Update to access issues. The presentation incorporates two OCR findings released December 2014

1. The latest legal requirements for
designing digital materials that
are accessible for all learners.
Connect and Reflect
Raymond M. Rose
Rose & Smith Associates
Port Aransas, TX
Slides available at SlideShare.net under RaymondRose
This work by Raymond Rose is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

2. http://www.inacol.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/iNACOL-
Access-and-Equity-for-All-Learners-in-
Blended-and-Online-Education-
Oct2014.pdf
Easier, go to iNACOL.org and find the
publication listed under Latest News,
Research and Resources

3. OCR Findings: UCincinnati & Youngstown
StateU
• Lack of Alternative Text on All Images
• Documents Not Posted in an Accessible Format
• Lack of Captions on All Videos and the Inability to Operate Video
Controls Using Assistive Technology
• Improperly Structured Data Tables
• Improperly Formatted and Labeled Form Fields
• Improper Contrast Between Background and Foreground Colors
• Frames Not Titled with Text that Facilitates Frame Identification and
Navigation (Youngstown only)

4. Legal Backing
OCR initiated this review* under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (Section 504), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 794, and its
implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 104, and Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), 42 U.S.C. § 12131
et seq., and its implementing regulation at 28 C.F.R. Part 35. These
laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs
or activities receiving financial assistance from the U.S.
Department of Education (the Department) and by certain public
entities. As a recipient of financial assistance from the
Department and as a public entity, the University is subject to
Section 504 and Title II.
*From Youngstown Case Resolution letter

5. OCR’s Operational Definition
“those with a disability are able to acquire the
same information and engage in the same
interactions — and within the same time frame —
as those without disabilities.”
OCR Compliance Review 11-11-2128, 06121583,
paraphrased from 11-13-5001, 10122118, 11-11-6002

6. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 2.0
•Perceivable
•Operable
•Understandable
•Robust
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

7. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 2.0
•Perceivable
•Text alternatives
•Time-based media alternatives
•Content can be presented in different
ways
•Easier for users to see and hear content

8. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 2.0
•Operable
•Keyboard functionality
•Time constraints removed
•Sensitivity to seizure-inducing design
•Easily navigate and find content

9. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 2.0
•Understandable
•Text content readable and
understandable
•Web pages are predictable in
appearance and operation
•Help users avoid and correct mistakes

10. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 2.0
•Robust
•Maximize current and future user
compatibility
•Including assistive technologies

11. •Policies
•Course Design
•Program and Course Monitoring
Rose & Smith Associates

12. Policy Recommendations:
Institution has adopted, as policy, a set of quality standards to
which all courses adhere.
All of the institution’s courses (including those from outside
profit and non-profit vendors) are reviewed to insure they
meet legal accessibility standards.
Institution has determined process, responsibility, and timeline
for retrofitting accessibility or replacing courses that are not
accessible.

13. Policy Recommendations:
Institution has designated a 504 Coordinator, Grievance
Policy, and conducts annual notifications.
Institution has policy and activities to ensure organizational
website meets accessibility requirements.

14. Policy Recommendations (K-12)
 Institution has created and promulgated a Special Needs
Online Learning Policy.
 Institution has no gateway exam/test where a specific score
is required to participate in online learning activities.

15. Course Design:
Color selection does not impede students with color blindness.
There is no use of graphical eye-candy.
All graphics have meaningful, learning-related Alt Tags.
All content in PDFs is searchable (if a graphic, follow
requirements for graphics).

16. Course Design
All audio is accompanied by text transcripts.
All video includes synchronized captioning.
Course navigation is possible without the use of a mouse.
Content at all external links meets the same accessibility
standards.
Courses are reviewed with access by a screen reader in
mind.

17. Program and Course Monitoring (K-12)
 Disaggregated enrollment data is collected for all online
programs and courses.
 Enrollment data is analyzed for comparison with
sending population.

18. Resources
1 of 8
FREE Video Captioning Apps
•NCAM.wgbh.org
•MAGpie
•CC for FLASH

19. Resources
2 of 8
Adobe and Accessibility website (PDF info)
• www.adobe.com/accessibility.html
Creating Accessible Tables and Data Tables
• http://webaim.org/techniques/tables/
• http://webaim.org/techniques/tables/data
2014 Access and equity for all learners in blended and online
education
• http://inacol.org

20. Resource
3 of 8
Color Blindness Simulator
http://www.seewald.at/en/2012/01/color_blind
ness_correction_and_simulator
See through the eyes of your red, green or blue
colorblind student.
Android

21. Resources
4 of 8
Color advice for cartography
• http://colorbrewer2.org/
Vischeck simulates colorblind vision.
• http://www.vischeck.com/
Daltonize corrects images for colorblind viewers.
• http://www.vischeck.com/daltonize/
More Color Blindness Tools

22. Resources
5 of 8
FREE website accessibility testers
•http://CynthiaSays.com
•http://WAVE.webaim.org
•https://amp.ssbbartgroup.com/express
•Accessibility Evaluator for Firefox 1.5.7.1

23. Resources
6 of 8
10 Free Screen Readers
http://usabilitygeek.com/10-free-screen-reader-
blind-visually-impaired-users/

24. Accessibility Evaluator for Firefox 1.5.7.1
The tool supports web developers in testing their web resources for functional accessibility based
on the iCITA HTML Best Practices*.
*2008 uses WCAG 1.0)
Resource
7 of 8

25. Resource
8 of 8
NVDA http://www.nvaccess.org/
NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is a free “screen
reader” which enables blind and vision impaired people to
use computers. It reads the text on the screen in a
computerised voice. You can control what is read to you
by moving the cursor to the relevant area of text with a
mouse or the arrows on your keyboard.

26. Contact Info
Raymond Rose
• ray@rose-smith.com
• 512.791.3100
Slides available at SlideShare.net
under RaymondRose