What is accessibility?
In other places we make reference to students with disabilities, and that we as instructors need to consider the special and diverse needs of our students. As more of our courses have online components, including our learning management systems (Oncourse), we need to consider how students with visual and auditory disabilities encounter our materials. This includes video, audio, presentations of different forms, and textual materials that we provide to students. Additionally, as higher education moves closer to adopting an approach called Universal Design for Learning, we should think about how features that we add to our teaching materials can benefit everyone and learners with disabilities.
Why Does It Matter?
Accessibility is important because the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires federally funded institutions to provide accommodation and equal access for students with disabilities. Also students with disabilities may be more prevalent than you realize. Current estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest that approximately 20% of the U.S. population have some type of disability. Web accessibility seeks to improve design so that all students are able to interact and engage with your course content.
Ways to Learn More
The IU Adaptive Technology and Accessibility Centers (ATAC) can be a resource for you and your faculty supervisors if, when, and as you begin to think about how the materials that you use could affect student learning. Also, consider looking at some of the resources as references below, and talking with the ETTA team if you have questions or would like to learn more.
IU Indianapolis Resources
Adaptive Educational Services (AES)
Student Special Needs - Test-Taking and Instructor Responsibilities
Disability Accommodation Request Procedures
References
Exploring the design, development and use of websites through accessibility and usability studies Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia 2011Alan Foley, Syracuse University, United States http://www.editlib.org/p/37621
Web Accessibility Theory and Practice: An Introduction for University Faculty
Bradbard, David A.; Peters, Cara
Journal of Educators Online, 2010-Jan
http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ904073
University of Wisconsin-Madison – What is Accessibility? – This site provides a nice summary
http://academictech.doit.wisc.edu/blend/create/accessibility