1. Acquiring Accessible Digital Materials in K Joy Smiley Zabala, Ed.D., Co-Director Lynn McCormack, Senior Accessibility Specialist Diana Carl, MA, LSSP, Special Projects Coordinator National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning
October 12, Acquiring Accessible Print Materials in K-12
Even with explosion of digital learning materials, most school continue to include some printed materials in their curriculum. The content of print textbooks and learning materials is not accessible to many students with disabilities. Join us to learn more about the ways in which print materials can be retrofitted into specialized formats and sources of those formats for students who require them for participation and achievement. This interactive session will look at each side of the AEM coin – accessible content and accessible delivery technology. Topics will include a decision making process, how materials can be acquired and the supports that may be needed for effective use for learning.

2. Big Ideas of this Session
Content will focus on the following main ideas:
Briefly introducing the AEM Center
Reviewing the “Why” of Providing AEM
Examining accessibility
Making AEM-related decisions
Acquiring accessible digital materials
Leveraging AEM Center supportive tools and resources
Seeking digital materials that are accessible and widely usable by students with a variety of strengths and challenges can be difficult. If digital materials are not designed to be accessible from the outset, they are difficult or impossible to retrofit.  Thus, it is important to select and acquire digital materials with multiple options that increase the usability of the materials for a wide variety of learners, including those with disabilities. This session will provide an overview of features to look for when considering and purchasing digital educational materials. Time will be devoted to addressing questions and comments from participants. 2

3. About the AEM Center

4. AEM Center Goal
To build the capacity of states, districts, postsecondary institutions, families, publishers, workforce development entities and other stakeholders to increase the availability and use of high-quality accessible materials (AEM) and technologies that support improved learning opportunities and outcomes for learners with disabilities.

5. AEM Center Services
Three tiers of technical assistance, tools and resources built on promising practices and available to multiple stakeholders
Universal – High-quality, relevant and useful products and services readily available to all
Targeted – Focused assistance in response to specific requests from the field
Intensive – Ongoing collaborative work on best practices with 8 states (Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas)

6. Why Provide Accessible Materials and Technologies?

7. Stevie Wonder at the Grammys
“We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability”

8. Advancing Equity and Inclusion, A Guide for Municipalities, June © City for All Women Initiative (CAWI), Ottawa

9. IDEA Fed. Reg. Section
Provisions require state and local education agencies to ensure that printed textbooks and related core instructional materials are provided to learners with print disabilities in specialized formats in a timely manner. Legal requirement is placed on state and local education agencies. IDEA cannot place requirements on publishers.

10. What OSEP says about AEM in 2015
“Accessible educational materials” means print- and technology-based educational materials, including printed and electronic textbooks and related core materials that are required by SEAs and LEAs for use by all students… CFDA Z, Footnote #10

11. For more information view Frequently Asked Questions
AEM and Civil Rights
Two federal civil rights acts, Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability
speak to the obligation of public schools to provide accessible educational materials to learners with disabilities who need them.
For more information view Frequently Asked Questions

12. Materials are Materials
Instructional ?
Educational?
Learning?
ALL materials have to be ACCESSIBLE and so do the technologies that render them!

13. Examining What Accessibility Means

14. Functional Definition of Accessibility
Joint Dear Colleague Letter June 29, 2010 Department of Justice and Department of Education

15. Is it Accessible? It Depends…
Accessibility is not one thing or set of things
Accessibility is a moving target
Accessible to whom?
Accessible where?
Accessible for what?

16. “Accessibility” Is Not a Single Solution

17. Accessible Materials and Technologies: Focus on Digital

18. What are AEM?
Materials that are designed or enhanced in a way that make them usable by the widest possible range of student variability regardless of format (print, digital, graphical, audio, video)
Content may be “designed to be used as print” (born print) and require retrofitting
Content may be “designed to be used digitally” (born digital) and difficult to retrofit if not accessible from the start

19. Lesson Learned: Formats
Many students will need more than one option depending upon
the impact of their disability
what they need to do
where they need to do it

20. Lesson Learned: Two Sides
When thinking about accessible materials, it is important to understand that the content and the delivery technology are two sides of the AEM coin and both require careful consideration and selection.

21. Two Sides of the AEM Coin…
The information is the content
Accessible technology is the delivery system that the student uses to perceive and interact with the content

22. Accessible Technologies
Any device, hardware, software or handheld equipment that provides access to life's activities
Can be used by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.  
Directly usable without assistive technology or
Compatible and made usable with assistive technology 
Adapted from AccessibleTech.org’s What is Accessible Electronic and Information Technology?

23. Making Decisions About AEM

24. A Four-Step Decision-Making Process
Establish need for accessible educational materials
Select format(s) and/or features needed by a student for educational participation and achievement
Commence steps to acquire materials with identified format(s) and features in a timely manner
Determine supports needed for effective use for educational participation and achievement. 24

25. Determination of Need

26. Lesson Learned: Broader Need
The need or preferences for educational materials in accessible formats goes well beyond students with identified disabilities.

27. Who Needs AEM?
Learners with disabilities that prevent them from perceiving and using “typical” instructional materials, such as print or “locked” digital materials, effectively
Students with sensory, physical, or learning-related disabilities
Learners without identified disabilities who cannot make effective use of “typical” instructional materials
Struggling readers, students lacking English proficiency, etc.
Learners who simply prefer options for different tasks or for use in different environments.

28. Lesson Learned: Need for AEM
A primary factor to consider in determining a student’s need for AEM is whether or not the student is able to read or use standard print educational materials.

29. When Might a Learner Need AEM?
If any student is unable to read or use grade level instructional materials at a sufficient rate and with adequate comprehension to complete academic tasks with success, relative to same-age peers, or cannot do this independently, or cannot do this across environments and tasks, then the student MAY need AEM.
In the next section, we will examine a process that can be used to assist teams in determining if a student needs AEM?

30. Selecting Digital Materials and Accessible Technology

31. Revisiting the “Is it Accessible” Question
Accessibility is not one thing or set of things
Accessibility is a moving target
Accessible to whom?
Accessible where?
Accessible for what?

32. Accessibility for a student who is deaf or hard of hearing
Captions for multimedia presentations
Transcripts of multimedia presentations
Simultaneous sign language input
Alternatives for sound cues
Amplified sound and noise reducing earphones

33. Accessibility for a student with low vision
Compatible with screen magnification software
Flexible formatting such as fonts, font size, contrast and colors
Compatible with text-to-speech software audio formats provided
Audio descriptions
Logical order to content that is easily understandable

34. Accessibility for a student who is blind
Screen reader software
Refreshable braille device with speech
Transcripts of multimedia presentations are compatible with refreshable braille devices
Alt text for images
Logical, easily understandable order to content
@AEM_Center |

35. Accessibility for a student with a physical disability
Navigation is mouse-free and all functionality is available from the keyboard or other devices
Visual focus provides guidance
Compatibility with alternative devices or programs such as voice recognition or visual keyboards when writing is required

36. Formatting can be changed to meet preferences
Accessibility for a student with a learning disability, dyslexia, ADHD, autism or other cognitive disability
Formatting can be changed to meet preferences
Text-to-speech software and supported reading software are compatible
Access location supports and progress bars are available
Time limits for responses can be extended
Logical order to content that is easily understandable

37. Lesson Learned: Increased Accessibility
Accessibility is increased when
Design includes multiple options that can be turned off and on depending upon individual needs or preferences
All involved know what the options are, can participate in the selection of options and know how to manipulate the options

38. Acquiring Digital Materials

39. Lesson Learned: Sources of Materials
As the publishing industry “goes digital” the most promising sources of AEM for widespread use are:
digital learning materials developed by publishers and made available for purchase
open educational resources (OERs)

40. Just because materials are digital doesn’t mean they are accessible
but here’s a problem…
Just because materials are digital doesn’t mean they are accessible

41. Retrofitting Digital Materials
“Virtually no elementary or secondary system has the capacity to retrofit digital materials for accessibility.”
White paper. Center for Online Learning
and Students with Disabilities

42. Benefits of accessible materials
Benefits of acquiring digital materials that are accessible from the start:
Supports inclusion
Benefits all students’ learning
Benefits teachers
Reduces complexity
Reduces costly accommodations

43. and here’s another problem…
As exciting, inviting digital materials are being developed, publishers are not hearing much of a demand for accessibility or broad usability!

44. Lesson Learned: Accessibility Question
Asking a commercial publisher or a creator of OERs if their digital materials are “accessible” often leads to answers that are not very enlightening.

45. What does “accessible” mean?
Chris Bugaj

46. Purchase Accessible Learning Materials The PALM Initiative

47. Contracts and Standards for Purchasers
If you are a purchaser of materials or influence those who purchase materials, be sure that contracts require that all materials purchased from publishers or developers are aligned with relevant accessibility standards (e.g., DAISY, WCAG 2.0 AA at minimum, Section 508).

48. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA
Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Web Accessibility Initiative

49. WCAG 2.0, Level AA Principles
Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive
Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable
Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable
Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including AT

50. Accessibility for the Rest of Us
Show me! ? ?
Section 508? ?
DAISY?
WCAG 2.0? ?

51. “Show me” Indicators of Accessibility 1
Seek out and purchase materials that:
Can run on a variety of devices
Are developed in device-agnostic file formats (e.g., accessible HTML, accessible Microsoft Word, accessible PDF, ePUB)
Have content represented in multiple ways (e.g., video captions, alt text, text and image descriptions that can be voiced, digital braille)

52. “Show me” Indicators of Accessibility 2
Seek out and purchase materials that:
Are compatible with other technologies (e.g., assistive technology, screen readers, refreshable braille, text-to- speech, and human-voice reading)
Have rich navigation alternatives (e.g., keyboard shortcuts/mapping or screen gestures)
Have logical reading order
Have location supports such as page numbers and/or progress bars

53. “Show me” Indicators of Accessibility 3
Seek out and purchase materials that:
Have mathematical, scientific, and music symbols, formulas, and notations represented in multiple ways (e.g., explained with text alternatives, MathML)
If writing is required, keyboard entry is supported by alternatives (e.g., word prediction, on-screen keyboards, voice input)

54. and another thing….
Electronic Digital Rights Management (DRM) built into materials MUST NOT prevent access to built-in accessibility features or necessary assistive technologies.

55. Lesson Learned: Consumer Demand
If purchasers consistently DEMAND accessibility in all digital products and give preference to accessible products, the production and availability of accessible digital materials for purchase WILL increase!

56. Supporting the Use of Digital Materials

57. Supports for Use
Technology
Training
Instructional strategies
Support services
Accommodations and/or modifications

58. Simply Said: Understanding Accessibility in Digital Learning Materials
Leveraging Resources
Simply Said: Understanding Accessibility in Digital Learning Materials

59. Getting Help When You Need It

60. AEM Center Homepage - Top

61. AEM Web Page Footer

62. What Can You Do?
Visit the AEM Center website
Use the information and tools on the AEM Center site to help identify need and then explore options to meet the need
Go to “AEM State Contacts” to find out about state policies, procedures, and practices in your state
Fulfill statutory obligations and go beyond to ensure that EVERY student has access to materials
Attend additional webinars

63. Best Practices for More Accessible Social Media
Social Media Webinar
Best Practices for More Accessible Social Media
2:00PM – 3:00PM ET
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
#aem4all

64. “Where there was once an observer, let there now be a participant.”
NOTE-TAKING GUIDE: SETTing the Stage for Technology-Supported Student Achievement
Jerome Bruner
“Where there was once an observer, let there now be a participant.”
© Joy Smiley Zabala (2006). For permission to use contact by For further information, visit

65. We’re always just a fingertip away!
Joy Zabala
Lynn McCormack
Diana Carl
AEM Team

66. Thank you for joining us!
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