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E-Learning: Accessibility & Usability

• Delivery Method
  • WWW
  • CD-ROM/DVD (DTB)
  • Videotape
  • Telephone
• Creation Method
  • Purchase
  • Develop from scratch (HTML, Macromedia - Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks,  Jave, etc.)
  • Content Development/Delivery System (WebCT, Blackboard, etc.)
• Components
  • Course Interface
  • Course Content
    • HTML
    • Audio - Wave, MP3, RA
    • Video - Movies (Quicktime, Real, Windows Media, etc.)
    • Animation/Simulation - Flash, Java, animated GIF, etc.
    • PDF
    • PowerPoint
    • ???
  • Interactive/Collaborative Features
    • E-mail
    • Discussion/Bulletin Board
    • Chat (Yahoo, Cheetah-Chat, AIM, voice chat)
    • White-board
    • Video-conferencing
  • Testing & Assessment
    • Question Types
    • Scoring

Examples

• TECHtionary World's first animated technical dictionary
• Accessible Webpage Design Resources - Good and Bad Examples
• UTHSCSA 00-01 Academic Year - information in color only
• SAHS Practice Course information page - WebCT

Tools and Resources for Accessible Web Design

Information resources - E-learning

• Distance Education Accessibility Guidelines from California Community College System at http://www.htctu.fhda.edu/dlguidelines/final%20dl%20guidelines.htm
• California Community Colleges Alternate Media Guidelines at http://www.htctu.fhda.edu/amguidelines/am33000.htm
• Special Needs on the Web, http://snow.utoronto.ca/index.html
• SNOW Research Initiatives Going the Distance at http://snow.utoronto.ca/research/distance.html,
• SNOW - Web Accessibility at http://snow.utoronto.ca/access/index.html?showaccess=1
• SNOW - Courseware Accessibility at http://snow.utoronto.ca/access/courseware/index.html

Information Resources - General

• Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI),  http://www.w3.org/wai.
• WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines at  http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/
• Curriculum for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 at http://www.w3.org/WAI/wcag-curric/
• Section 508 Final Standards, at http://www.section508.gov/final_text.html
• WebABLE Solutions: www.webABLE.com. 
• HTML Writer’s Guild web site, www.hwg.org and the Guild's AWARE Center (Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education) http://aware.hwg.org/ . See their presentation at http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/events/fedweb/20.html for some useful information.
• International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet, Section 508 resource Page, at http://www.icdri.org/section_508_resource_page.htm.  
• Microsoft’s Enable site, www.microsoft.com/enable. 
• UseIt!  www.useit.com.
• IBM Accessibility Center at http://ww-3w.ibm.com/able.  There’s also a self-paced course at http://www-3.ibm.com/able/webcourse/.
• Web Accessibility for Section 508 - online course, http://www.jimthatcher.com/webcourse1.htm,
• Adaptive Technology Resource Center, University of Toronto, at http://www.utoronto.ca/atrc/
• ITAL’s AccessFirst site, at http://www.ital.utexas.edu/accessfirst/
• National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), at http://ncam.wgbh.org/. 
• Accessibility Guidelines at http://www.tsbvi.edu/technology/guidelines.htm
• Web Savvy Resources Web Accessibility Resources at http://www.websavvy-access.org/resources/webacc.shtml

  Validation and repair tools

• BOBBY, the automated accessibility checker.  Available at www.cast.org/bobby.  Comes in two versions—one on the Web, one standalone (Java-based_ application.  Standalone version can check a whole Web site; the online version checks one page at a time and has trouble with dynamically generated pages.  Be aware that no automated tool can possibly detect all accessibility problems.  Humans are necessary!)
• A-PROMPT.  An evaluation and repair tool developed jointly by Toronto’s Adaptive Technology Resource Center and Wisconsin’s Trace Research & Development Center (see above).  Available for download at http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/. W3C’s HTML Validation Service, available online via the WAI site at www.w3.org/wai.
• HTML-Kit.  http://www.w3.org/People/Raggett/tidy/.  Designed by Dave Raggett, developer of VRML specification; some portions of this tool are reportedly included in Allaire HomeSite now.
• The WAVE, at http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/.  is especially useful in helping sighted developers see ALT text and recognize the order in which items on their pages will be read by screenreaders and speaking browsers.
• Lynx Viewer, at http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html

Tools/Resources for captioning, descriptive video, etc.

• Rich Media Resource Center at http://ncam.wgbh.org/richmedia/index.html
• Magpie (Media Access Generator),  http://www.wgbh.org/ncam/.   Produced by the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) at WGBH (PBS) in Boston
• SMIL.  Synchronized Media Integration Language.   See http://www.w3.org/AudioVideo/. 

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