WebCT, Accessibility, Usability and the Disabled Student

WebCT Tool Accessibility Evaluation

Feature

Yes/No

Ease of Use

Observations / Recommendations

Glossary

Yes

6

Too many links can make navigation difficult. Images in glossary must have alt tags. Links to other terms okay in full glossary view. Using links to glossary from content module pops up new windows that are ignored by screen readers other than JAWS 4.0.

Help

No/Yes

5

Opens in new window. Contains two frames. Maybe there should be assistive technology help for tutorial help as well as tool help.

Homepage

Yes

8

But Homepage should be two words, home and page to make sense to screen readers. Otherwise sounds like ho-ma-pahgz. Also myWebCT is a nonsensical pronunciation. Although frames are named, they are not user friendly for screen readers. It helps to close left hand navigation. Also, links in Course Menu may be a little too close for people with any motor skill issues. Way too many links on one page for ease of navigation with screen readers. The Homepage can be easily navigated through but the content they are linked to may not be.

Homepage Icons for tools

Yes/No

3 to 8

Icons have alt tags, but the alt tag is the file name and thus will read something like "image 2345.jpg." This gives the student no idea of what the image is or does.

Also, screen readers read this information twice, once for the icon, once for the title. Some of this can be worked around.

Images are used as links. Placing the images after the text link will fix this problem. Need to know HTML to place the <img src> tag inside the title field. This then works quite nicely.

Image

Database

Yes

6

Image database is accessible as long as alt tags are used. Good opportunity to give long descriptions and other vital information. Could be used as a depository for all charts and graphs with long descriptions for the course. Could also be conditionally released just to certain students if interpreting the chart or graph is part of the teaching style.

Index

Yes

6

Can be too many links, like the Course Map, but can help with other issues of access.

Movie Links

No

0

If a movie must be seen to be understood, a text equivalent is required. Difficult to navigate to with a screen reader.

My Grades

Yes

8

This is a table, which reads fine with a screen reader except it will be hard to determine what grades go with what column heading because it reads the first row from left to right and then row two from left to right. Accessing the statistics for any grade column however is not accessible since the link presents a bar graph.

My Notes

(Annotations)

No

5

Difficulty navigating to the link. Getting to the Action Menu is not user friendly with a screen reader. Also, motor skills issues with the size of the links and closeness to each other. Note: Accessible with JAWS 4.0.

My Progress

Yes

8

Although it produces a bar graph, the numbers are accessible and can fairly easily be of use to most students.

Student

Presentations

No/Yes

2

Not all presentation formats are accessible. Depends on students knowing how to use Universal Design. Can be a good opportunity to teach more people about Universal Design and Access. Also, once a student using a screen reader clicks on the Edit Files link, then dealing with the Manage Files interface could be a nightmare. Would take a good deal of instruction for this population to use.

Quiz

Yes

5

Opens in new window. All questions and answers are preceded by the check box or radio button, a student would have to listen to all choices and then navigate backwards to the answer choices. Any link that opens a new window makes a barrier to ease of use with earlier versions of JAWS. Timed tests would be inappropriate for several populations. A student with screen reader will not know if s/he has saved his/her answer.

WebCT Tool Accessibility Evaluation

Feature

Yes/No

Ease of Use

Observations / Recommendations

References

Yes

8

Although getting to the link is difficult for some students. Can be accomplished with a simple link in the text itself.

Search

No

4

Dropdown lists are not terribly friendly for people with motor skill limitations or screen readers, and forms require special attention on the part of those using screen readers. With a little modification such as eliminate the dropdown list and include the Image Database, Discussions, Calendar, E-mail, Single Pages, Home and Organizer Pages, Assignments, Glossary, and any area that a student might have to revisit or remember where it was in the search options this could be a real learning aid for all populations but especially those using a screen reader or those with learning disabilities. This tool would allow them to get to their goal quickly.

Self Test

1

Screen readers have to know the option is there. Then find it in the Action Menu. Then it launches two frames. The question and answers are in one; the feedback is in yet another frame. A screen reader will not know that anything has happen when clicking an answer and will entirely miss all feedback. Defeats its purpose. Needs an alternative. Even when added to the Homepage the split frame is unworkable for some students.

Student

Homepages

No

4

The tool makes accessing the Student Homepages easy. However, the students who create the homepages would have to be aware of accessibility issues. Design issues with the homepages mean that the pages may be of little or no help to certain populations. Also, for a student with a screen reader to post HTML code to put up a homepage is not a very good option. Creating a homepage would be very difficult for someone with visual limitations due to the dropdown lists.

Student Tips

No/Yes

4

Technically, yes, but since it opens a new popup window, some students’ will never see it or know it is there. Therefore any information in the tips should be available through another means. Exception: JAWS 4.0.

Syllabus Files

N/A

N/A

If the files are designed to be accessible, but this is not well understood by most instructors.

Syllabus Tool

Yes

10

Navigation not really necessary. Allows instructor to create an accessible syllabus rich with information. Unfortunately, this can be time consuming especially if an instructor already has a syllabus in electronic form.

Twisties

Yes

6 or higher once students are informed of their meaning

Twisties are the blue triangles that appear in Content Module, Discussions Board and Mail. A triangle pointing to the right towards a message or a header indicates that there is more material related to that message or header. The message or header is said to be "collapsed". By clicking on the blue twisty the rest of the material cascades downward and is now accessible. When the blue twisty points downwards it is said the message or header is "expanded". Screen readers read "triangle right" or "triangle down". Students would need to be advised of the significance of the direction of the triangle and the need to click on triangle right to obtain the rest of the material.

Whiteboard

No

0

If significant course work is done using this tool, then several populations will be totally excluded from participating. One option is to link to an outside whiteboard tool that is accessible while staying inside WebCT.