XplanaZine

This article focuses on disabled e-learners and provides guidelines for developing web-based courses that are accessible by users operating in contexts that are different than one’s own. Disabled veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts will benefit from these accommodations, as will individuals operating in less-than-ideal conditions or contexts.

In 1999, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines” to help developers make web content accessible to people with disabilities. The standards are general. It’s been five years since these guidelines were published, and their concepts can be applied to online course development.

Characteristics of users and conditions:

• Users may have low vision and may have difficulty with certain fonts. San-serif fonts are usually more advisable, and the size should not be tied to a specific pixel or point size. Web editing programs such as Dreamweaver MX allow one to choose relative size, which is scalable in most web browsers. Internet Explorer is still most amenable to screen reading software and hardware.
• Users may be in conditions of low light, using black and white monitors, or in conditions of high background noise.
• Users may not be able to see, hear, have range of motion, or be able to cognitively or physically process certain types of information. As a result, they may be using certain software and hardware as screen readers and voice synthesizers.
• Users may have a screen that displays text only, and not graphics or multimedia files.
• Users may be in a context that requires them to use their hands, ears, or eyes for another task. For example, they may be driving or operating in a loud environment.
• Users may not fluently speak or read the language in which the web document is written. They may be using translation software to create a version in a different language.
• Users may have an internet connection that is slow, or has restrictions on it, such as firewalls or other security elements that make certain applications, such as java, javascript, or flash inoperative.
• Users may not be able to use a keyboard or mouse. They may be using software or hardware that allows them to send commands to the computer in alternative ways.
• Users may have internet accessibility issues having to do with browsers and operating systems. They may have different operating systems or browsers, or the version they have may be incompatible.
• Users may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.

The following are drawn from W3C guidelines, with a brief comment on how they apply to developing web-based courses:

Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.

• Use alt tags with your graphics. This will allow an individual to mouse over a graphic and obtain a description. One can also present the material so that it is available through Braille readers (visually impaired), synthesized speech (visually impaired, cognitive/reading difficulties), and visually displayed text (hearing impaired).
• The text must convey the same information as the function or purpose as the image, as well as descriptive content.
• Providing non-text equivalents (pictures, videos, audio) of the text can be useful for nonreaders and other users who have difficulty reading.

Don’t rely on color alone

• Remember that many users may be downloading to black-and-white displays, such as those found in certain pda’s. Further, some may have difficulty differentiating colors, particularly if they are vision impaired. Thus, contrast is important. Do not use color alone to highlight or emphasize important content. Place consistent text to indicate headings and titles.

Provide context and orientation navigation.

• A consistent design and layout of the document will allow users to locate themselves within the web page, and to follow the proper sequence of events.
• Explain the navigation scheme and the editorial conventions.
• Navigation guides can consist of titles displayed immediately next to or over the content. This should be consistent.
• Group related links.
• If potentially confusing formats are used, be sure to orient them so that the reader can gain an understanding of the sequence and organization. Avoid complex image maps. Other problematic elements include scroll bars, side-by-side frames, or graphics / icons that guide sighted users.
• Include detailed orientation, which could consist of a paragraph description of each element. For example, titles of sections could contain a description.
• Use meta-tags to provide overview information about the content included on a page.

Provide clear navigation mechanisms.

• Establish editorial conventions and be consistent.
• Mark up documents with appropriate structural elements.
• Avoid tables or headers to accomplish certain effects.
• Remember that older browsers may not render the elements in the way desired.

Ensure that documents are clear and simple.

• Use clear sentences and avoid complex constructions. This benefits individuals with low vision as well as those with cognitive disabilities.
• Supplement text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension.
• Divide large blocks of information into smaller, more easily understood groups
• Associate labels explicitly with their controls.
• Identify the “natural language” of the document and tag it in html (for readers and translations software).
• Use clear and simple language. This will benefit individuals for whom the “natural language” is not the first language.
• Avoid spellings of compound words that result in mispronunciations by speech synthesizing software. An example is the word “homepage” — that is pronounced as “hommipadj” by some readers. Spelling the word as two separate words, “home page,” solves the problem.

Create websites that transform gracefully.

• Graceful transformation refers to the way that various readers and accommodation software and hardware possibilities.
• Make sure that the trigger scripts event handlers are input device independent.
• Make sure that the trigger scripts work when scripts are turned off, blocked, or rendered inoperable by security software or possible conflicts with other programs.
• Avoid causing the screen to flicker. This can trigger epileptic seizures in some people.
• Avoid moving content in the page, or allow the user to freeze content.
• Do not create periodically self-refreshing pages. Auto-refresh may create movement, or flickers.
• Do not use markups to redirect pages automatically. Instead, use server-side programming to redirect.

Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes.

• Indicate when an update is available and provide a method to update.
• Avoid pop-ups or new screens. Some readers will not be able to follow them, or they may be using a script that is not readable (java applets, etc.).
• Avoid disorienting the users by requiring complex navigation, or spawned windows.