• Home
• About

Exploring Accessibility Issues

Posted on July 13, 2009

Accessibility. I thought I understood the extent of this concept until last week. That was when I realized that barriers to online learning for students with disabilities can exist in numerous places: the Learning Management System, the layout of the course content, the adaptive technologies, and even in the student him/herself. That was when I realized that the little things I’ve always done, such as creating alt text for images and keeping a transcript of any audio recording I’ve made, aren’t nearly enough. That’s when the online short course on accessibility for e-learners in which I enrolled began.

I’ve learned a lot in Week One of the course. For example, LMS features designed to promote interaction, such as chat rooms and whiteboards, are nearly impossible for screen readers to handle. Chat room conversations are often refreshed with each new comment made, so a screen reader, which begins at the top with each refresh command, can’t keep up with the quick pace of the conversation. Whiteboards, which are often used by instructors because of their ability to display graphics, can’t be decoded by a screen reader. And that’s just the LMS part of my learning.

The way in which course content is displayed can also create barriers for students with print disabilities.  I often use bullets to organize content because it promotes concise writing and adds a bit of visual interest. Last week, I learned that the phrase, “Image, bullet” will be read aloud by a screen reader at the start of each and every line of bulleted text.  I can’t imagine being subjected to that as a learner. Items in the main navigation menu are communicated in a similar manner, with “Link graphic” read aloud before the name of each menu item.

There are yet other potential barriers for students with disabilities beyond those posed by the LMS or the design of course content. Adaptive technologies can be cost prohibitive to students. And then there’s the hurdle of having to learn how to use this software on top of learning how to navigate an online course environment.

I know there are work-arounds for the above issues; I just have to learn which ones offer efficient and effective solutions. Fortunately I have great resources in the campus Disabilities Services for Students office, my Instructional Design and Development team colleagues, and those involved in my online class.

It’s now Week Two. Time to login and continue learning.

Comments