EDID6510 Assignment 2 1

Assignment 2

Accessibility within a Learning Management System

By

Nyeisha George-Minott

Presented in Partial Fulfilment of

EDID 6510 learning and Knowledge Management Systems

Date of submission: June 24, 2017

Email: nyeisha.georgeminott@my.open.uwi.edu

University: University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus

Course Coordinator: Dr. Laura Gray

EDID6510 Assignment 2 2

Introduction

Its hard to imagine life without the internet. Over time the use of the web has evolved from just

passively browsing web pages to actively creating, collaborating and sharing content with others. But

what if you could not experience this because you cannot use a mouse, cannot see the screen or cannot

hear the audio? This is the life of persons with disabilities, who too often feel frustrated when they

cannot access the web like everyone else. This paper seeks to highlight web standard issues, the need for

accessibility and inclusion for users of an LMS, accessibility features for inclusion and how various forms

of content can be improved to enhance learner experiences.

Web standards issues

The early internet experience was cumbersome at best. Web pages were mostly text based with the

inclusion of a few graphics. Netscape Navigator and Internet explorer were the web browsers of choice.

But as the web grew, different developers began to create web content that was suited to their browser

of choice, to the exclusion of others. This schism continued for some time until amid mounting pressures

and lawsuits, a move was made to establish mechanism to standardize the World Wide Web. Equal

access and Equal opportunity was the main thrust for special these interest groups. Web designers,

content developers and programmers alike are tasked with creating an online experience that removes

barriers for people with disabilities and even the elderly.

Web Standards is defined as a formal set of standards and technical specifications used to define

aspects of the World Wide Web. These are best-practice standards used by organizations to build web

sites and web applications [ CITATION elc15 \l 2052 ]. Organizations such as the ECMA and W3C make

recommendations for web standard specifications.

ECMAs main role is to develop standards and technical reports in the field of information and

communication technology. The Web standard brought up by ECMA has been accepted as a base for
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scripting standards worldwide. Its called ECMAScript, or ECMA-262, and its a standardized, cleaner

version of JavaScript.[ CITATION Bou02 \l 2052 ]

The World Wide Web consortium called the W3C was founded in 1994. W3C was tasked with the

development of protocols, guidelines and standards to ensure the long term growth of the Web. These

standards include specifications for web programming languages such as Hypertext Markup Language

HTML and CSS, XML, XHTML, DOM, and Web APIs. [ CITATION W3C16 \l 2052 ]

The W3C has set up a series of guidelines in an effort to make the web work for all people. According to

the W3C website it states that The Web is fundamentally designed to work for all people, whatever

their hardware, software, language, culture, location, or physical or mental ability. When the Web meets

this goal, it is accessible to people with a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive

ability[ CITATION W3C16 \l 2052 ]. These guidelines include Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

(WCAG), the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA), User Agent Accessibility Guidelines

(UAAG), Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG), and Mobile Accessibility.

Accessibility issues for inclusion and diversity of participants in an LMS

Course related activities such as lecture presentations, assignments, discussion and quizzes have

been primarily presented on Learning Management Systems. But until only a few years ago there was

poor support or consideration for learners and instructors with disabilities. Students were not able to

fully and independently participate in basic course activities. The affected groups of users with

disabilities are:

Visual (blindness, low vision, color blindness)

Hearing (Deafness and hard-of-hearing)
Motor/Neurological (Unable to use a mouse, slow response time, limited fine motor control)
Cognitive (Learning disabilities, distractibility, unable to remember or focus on large amounts of

information)
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"Accessible" means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same

information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a

disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use.

The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally and independently as

a person without a disability. [ CITATION Sor17 \l 2052 ]

There are various disability-related issues that affect teaching and learning with technology.

Faculty and staff of learning institutions need a better awareness of these issues. Online documents and

other tools are accessible when they can be easily understood by everyone, regardless of what

computer, mobile device, browser or adaptive equipment/technology is being used. The main concern is

that of universal design. Designing for the masses may very well have left out the users that are disabled.

These users will need their own accessibility accommodations depending on their needs. Table 1 in the

appendix outlines the key accessibility features that are to be considered. For example, Reverse contrast

would accommodate some persons with vision issue. Closed captioning assists those this hearing

impairments and custom keyboard commands can be applied to allow persons with mobility issues to

function without the use of a mouse.

Various forms of content and the possible improvement needed to enhance learners experiences

Delivering content in the online format means that instructors have to adapt or change their

existing materials for use in an online setting. Various forms of content that are being adapted must

adhere to the web standards on accessibility or universal design. Here are some forms of content and

possible improvements that can enhance learners experiences.

Text Documents

Anyone can create a text based document. However navigating this document may become an issue if

the structure and order are incoherent. One can improve a learners experience by logically labelling
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different elements within the document such as headers, footers, headings, captions, tables, diagrams

etc. This makes it easy for screen readers and other assistive technologies to navigate and dictate. It also

makes it easy to transfer or convert the text to a different format with ease. [ CITATION ICT17 \l 2052 ]

Videos

Many teachers find it easy to get a concept across to their students by presenting a video. This can be

one that they made themselves or sourced from a video streaming service such as YouTube. However

not all videos meet or follow the guidelines for accessibility. To enhance learner experiences, it is best to

include captions and transcripts on videos. Not only does this benefit the hearing impaired but everyone

who uses the web. Think about it, what if you had no speakers, you could still read the captioning!

PowerPoint presentations

Slideshows have been used in classroom setting for a few years now. However when placed in an online

setting engagement can be lost if students cannot relate to and engage with the content being provided.

Placing a PowerPoint on a course page without narrations is like placing a PowerPoint on screen in class

and walking away. Learner experiences can be enhanced with Audio narrated PowerPoint presentations

and interactive slide shows.

Webinars

Screen captured recording or tablet lectures can be created and uploaded to a course page for viewing

by students. Actively engaging the learner however, can be accomplished by hosting live Webinars.

Participants can log into the Webinar site, join the meeting room and begin participating and discussing

in real time. However users who have slower internet speeds may find it difficult to attend a live event.

Therefore recording these Webinars and loading them on a course page for future reference makes

webinars more accessible.

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Interactive e-lessons

Interactive e-lessons are a sequence of slides/screens that present core content that includes text,

media, examples and practice questions. This approach allows students to learn at their own pace in

their own time. Learners experiences and be improved if the e-lesson follows a standard structure such

as Gangns Nine events. Slides should guide the learner through the objectives, followed by an

introduction, new relevant content is shown, then an assessment of the learners progress, followed by a

summary. Animations and simulations based on a sequence of operations will allow the learner to

interact with the lessons and receive feedback on their actions. Closed captioning, narration and

keyboard shortcuts will help disabled users progress through the slides/screens.

Conclusion

Those who design for the web are mindful to adapt the content to the abled and the disabled. These

adaptations benefit everyone who uses the web today. We all benefit from web content that is properly

organized and easy to navigate. Think about watching a YouTube without speakers, you can still read the

closed captioning, thanks to the accessibility features that were incorporated. However despite these

strides, there needs to be more awareness, a better understanding of the issues and changes to policies

and procedures that govern compliance to the accessibility standards.

Web developers, content managers and even instructional designers must have the required knowledge

to implement accessibility mechanisms in websites, content and learning management systems as well.

It is hoped that organizations and institutions follow the accepted guidelines and offer content that is

perceivable, operable, understandable and robust, making the internet, the World Wide Web and all its

capabilities and possibilities accessible to all.

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References

Boudreau D. (2002 Jan. 31 ). The Importance of Web Standards. Retrieved from: Sitepoint:
https://www.sitepoint.com/importance-web-standards/

elcom. (2015 June 6). What are Web Standards. Retrieved from: elcom:
https://www.elcomcms.com/resources/blog/web-standards

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2011). E-learning Methodologies: A Guide for
desigining and developing e-learning courses. Retrieved from:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2516e/i2516e.pdf

ICT4IAL. (2017). Making your text accessible. Retrieved from: ICT4IAL Guidelines:
http://www.ict4ial.eu/guidelines/making-your-text-accessible

Penn State. (2015). Definition of Accessibility. Retrieved from: Accessibiity and Usability at Penn State:
http://accessibility.psu.edu/accommodations/definition/

Sorensen K. (2017). Accessibility in Online Courses. Retrieved from: Portland Community College:
http://www.pcc.edu/resources/instructional-support/access/approaching-accessibility.html

W3C. (2016). Accessibility. Retrieved from: W3C: https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility

WebAIM. (2016 Mar 15). Introduction to Web Accessibility. Retrieved from: Web AIM:
http://webaim.org/intro/
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Appendix

Appendix A: Accessibility table

The following table outlines the key accessibility features and the intended audience that must be taken

into consideration when designing content for the Web.

Table 1 - Accessibility Table

Accessibility Definition Why this is needed Source / literature Intended

Feature audience
Alt text Alternative Allows screen readers WebAIM. (2017, Mar. 29). Visually
text (software that reads Alternative Text. Retrieved Impaired
content aloud) to from WebAIM: (severe
state visual cues such http://webaim.org/techniqu blindness)
as images, section es/alttext/
divisions and table
headings
Descriptive Labeling Using descriptive text Visually
links/labels/head links with properly explains the Wild, G. (2017). Accissibility OZ. impaired
ings unique and context of links to a Retrieved from Links and
descriptive screen reader Accessibility:
names https://www.accessibilityoz.c
om/2014/02/links-and-
accessibility/

Zooming/ Magnifies a Allows persons with Danger, C. (2017). Magnificaiton. Visually

Magnification display or a low vision to enlarge Retrieved from Better Living Through Impaired
portion of text Technology: (Low vision)
content on http://www.bltt.org/software/ie/ma
a display gnification.htm

Reverse/High Color Low vision users can Allan, J., Kirkpatrick, A., & Henry, S. L. Visually
Contrast schemes view page content (2017, April 19). W3C Editors Impaired
invert easier Draf. Retrieved from (Low vision)
screen Accessibility Requirements
colors for People with Low Vision:
e.g. Light https://w3c.github.io/low-
text on a vision-a11y-
dark tf/requirements.html
background
Vector based text Images Zooming works well McCathieNevile, C., & Koivunen, M.- Visually
and graphics saved in for vector based text R. (2000, Aug. 7). Impaired
the .PNG and images because Accessibility Features of SVG. (Low vision)
format and there is no pixilation Retrieved from W3C Note:
vector and distortion as https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG
 EDID6510 Assignment 2 9

based images are enlarged -access/

typography
styles
Supplement Use of 10% of men are color Silver, A. (2016, June 21). Visually
color-coding with other visual blind and cannot Accessibility: Improving The UX For Impaired
text/icon coding indicators distinguish certain Color-Blind Users. Retrieved from (Color
such as colors (e.g. Smashing Magazine: blindness/ color
asterisk, red/green) https://www.smashingmagazine.com deficiency)
question Color blind users can /2016/06/improving-ux-for-color-
mark or still read text in blind-users/
other muted colors and
special make appropriate
characters selections
to demark
text
Descriptive links Labeling Using descriptive text WebAIM. (2013, Oct. 1). Links and Visually
links with properly explains the Hyperlinks. Retrieved from impaired
unique and context of links to a WebAIM:
descriptive screen reader http://webaim.org/techniqu
names es/hypertext/link_text

Captions, Text, title Allows hearing Silver, A. (2016, June 21). Hearing
extended text or brief impaired users to be Accessibility: Improving The impaired (Deaf
descriptions and explanation able read the UX For Color-Blind Users. and hard of
transcripts the transcribed script as Retrieved from Smashing hearing)
accompani content is being Magazine:
es an displayed on video https://www.smashingmagaz
illustration ine.com/2016/06/improving-
and video ux-for-color-blind-users/

Custom keyboard Custom Allows users with Nielsen Norman Group. (2014, Apr. Impaired
commands e.g. keyboard mobility issues to 6). Keyboard-Only mobility
text links, Text commands access menu items Navigation for Improved
based wizards, are overtly with a keyboard, Accessibility. Retrieved from
keyboard indicated input data using a Nielsen Norman Group:
shortcuts on a keystroke rather than https://www.nngroup.com/a
webpage or clicking a mouse. rticles/keyboard-
within a accessibility/
menu
Skip Navigation Special skip Allows users to skip Thather, J. (2009, June 19). Skip Visually
link the past repetitive Navigation Links. Retrieved Impaired
allows a by navigation links to from JimThatcher.com:
pass to get to the main or https://www.webaccessibilit
repetitive unique content y.com/best_practices.php?
groups of best_practice_id=345
links
Legibility Ease of Allows users with Galvin, K. (2014, Dec. 4). Online and Cognitive
 EDID6510 Assignment 2 10

readability learning disorders to print inclusive design and impairments

or being understand content legibility considerations.
able to based on how the Retrieved from Accessibility
discern or font size, style, color, and assistive technology:
distinguish and other formatting http://www.visionaustralia.o
between is presented rg/business-and-
items and professionals/digital-access-
understand consulting/resources/blog---
ing the accessibility-and-assistive-
language technology-
blog/blog/accessibility-
blog/2014/12/03/online-
and-print-inclusive-design-
and-legibility-considerations

Foreign language Option to Allows users who Coward, E. (2010, Dec. 22). Tips and Foreign
(page translate second language is Techniques For Multi-lingual language
translations and text to English to get Website Accessibility. learners
audio different translations of Retrieved from Nomensa:
transcripts) languages content in their first Humanising Technology:
language https://www.nomensa.com/
blog/2010/7-tips-for-multi-
lingual-website-accessibility