At the TechDis launch (a JISC event) in London recently I enquired whether
any other Institutions would like to collaborate/talk about accessibility
issues. UWIC has agreed to collaborate with Blackboard (in Washington) on
UK accessibility issues. I am liaising with the Senior Software
Engineer/Accessibility Officer there.
The individual (Reidy Brown) has reviewed UWIC's 5 Minute Guide "Making
your module accessible in Blackboard" - a document written for academics.
Reidy has also sent me a copy of a document entitled, "Section 508 and
Blackboard". Section 508 governs federal web sites
(http://www.google.com/search?q=Section+508+and+accessibility).
I have sent Reidy copies of short guides that UWIC have produced on the
Disability Discrimination Act, Special Educational Needs and Disability Act
(which received royal assent earlier this month) and of course, the Quality
Assurance Agency's Code of Practice on Students with Disabilities in order
for Blackboard to have an understanding of UK disability legislation/QAA
Code of Practice.
There is obviously further work that needs to be done to making VLEs
accessible but I know that Bb are trying to get around some of the issues.
A lot depends on the type of assistive technology that is used. Newer
screenreaders (e.g. Jaws 3.7) can read Javascript alert boxes - older
assistive technology will not and the material should be provided in
another format.
Other issues which Bb should consider for good practice (accessibility)
such as adding a Spellchecker to the next version (6.0) so that students
with dyslexia don't have to cut and paste from a word-processor package.
There are a number of other issues relating to the learning experience of
dyslexic students (often the highest percentage of students seen by the
Disability Team within Institutions!) that Institutions are discovering as
modules go online.
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