Samantha Frye

ETEC 424

Wolfe

Mar. 28, 2019

ADA, OL, & Section 508

The American Disability Act is a set of rules and regulations put in place by George Bush

in 1990 to secure the rights of individuals with disabilities. This protects them in the workplace,

in consuming goods and services, and to participate in government services - national and local.

This law was written to resemble the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ADA protects those with

disabilities just as the Civil Rights Act protects against discrimination of race, sex, ethnicity, and

age. To qualify for this law to protect you, an individual must be diagnosed with a disability

either mental or physical. This is an impairment that limits you when doing day to day activities.

(Introduction to the ADA).

Online Instruction, or Online Learning, is the closing the distance between you and a

classroom. Online instruction allows even the busiest and most remote individual to be able to go

to school virtually. As a student who used to do all online learning, I can attest to how it makes it

easier for when your life is unable to be centered around University. It eliminates stressors such

as on-campus living, commuting, and having to perfectly time your classes so you can still work.

(What is Online Education?). It opens the door for several students who don’t have the option,

the means, or the financial capability of going full time on-campus and colleges. In today’s

world, it is now even easier for those with disabilities such as vision or hearing impairments to

be able to access this type of learning in the comfort of their own home without having to travel

to a classroom. The tool that gave them this opportunity, is known as Section 508.
 Section 508 is an amendment made to the Rehabilitation Act to allow those who have

disabilities gain access to technology, primarily in the form of PDF (Portable Document Format)

files and websites. Not only did it require that this easy access be given, it was also to inspire

others to create new technology so barriers could be eliminated. (A Beginner’s Guide to Section

508 and Accessibility Compliance). Things as simple as contrast, font size, and captions on

audio videos are all taken into consideration and now have to follow 508 rules and regulations.

Most of these requirements are already preset into the coding of most websites. However,

Section 508 only requires projects that are funded by the government to follow these guidelines.

(What Does Section 508 Mean for Your eLearning Experience?).

Since the American Disability Act was created to protect those with disabilities, Section

508 of the Rehabilitation Act was created to enhance their use of technology. Online learning has

been made possible for everyone, even those who need just a smidge more help than the rest of

us. Since public schools are federally funded, they have Section 508 requirements to meet, which

means that they’re online courses have tools in place to help those who are vision impaired,

hearing impaired, and physically impaired, but maybe not so much of those that are

technologically impaired.
 Works Cited

Introduction to the ADA. (n.d.).

Retrieved March 28, 2019, from

https://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm

What is Online Education? (n.d.).

Retrieved March 28, 2019 from

https://www.online-education.net/articles/general/what-is-online-education.html

Frcho, J. (2018, November 30). A Beginner's Guide to Section 508 and Accessibility

Compliance.

Retrieved March 28, 2019, from

https://brailleworks.com/section-508-and-accessibility-compliance-for-beginners/

What Does Section 508 Compliance Mean for Your eLearning Course? (n.d.).

Retrieved March 28, 2019, from

https://www.trivantis.com/what-does-section-508-compliance-mean-for-your-e-learning-

course/