The final final

Web 2.0 Accessibility Issues for the Visually Impaired

When we think about accessibility we often don’t consider is, in this rapidly changing technological world that we live in, which seems to rely heavily on web 2.0 tools for bridging our global community, how this affects those with disabilities.

Why should we think about accessibility on the web?
Accessibility is important to consider whether designing physical or virtual environments. For organizations that receive federal funding, it isn’t just a good think to do, it is the law. In 1998, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act was established, requiring that US Federal agencies must purchase information technology products that meet accessibility specifications established by the US Access Board. According the According to the US Government’s Section 508 website, the adoption of Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, open new opportunities for people with disabilities and encourage the development of technologies that will help achieve these goals. All federal agencies, and those that receive federal A fall under Section 508’s governance and must seek to adopt and maintain accessible information and electronic technology for their employees and the members of the public needing access to their information. This includes public schools.

Common inaccessibility issues with Web 2.0 tools:
-Inaccessible login boxes or security tests with no audible alternative as an option. Voice software often recognizes this as graphic
-Inaccessible interfaces which depend on drag and drop interaction with the use of a mouse
-Inaccessible user-created content which utilizes images without alternate text, styles, fonts and designs that are difficult/impossible to read, or rich media that is included without captions
-Inaccessible controls on audio or video players that are not compatible with assistive technology
-Use of JAVA which, in an attempt to make a web page feel more responsive, the user is able to exchange small amounts of data with the server behind the scene without reloading the entire webpage, but screen readers often see this as image or graphic and not as text and will not read it.

What is assistive technology?
Assistive technology for the visually impaired can include applications like screen enlargement tools, screen readers, refreshable Braille displays, handheld media storage devices, cell phones and for some, dictation programs. Both Windows and Mac operating system designers have recognized the importance of accessibility and have made great strides to include universal accessibility features within their operating systems which they believe can eliminate or at least reduce the need for additional stand-alone software installations.

The versatility and potential that Web 2.0 tools offer to teachers and students is amazing, though, educators should proceed with caution before requiring that a tool be used by all students for completion of a task. Consider the following:
- Check out web applications ahead of time, read reviews, find out how it measures up in terms of accessibility.
-Ask the students with exceptional access needs whether they are familiar with the application and/or if the assistive technology they are using will work in tandem with the tool
-Be sure that the purpose for which the tol is being used makes sense given the diverse needs of the learner. For example, does making an iMovie make sense when a project might be completed a different way? Will the creation of a picture collage really move a student’s thinking forward if she cannot see the images? Can a student provide written feedback instead of using videoAnt?
-Keep up to date, or at least try, to stay on top of up and coming improvements to assistve technology and web applications. Even within the last two years there have been many improvements to tools for the visually impaired that have made things possible that only a few years ago might have seemed like a distant, if not impossible achievement.

To view my VoiceThread presentations, divided into two parts because of length, see below:
http://voicethread.com/share/1596170/

http://voicethread.com/share/1596340/