[Ohio-talk] College web accessibility.

Mon Apr 1 01:11:39 UTC 2013

When JAWS won't read a PDF I use Kurzweil and it works well.  Open Book may
work well too.  I took online courses from 2006 through 2008 and used Black
Board.  I found most of it very accessible.  I did have some problems with
PDF documents but managed to work around them.  I agree that you should be
able to take courses wherever you want to and should not be kept from it
because of accessibility
 issues.

Lots of luck!
On Sun, Mar 31, 2013 at 1:57 PM, COLLEEN ROTH <n8tnv at att.net> wrote:

> Hello,
> I hear that Blackboard is supposed to be more accessible.
> I understand your dilemma and hope that someone can help you with it. I
> have a feeling that there are people on this list who will be able to do
> this.
> I think there is a program which can translate PDF files for you.
> I actually took a course at a Local Community College and tried to use
> Blackboard in 2007.
> My husband was able to help me navigate Blackboard and I actually used a
> PC with Windows XP and Jaws 9.
> It was a fourse on Computer Basics.
> I didn't like the book being read on a CD with text to speech with no
> description of the figures or diagrams.
> That was most of the course. I couldn't get it recorded outside of the
> Community College because they used a book and added to it.
> That was my first experience with text-to-speech and I was really
> overwhelmed.
> I did get a A in the course but I felt that I didn't learn a lot.
> Dudley, my hband, actually taught me more than the book or the teacher)
> for the class.
> The College even offered to let me take the course with another instructor
> for free.
> I never did this. You do need to get this resolved. You shouldn't have to
> wonder if a course will be accessible.
> Text-to-speech does not seem to work if you need things described either.
> I am sure that if you do not get any response on this list you can post to
> the list for the NABS National Division.
> I am sure you will get some good answers.
> Have a very Blessed and Happy Easter.
> Colleen Roth
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Kaiti Shelton <kaiti.shelton at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> Date: Sunday, March 31, 2013 12:06 pm
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] College web accessibility.
>
> >
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm writing in the hopes that someone who is more tech savvy and in the
> know
> > about web accessibility guidelines will read this and be able to provide
> > some feedback, although any feedback is welcome.
> >
> >
> >
> > Long story short, in high school I participated in a two-year teacher
> prep
> > program.  The senior year of that program involved completing a portfolio
> > based on the praxis domains, which would be graded for college credit and
> > passage of the course.  Sinclair Community College was in charge of
> > processing all the tech prep portfolios for southwest Ohio, including the
> > ones from Teacher Academy students.  Every student who passed their
> course
> > received a scholarship waver for a three credit hour course at Sinclair
> free
> > of charge.  Naturally, I want to use this waver on a summer course.
> >
> >
> >
> > Since I've started getting set up with Sinclair I've had a few web
> > accessibility issues.  The first happened when I tried to go online to
> > review their course catalog.  I found a pdf file which Jaws couldn't
> read,
> > so I emailed their disabilities office to let them know that the catalog
> was
> > not screenreader friendly.  I didn't hear a response back, so I called.
>  I
> > was able to get in touch with a disability councelor, who then sent me a
> > word version of the catalog, which ended up not having course listings
> in it
> > and being more like a brochure or student handbook.  When I told her
> about
> > the file being a misnomer she sent me instructions on how to view
> available
> > courses online.  I followed the instructions she sent me and found that
> the
> > flash interface the schedule planner uses was inaccessible.  Comboboxes
> were
> > not labeled and neither Jaws or NVDA would read them.  Apparently there
> is
> > also a huge table which shows up once you select your search criteria for
> > courses, and neither screenreader picked that up either.
> >
> >
> >
> > Although I was able to get sighted assistance to work around these
> issues, I
> > am more concerned about the accessibility of the course distribution
> site,
> > be it Blackboard or whatever other system, as the course I want to take
> will
> > be in an online format.  I am also concerned that if their school site is
> > this inaccessible that their IT department may not have the training to
> > follow web accessibility guidelines.  At UD, if something doesn't work
> with
> > jaws I can email the tech support staff and they'll make sure the issue
> Is
> > resolved, but I'm not sure if I will be able to get that kind of support
> > from Sinclair based on what I've seen so far.  I feel really
> uncomfortable
> > jumping into a course which may or may not be accessible, but I also feel
> > like to not take my scholarship would be silly and that I shouldn't be
> kept
> > from redeeming it because of correctable accessibility issues.  It is
> also
> > quite possible that I will want to take other summer courses in the
> future
> > through Sinclair since I'm already a registered student there, so if
> > possible I would like for these accessibility issues to be addressed but
> > don't really know how to proceed.
> >
> >
> >
> > Again, any feedback would be appreciated, and happy Easter!
> >
> >
> >
> > Kaiti Shelton
> >
> > University of Dayton---2016
> >
> > Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet
> >
> > Secretary, Ohio Association of Blind Students (OABS)-NFB
> >
> > Member of Alpha Phi Omega-Alpha Gamma Xi Chapter
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053