Instructional Technology and Accessibility Andrew Pron, Ed.D http://web.cabrini.edu/its/

Online course environment CMS - Course management system (e.g. Blackboard) Textbook (online or print) Documents (Word, PPT, PDF, etc.) Video & audio Interactions (chat or discussions w/in CMS, Twitter, webinar, etc.) Web-based resources – whether required or recommended Online and other technology tools (e.g. TurnItIn) Assessments (quizzes & exams)

Accessible formats – Who benefits? Students who are blind Braille Electronic text and a screen reader or etext reader device MS Word PDF HTML / web page ePub3 Students who struggle with reading Electronic text and text-to-speech application Students who are deaf or hard of hearing, students whose primary language is not English Synchronized captions for video, transcript for audio

Simulations Distractibility Simulation Dyslexia Simulation Screen Reader Simulation Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone 1:28-2:58 3:13-8:30 9:00-9:55 10:38-12:06

Accessible Formats Word & PDF Documents MS Word Use the MS Word accessibility checker (Tools- Check Accessibility) PDF Use the Adobe Acrobat Pro accessibility checker (View-Tools-Accessibility) Recommendation for students using screen readers: Provide Word document or convert to HTML (File-SaveAs-HTML) Scanned PDF documents should be converted to OCR (choose OCR on copier or scanner) Tips: When converting from Word to PDF, build as much accessibility into the Word document as possible (check accessibility in Word, File-SaveAs-PDF) When converting from PowerPoint to PDF… Don’t. Create a text version instead.

Inaccessible PDF’s examples

Video Captioning Why do we want to caption videos? If you are using video in your class, you want to ensure closed captioning is available. For videos I create, I upload them to youtube and use the free captioning feature. DRC can professionally caption videos that require enhanced captioning. Sample captioned video for EDD 718 Directions on how to caption and advanced features

Chrome extensions

Web 2.0 Tools Be Careful when using Web 2.0 Tools outside of the LMS Prezi Prezi was developed using Adobe Flash and as such, is not considered fully accessible by users with disabilities requiring the use of screen readers. Since July 2014 viewing Prezi is possible using only JavaScript. While this does not fully address accessibility, Prezi appears to be moving to correct these issues. Meanwhile, educators should be aware that Prezi is not ADA/508 compliant. An accessible PowerPoint version of the presentation can be provided for students requiring screen readers. Some viewers find the Zooming User Interface to be distracting, even motion-sickness inducing. Careful use of the ZUI by the creator can minimize this consequence and turn it into an effective tool. With a little practice you will master the balance between dynamism and disruption. Evaluation rating: 37% http://web2access.org.uk/activities/37 Examples Other presentation tools have a higher rating.

Cabrini Learn and accessibility Our LMS is an accessible platform and building content within LMS will adhere to accessibility guidelines. Online Learning Faculty Course (self-enrollment code is ITG Faculty)