new technologies will help reduce some of the negative unintended Consequences. Wrapping Up