Innovative and Easy: Strategies for including learners with Disabilities into Distance

Education

Valerie Claire HavenUniversity of Massachusetts

617-287-7425, voicemailValerie.haven@umb.edu, email

Learners with Disabilities: A New Paradigm

• View of disability is changing in the American educational system

• Learners are engaging with their disabilities as part of their learning experience

• Pedagogy is shifting from the view of the level playing field to inclusive learning environments

• Assistive technologies aren’t keeping up with shifts in public education

• Trend is moving toward complimentary end user-based technologies

Accessibility and Usability of L.M.S Platforms

• Blackboard Academic Suite - fairly accessible

• Blackboard Campus Edition - moderately accessible

• Blackboard Vista – marginally accessible• All Blackboard L.M.S products require end

user training with assistive technology• Overall usability of L.M.S platforms is low

ATUTOR: An Accessible Open Source

L.M.S

• ATUTOR is a free Open Source Web-based e-learning environment

• Designed with accessibility and adaptability in mind

• Developed by the University of Toronto• Offers complimentary accessible e-

learning tools such as text-based chat• www.atutor.ca

Screenshot of: ATUTOR

Embedding Enhanced Access into Commercial

L.M.S Platforms• Increase font size to 12 or 14 point• Keep text to average or short line lengths• Add space between letters and lines or text• Use visual icons sparingly• Create some white space on page when

possible• Add headers to divide content when

possible

Screenshot of Course Home Page

Enhancing Accessibility of Course Content

• Save PDF’s and Power Point presentations in accessible formats

• Text is in a clear font and is in 12 or 14 point

• Add multi-media such as audio and self-paced videos to support learning content

• Use simple language

Developing External Web Pages to enhance L.M.S

accessibility

• Uploading accessible content to a web page and hyper linking into a course shell

• CSS Zen Garden Offers samples of web-page designed with cascading style sheets

• www.csszengarden.com

Screenshot of Zen Garden

Browse Aloud• Browse Aloud makes a web site accessible to

those with diverse disabilities• Low vision, learning, and cognitive

disabilities• Also supports learners with English as a

second language• Allows end user to re-size text, change page

colors, and convert text into MP3 files• The reading software application is provided

to the end user for free• Web site owner pays for site activation with

no changes to the server• www.browsealoud.com

Screenshot of Browse Aloud

Text to Speech Software

• Thunder – free screen reader from England (www.screenreader.net)

• SATOGO – free screen reader from U.S (www.satogo.com)

• Both applications are free to the end user• SATOGO is loaded within a browser and

released at the end of the session• Thunder requires installation to a local

hard drive

Screenshot of Thunder

Screen Enlargement Software

• One Format – free text enlargement software (www.oneformat.com)

• Preferences can be saved

Screenshot of One Format

Synchronous Conferencing Tools

• Hands-on Video Relay Service – free web cam-based service for signers of American Sign Language or signed English (www.hovrs.com)

• Accessible Event-flash-based conferencing tool for users who are blind, deaf, or deaf-blind. Fee-based, but inexpensive (www.serotek.com)

• AChat-PHP is an access standards compliant Web-based synchronous communication tools for low vision, blind, and deaf users (www.atutor.ca/achat/index.php)

Screenshot of Hands On VRS

Software for those with Cognitive or Learning

Disabilities

• Wordle- free web based application converts text into mind maps (www.wordle.com)

• Illustrates words in order of their frequency of occurrence within written text

• Used for blogging, but has applications for education

Screenshot of Wordle

Conclusion

• Development of web-based complimentary tools is making American education more accessible to everyone

• Free or inexpensive applications provide new options for lowering the learning curve for technology

• Tools designed for learners with disabilities can be used by students with diverse learning styles as well

• E-learning opened the door to accessible education