#22947
Accessible Web Pages: Advice for Educators 
While educators have embraced the responsibility of providing equal access to educational resources to all students, Internet technology presents new challenges in this area. Students who have vision or hearing problems, who have difficulties with motor control, or who face other challenges, such as learning disabilities or language barriers, may find the Web difficult or impossible to explore.
Thombs, Margaret M. Syllabus (2002). Articles>Education>Accessibility>Online
#22997
Accommodating Various Abilities and Disabilities
Training sessions invariably have participants that come from a wide array of backgrounds and have various talents and levels of expertise. Some will be outspoken and others more withdrawn. Some will already have a background in accessible design, while others may have never heard of Web accessibility. Your participants will also have a wide range of technical expertise. You may have die-hard developers that program in text editors or an administrator who doesn't know what HTML stands for. It's important that you gain an understanding of what your training participants' talents and knowledge levels are, and then take advantage of their skills and abilities.
WebAIM (2005). Articles>Education>Accessibility
#22999
Engaging Learners with Various Training Methods
While preparing these workshops, I knew that I would be addressing people from many backgrounds. My own background is in education. In pursuing my Master's program in Instructional Technology, I began working on a distance education project for special educators. It was my first introduction to Web accessibility. I eventually came to work at WebAIM where Web accessibility has become my primary interest. Currently, I am coordinating WebAIM's K-12 education initiative. My path to Web accessibility is very unique, as is yours. I would love to hear why you are here learning how to become a better accessibility trainer.
WebAIM (2001). Articles>Education>Accessibility
#23001
Setting Learner Goals and Objectives
While pursuing my undergraduate degree in business education, I took an entire semester-long course on writing good learner goals and objectives. Though I won't pass on everything I learned, I do want to stress the importance of establishing goals and objectives for your learners (as well as for yourself) and provide some tips for establishing effective, measurable goals and objectives.
WebAIM (2001). Articles>Education>Accessibility
#29687
Stuckness and Low Vision: How Technology and Socratic Classroom Dialog Changed My Life 
The author shares some stories from her own life that may be useful in helping Web page designers and product developers better understand issues surrounding low vision, hearing loss, and mobility restrictions using her 'art of accommodation.' In this article, she discusses this art as it applies to seven areas: (1) reading structural cues and wayfinding, (2) multimedia, (3) graphics, (4) text design and visual threshold, (5) contrast, (6) glare and size of electronic displays, and (7) mobility.
Reece, Gloria A. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Education>Accessibility>Web Design
#19245
As the new disability legislation becomes law in the UK, Academic websites will be coming under close scrutiny from Disability Rights Organisations. Long established tools that have been used to test websites could, if used in the wrong way, be more of a liability than a benefit. The use of websites as medium for academia is now well established, with a plethora of materials being distributed over Intranets and Extranets. Furthermore, the pervasive Virtual Learning Environment is lending itself to opportunities for interactivity hitherto only possible in face-to-face teaching. But, as more and more material is distributed in this way there is a need for guidelines to ensure access for all.
Phipps, Lawrie, Neil Witt and Anne McDermott. TechDis (2002). Articles>Accessibility>Education>Online
#21695
Universal Design in Education: What Is It?
Universal design in education (UDE) means that physical, social, and learning environments are designed so that individuals with a wide range of abilities can have meaningful access and participation in general education. Universal design in education is built in and involves flexibility of materials, strategies, approaches, and technology. Universal design should guide developers, educators, users, and others in developing and implementing environments that support diverse users, regardless of their abilities.
ALLTech (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Education>Universal Usability
#19241
Usability and Accessibility of PDAs in Education
This report is targeted towards students, teachers and educational technology specialists in order to help them understand the practical issues of Personal Digital Assistants, also known as Palmtops or Handheld PCs.
Rainger, Peter. TechDis (2002). Articles>Education>Accessibility>Usability
#22998
Why Accessibility? Motivating Learners To Bring About Change
There are many reasons why people choose to design with accessibility in mind. These motivations can be roughly categorized into the following: ethical motivations; legal and standards-based motivations; business motivations.
WebAIM (2001). Articles>Education>Accessibility
#32266
SNOW (Special Needs Opportunity Windows) Just-in-Time, On-Line Information for Educators
Computer hardware, software and Internet connections - these are the new tools for education which are appearing in classrooms everywhere. At the same time, more and more students with special needs are taking part in the "regular" school activities as educators are asked to integrate these learners into their mainstream classrooms.
Gay, Greg and Laurie Harrison. University of Toronto (2006). Articles>Education>Accessibility
#32267
Access to Web-Based Special Education
Although, web-based distance education programs address geographical and cost barriers, they usually ignore access barriers to students with special needs (i.e. those with sensory, motor or cognitive disabilities). Distance education programs should ensure that conduits, and not barriers, to information are created. When planning a web-based special education program the following concerns should be considered: how to increase Web access to persons with disabilities by addressing access issues on both the client and the service side; how to optimize the use of innovative web technologies to transmit interesting yet accessible learning materials; how to increase community amongst special education students and teachers.
Nguyen, Kevin K. University of Toronto (2008). Articles>Education>Accessibility>Online
#32442
Making Web Accessibility Accessible
when first learning web accessibility and uncovering its secrets, like many things, it can seem daunting and difficult. I think a lot of developers are downright intimidated by web accessibility — maybe even scared to go that route. But why? I suspect the reason is web accessibility is a discipline that lacks accessibility.
Cherim, Mike. Beast-Blog (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Education
#32857
The Importance of Procurement in Accessibility Policy
Most policies in education focus exclusively on the practices of in-house Web development professionals. Few institutions are looking at the Web content and Web-based applications that come to them from other sources (e.g., content management systems, finance systems, student information systems, healthcare or benefit systems, human resource systems). So, what is missing in current policy? A mechanism to procure accessible Web products and services is missing. Without procurement as part of the policy, true system-level accessibility can only be an illusion.
Rowland, Cyndi. National Center on Disability and Access to Education (2005). Articles>Education>Accessibility
#32891
LD Web is a website aimed at making the Internet a better place for people with learning disabilities. LD Web develops guidelines and practical "how to" techniques to help web designers understand this underserviced community. LD Web is also meant to be an open discussion forum for dialogue, questions, and experiences in dealing with learning disabilities on the Web.
