[Pibe-division] inaccessible online classrooms/assessments etc.

Thu Nov 20 12:33:52 UTC 2008

Yes April exactly. There are VERY poor sites and I want my students to use them now, so I want to teach them these extra things to get the info they need while improvement can be made to the poor sites and inaccessible problems in general.

 Peter D. has an excellent point though because so many people do not know these extra things to do to get sites and files to work for them everything needs to be better and ghastly improved. I checked out that Disney site and wow is that an example of a poorly designed site. Seems like they would lead the way in accessiblity. 

How can designers be so unaware? Accessiblity was basic instruction in my web design classes--or maybe I just paid more attention because I knew how important it was to me ....and my students.

       Denise 

Denise M. Robinson, Ph.D. 
Coordinator for Blind/VI students at ESD105
Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired
509-969-3622

--- On Wed, 11/19/08, April Ogden <April_Ogden at hotmail.com> wrote:

From: April Ogden <April_Ogden at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] inaccessible online classrooms/assessments etc.
To: "'Professionals in Blindness Education Division List'" <pibe-division at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 2:44 PM

Hi to all,
I am a graduate student (Rehabilitation Counseling) who is blind and I work with elementary, adults, and college students (undergraduate and graduate) students that are blind and use on-line material. I also consult for various agencies  that provide information to people with visual disabilities.
Long story short, this happens too often, however,  there  are often ways around most of these issues. Operative  word, most…
For the longest, I was told that pdf and power point was inaccessible with JAWS (screen reader software), but since I have “open book”, I first save these “inaccessible” documents to my documents file, open up the open book software, and then do control O to find the file to open.
Presto, opens up every time.
I understand that there are other issues with on-line sites, but in “most” cases, I’ve been able to advise individuals on how to manipulate  the screen readers to work for students.

Best,
April Ogden 

From: pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dr. Denise M. Robinson
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 6:58 AM
To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List
Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] inaccessible online classrooms/assessments etc.

There are some ways to get around many problems. For instance, AR can be read using the JAWS cursors and students can get AR to read and can do it independently, inaccessible online materials come in PDF and these can be opened, then selected (as in all content alt-A), copied (control-C)and pasted (control-V) into WORD where JAWS will read it or it can be embossed out using Duxbury. You have to walk by faith when you do this as JAWS tells you nothing is there, but it works every time. 

Other inaccessible sites can once again be used by the JAWS cursor (keys on the num pad). This is usually a skill most teachers of the blind do not know how to use, thus their students do not know how to use it either....unfortunately...and thus many areas go un-taught and unlearned by the student

There is a plethora of problems, but most areas I have found a way around, so my blind students can access these poorly designed sites.

       Denise 

Denise M. Robinson, Ph.D. 
Coordinator for Blind/VI students at ESD105
Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired
509-969-3622

--- On Wed, 11/19/08, Andy & Sally Thomas <andysally at comcast.net> wrote:
From: Andy & Sally Thomas <andysally at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] inaccessible online classrooms/assessments etc.
To: "Professionals in Blindness Education Division List" <pibe-division at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 11:10 AM

Inaccessible on-line learning materials begin in Kindergarten.  Many schools use the Accelerated Reader program.  Last year in 5th grade my son's history curriculum was on line in an inaccessible format.  Most often the solution has been to read the materials to him.  His history teacher would often exempt him from work.  It is a huge problem that is only getting worse.  Even though there is a textbook law, many schools don't use the textbooks they buy.  I reported this lack of access to the curriculum on the NFB books on time survey.  I hope more people talk about this and that this issue is brought to the forefront because it is obviously getting worse fast.

Sally Thomas

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Rene Harrell 

To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children) ; Professionals in Blindness Education Division List ; Parents of Blind Children State Presidents List 

Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 11:51 PM

Subject: [Pibe-division] inaccessible online classrooms/assessments etc.

Can we discuss online learning and assessments a bit? I'd love some more information and feedback on this topic.

It's come up recently in my State about a growing problem with online curricula and assessments not being accessible to blind/low-vision children who need to use screen readers or magnification software. I know there was a discussion on a parent listerv that encompasses all disabilities about a family that was attempting to use K-12 for their homeschool program, but could not because it is not accessible to blind children. When called, the company said it was a "copyright" issue and could not make their program compatible with screen readers. I've heard from a smattering of other parents about tests that have had to be modified because they were online in an inaccessible format.

There was quite a discussion going on about this today on a policy/educator level. TVIs are expressing frustration that more and more of the school districts are turning to online curricula and assessments, but they are inaccessible to blind children. They complain to the school, but the school says it is a vendor issue. So far, complaints to vendors haven't brought about any changes to the current software being used and distributed. 

My daughter is homeschooled so this is an issue I have not had to confront or deal with personally. But, it seems to be a growing problem for students and teachers here, and they're trying to figure out what they can do about it. I'd love to hear about how others have worked around this issue, or if this has been a problem for anyone else? Are these software companies violating ADA for making their programs inaccessible? 

As more and more colleges turn towards online formats, and K-12 school districts follow suit, I wonder if we're going to see this become a growing issue in the years ahead? What kind of steps can we take to be proactive on this issue? 

Wisdom and thoughts are appreciated. 

:-)
Rene

-- 
" I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."
-- Douglas Adam

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