Who does Learner-accessible courses assist?

Objectives:

The learner will become familiar with the various issues that make accessibility to coursework difficult for some students.

Content

• Learner Issues
• Visual Impairments
• Hearing Impairments
• Cognitive Impairments
• Physical Impairments
• Age-related Issues

Learner Issues

Abilities can vary from person to person, and over time, for different people with the same type of disability. People can have combinations of different disabilities, and combinations of varying levels of severity.

The term "disability" is used very generally in this document. Some people with conditions described below would not consider themselves to have disabilities. They may, however, have limitations of sensory, physical or cognitive functioning which can affect access to the Web. These may include injury-related and aging-related conditions, and can be temporary or chronic.

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Visual Impairments:

Difficulties: Low vision, color blindness, blind.

People with visual impairments may experience several difficulties in accessing material on the web.Individuals who are blind or have a substantial loss of vision may rely on screen readers, speech synthesizers or refreshable braile display. They may use rapid navigation techniques such as tabbing through headings or links.

Barriers Faced

• images that do not have alternative text
• complex images (e.g., graphs or charts) that are not adequately described
• video that is not described in text or audio
• tables that do not make sense when read serially (in a cell-by-cell or "linearized" mode)
• frames that do not have "NOFRAME" alternatives, or that do not have meaningful names
• forms that cannot be tabbed through in a logical sequence or that are poorly labelled
• browsers and authoring tools that lack keyboard support for all commands
• browsers and authoring tools that do not use standard applications programmer interfaces for the operating system they are based in
• non-standard document formats that may be difficult for their screen reader to interpret

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Hearing Impairments:

Difficulties: hearing sounds, music, video

Deafness involves a substantial uncorrectable impairment of hearing in both ears. Some deaf individuals' first language is a sign language, and they may or may not read a written language fluently, or speak clearly.

Barriers Faced

• lack of captions or transcripts of audio on the Web, including webcasts
• lack of content-related images in pages full of text, which can slow comprehension for people whose first language may be a sign language instead of a written/spoken language
• lack of clear and simple language
• requirements for voice input on Web sites

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Cognitive Impairments:

Difficulties: learning disabilities, distractibility, inability to remember or focus on large amounts of information

Individuals with dyslexia or dyscalculia (sometimes called "learning disabilities" in the U.S.) may have difficulty processing written language or images when read visually, or spoken language when heard, or numbers when read visually or heard. Individuals with attention deficit disorder may have difficulty focusing on information, while eople with impairments in intellectual functioning may learn more slowly, or have difficulty understanding complex concepts. Down Syndrome is one among many different causes of intellectual impairments.

Barriers Faced

• lack of alternative modalities for information on Web sites, for instance lack of alternative text that can be converted to audio to supplement visuals, or the lack of captions for audio
• distracting visual or audio elements that cannot easily be turned off
• lack of clear and consistent organization of Web sites
• use of unnecessarily complex language on Web sites
• lack of graphics on Web sites
• lack of clear or consistent organization of Web sites

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Physical Impairments:

Difficulties: inability to use a mouse, slow response time, limited fine motor control

Motor disabilities can include weakness, limitations of muscular control (such as involuntary movements, lack of coordination, or paralysis), limitations of sensation, joint problems, or missing limbs. Some physical disabilities can include pain that impedes movement. These conditions can affect the hands and arms as well as other parts of the body.

Barriers Faced

• time-limited response options on Web pages
• browsers and authoring tools that do not support keyboard alternatives for mouse commands
• forms that cannot be tabbed through in a logical order

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Age:

Difficulties: Although not a disability, older students may have difficulties related to health, memory, and family.

Although not typically considered a disability, older individuals may experience physical, mental and health issues that affect their ability to access material on the web. Many of the barriers experienced by people with disabilities may affect older individuals.

Please Take the Module 1 Post-test before proceeding to Module 2

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