Thank goodness you've both said this. I'm fed up with people assuming
that PDF is the solution to everything. For dyslexics, I say that PDF
is by definition discriminatory because they cannot change fonts,
background colours or the like.
Dr John S Conway
Disability Officer / Principal Lecturer in Soil Science / Chair,
Research Committee
Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, Glos GL7 6JS
01285 652531 ext 2234 fax 01285 650219
http://www.rac.ac.uk/index.php?_id=590
email [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Paul Jarman
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 8:24 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Student Finance Direct website
BRAVO! Well said, Ian. In fact, perhaps we could take the opportunity
of sending the same message to anyone and everyone creating any files on
any websites that carry information about HE. As one of my
visually-impaired colleagues says, try and remember this: PDF: "problem
data file"!!!
Paul.
Paul Jarman,
Learning Development Officer for Students with Disabilities,
206A Francis Bancroft Building,
Queen Mary College, University of London,
Mile End Road,
LONDON. E1 4NS
Tel.: +44 (0)20 7882-2757
Fax: +44 (0)20 7882-5223
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian F.
Sent: 19 June 2006 23:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Student Finance Direct website
Hi
If anyone is in regular contact with Student Finance Direct, could they
remind them it's not a good idea to assume everyone can access
information
in PDF format. It's sensible to offer alternative formats e.g. MS Word,
RTF
and maybe even plain text versions of important documents on their
website,
in particular those with relevance for applicants with disabilities,
some of
whom might currently use an older version of a screenreader or use other
basic methods of accessing online documents that don't work well with
PDF
files.
Ian Francis
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