Distance Education presents many opportunities for open, flexible and accessible learning. There are key considerations when planning courses so that institutions can deliver on the commitment of providing equal access for all learners. This presentation outlines accessibility considerations when creating courses for a distance education environment, possible barriers and their solutions, how universal design and accessibility are related as well as our responsibilities under Canadian law. Carrie jam packs her sessions and will provide concrete examples and resources for you to take back to your institution An accessible version is available upon request carriea@athabascau.ca

1. Carrie Anton
Athabasca University

2. ACCESSIBILITY
The practice of making things usable by
people of all abilities. When web and spaces
are correctly developed, designed &
implemented, we provide the opportunity for
all users to have
equal access
and
functionality

3. DISTANCE EDUCATION
One of the primary concepts of distance
education (DE) is to offer students learning
anytime, anywhere. Therefore, all DE resources
must be designed to afford students with
disabilities maximum opportunity to access
resources without the need for outside
assistance (e.g. interpreter, aides, scribe, etc.).

4. UD > ACCESSIBILITY > USABILITY
Universal Design incorporates those accessibility features
into the beginning stages of course design. This is a
proactive approach to building broad usability for many
and alleviates the need for numerous individual
accommodations.
Usability affects all users of electronic information, and all
users are equal.
Accessibility, however, affects whether a person with a
disability can access a website or the corresponding
course materials; thereby, materials that are usable are
not automatically accessible.
Educators must understand the needs of diverse learners

5. WHY BE ACCESSIBLE
• Economical – less expensive than retrofit
• Ethical - right thing to do to ensure equal
access to education
• Progressive – embraces innovation
• Legal - the law

6. WHO IS AFFECTED?
• Mobility – logging into a website is easier than getting into a
car. BUT it is difficult to navigate the mouse or keyboard
targets do not have a visual focus
• Vision – locating text since sites are organized differently
with no standard commands
• Hearing – accessing information read or seen
• Low Literacy – someone not exposed to on line environment
and we make it non intuitive

7. DISABILITIES THAT AFFECT WEB
BROWSING (US)

8. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Assistive
Technology (AT)
Blind Low
Vision
Mobility Learning
Disability
Deaf Hard of
Hearing
Speech
Screen Magnifier x x
Screen Reader x
E-text Reader x x x x x x
Assistive
Listening Device
x
Closed
Captioning (CC)
x x x
Speech
Recognition
x x

9. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY 2
Assistive
Technology (AT)
Blind Low
Vision
Mobility Learning
Disability
Deaf Hard of
Hearing
Speech
Augmentative
Alternative
Communication
(AAC)
X X x
Custom
Display/System
Theme
x x x x x x
Custom
Switch/Input
System
x x
Text To Speech
(TTS)
x x x X

10. GUIDELINES
• Institutional Policy
– Web Best Practice
– Accessibility
– Disability Services
– Course Design
– Procurement (IT)
• Law
– Duty to
Accommodate
– Alberta Human
Rights Code
– Copyright Act
• Industry
– WCAG (POUR)
– UID, UD, UDL
– HTML
– Competitors

11. AU ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES
Item
Text alternatives should be available for all non-text content
Alternatives provided for time-based media
Content should be readable and understandable without losing information
or structure.
Users should find it easy to see and hear content
All interactive components should be accessible from keyboard
Users should be given adequate time to read and use content
Content should be designed in a way that reduces possibility of seizures
Users should always be able to navigate, locate content and determine where
they are on site
Publisher resources should offer accessible alternatives and versions
Inform students who to contact if they need assistance

12. AU CONTENT MODEL

13. ACCESSIBILITY IN COURSES
Area Item
Syllabus Include details about:
• amount of online coursework,
• course duration, exam duration
• course materials
• grading process for each learning activity
• notice of labs (f2f, virtual, home),
• participation requirements in social media (forums, web conferences,
chat), and
• technical support available to students.
Course organization Separate coursework into clear sections (e.g. Readings, Discussions, Written
Work)
Instructions/directions Provide clear directions:
• Do not rely on visual or auditory cues (e.g. colour, shape, size, location on
page, sound) to convey instructions.
Examples of inappropriate cues:
• “Click the hexagonal button”
• “Refer to the list in the right-hand column”
• “Continue after you hear the beep”
Naming practices Activities and assignments in each unit/module should be named succinctly
and consistently.
Page layout Should incorporate the following elements:
• Including adequate white space
• Including headings/subheadings to break up content and provide
structure
• Chunking text (use short paragraphs and point form)

14. ACCESSIBILITY IN COURSES 2
Area Item
Font and Colour Font Families:
• Use sans serif fonts (e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Verdana)
• Avoid serif fonts (e.g. Times New Roman)
Font Sizes:
• Ensure that the font is large enough
• Default font size should be 12 pt and no smaller than 10 pt
Font Colour:
• Ensure that there is enough contrast between background colour and font
colour
• Do not use colour for emphasis and page structure (e.g. warnings need
more than red indicator)
Images and Graphics Provide alternative text or long descriptions of images
• Add captions above photos, tables, diagrams, etc
• Consider whether an image is essential to the content, if not, do not include
it or provide null alt text
Navigation Include options for skipping to:
• Main content of the page
• Table of contents
• Breadcrumb
• Navigation elements at key places headings H1-H6

15. WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY
GUIDELINES (WCAG 2.0)
P O U R

16. WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY
GUIDELINES (WCAG 2.0)
P O U R
Perceivable
Operable
Understandable
Robust

17. ALT TEXT, LONG DESCRIPTION
This graphic combines several disability-related
images into a single collage. Braille dots, an eye
chart, finger spelled "508", and a side view
outline of a person's head with a glowing spot
for the brain make up the top portion of the
collage. Several symbols/icons are superimposed
in a strip over the lower part of the collage to
represent the following disabilities and/or
assistive measures:
• sign language interpretation
• assistive listening devices
• sound
• wheelchair (for accessible entrances, etc.)
• vision, no or low vision
• brain/cognition

18. DO NOT RELY ON SENSORY CUES

19. COLOR, SHAPE, SOUND
There are two ways to get things done around here. The preferred
method is shown in red.
– your way
– my way
There are two ways to get things done around here. The second
method, also shown in red, is preferred.
1. your way
2. my way
someone may not see color, has a monochrome display, poor
lighting, mobile device, custom browser settings

20. NAVIGATE AND LOCATE CONTENT
Includes
– Visible “Skip to…” content links
– Consistent page structure coded headings
– Table of contents or Index
– Breadcrumbs “You are here xyz”
– Navigation menu/lists
– Course organization (e.g. clear sections like
course materials, discussions, assignments,
supplemental readings)

21. STRUCTURE, NAVIGATION
• Hierarchical view of a page
• Instead of changing font
size and color
• Each section of a page
• Screen reader users
navigate by heading
• Meaningful Headings
• H1 - H6

22. WEBAIM SURVEY: NEW WEBPAGES
61%17%
13%
2%
7%
Method of finding information on lengthy web
page
Navigate through
headings on the page
Use the Find feature
Navigate through the
links on the page
Navigate through
landmarks
Read through page

23. WEBAIM SURVEY: SKIP TO CONTENT
LINKS
18%
17%
28%
19%
15%
3%
Usage of ‘skip to content’ links
Whenever they're
available
Often
Sometimes
Seldom
Never
No Response

24. SKIP TO CONTENT LINKS

25. ACCESSIBILITY IN COURSES 3
Area Item
Face-to-face instruction When students must attend seminars, examinations, labs or retreats facilities in which these
events occur should be wheel chair accessible
• Note: Furniture in these venues should be able to accommodate wheelchair users and have
accessible restrooms. There should also be accessible parking
Synchronous learning Alternative methods of communication/material should be offered when an assignment or
activity requires that students participate in chats, discussion forums, telephone/video/web
conferencing
Examples of alternative communication approaches/issues:
• Sign language interpreters
• Video captions and transcripts
• Accessible copies of slides (PDF, PowerPoint)
• VOIP and captioned text chat for activities involving use of whiteboard software (not
accessible to assistive technology or keyboard users)
Asynchronous learning Alternative methods of submitting assignments and interacting with course materials are
provided (in event LMS not accessible or usable)
Examples: Downloadable/printable documents
• Controllable playback, transcripts,
100% Keyboard Functionality Do not lock or trap keyboard at one particular element on webpage
User should be able to navigate to and from all navigable page elements using only a keyboard
Accessible Documents Develop documents considering accessibility first rather than retrofit (e.g. Word,
PDF, PPT)
• Use accessible principles for Page Layout, Font & Colour and Image
Alternatives, Organization with chunking, bullets, plain language
• Use styles for structured headings, lists, section breaks NOT colour or
formatting changes

26. ACCESSIBILITY IN COURSES 4
Area Item
Video, Flash Objects Video
• Multimedia Player should provide users with option to control media with keyboard shortcuts
(for non-mouse users)
• Provide list of keyboard shortcuts to user
• Ensure that keyboard controls do not depend on mouse over or conflict with browser hotkeys
• Use captioning for video (allow user to turn on and off). White text on black background is
standard.
Flash
• Provide clickable Flash objects in another format like a linked TOC
• Describe action taking place not what appears. The text “A yellow bubble drops into two blue
bubbles” is not a meaningful description of a water molecule
At minimum have text transcripts of video/presentations
Audio Multimedia Player should provide users with option to control media with keyboard shortcuts (for non-
mouse users)
• Provide keyboard controls for non-mouse users (e.g. shortcut keys or accessible player skins)
• Provide list of keyboard controls for user
• Ensure that keyboard controls do not depend on mouse over or conflict with browser hotkeys
Provide text transcript of audio.
Animations Use sparingly as flickering may affect people with photosensitive epilepsy
Ensure that user controls for stopping or skipping flashing items are available for items
that flicker more than 3 times/second

27. ACCESSIBILITY IN COURSES 5
Area Item
Timed Events • Do not use timed events unless time is a part of a real time event (e.g. auction) or part of
an activity where timing is essential (e.g. online gaming)
• Allow users to deactivate timing, or extend the time allotted to a task
Notification & Contact • Provide clear statement of institution’s commitment to accessibility
• Provide way for students to report inaccessible design features (email address or other
contact)
• Provide information about who student should contact at AU if he/she needs to request
accommodation and obtain alternate formats for printed materials (ASD office)
• Indicate who student should contact if course materials are not accessible
Selecting a textbook Does publisher e-text have the following features?
• Electronic files can be marked up using headings and subheadings or bookmarks
• Text captions and descriptions of diagrams explain the graphical information
• List of graphics, tables, charts and drawings essential to the course have been identified
so that alt formats can be created as required.
• Publisher provided e-text to Disability Related Student Service office (allows for alt format
course materials can be produced).
• If e-text not available determine whether university has permission to scan the textbook
Markup & Web Pages • Markup should closely follow WCAG 2.0 Guidelines Priority AA. The above guidelines are
applicable to web pages as well. Web Accessibility and Usability Evaluators are listed in
the Appendix.
Note: List of resources for formatting documents so that they are accessible can be found in the
Appendix

28. UNDERSTANDABLE
– Plain language
– Chunking, bullets and sequences
– Write for the web
• I and you – instead of instructor & student – keep it
conversational, that’s the web
– Write for a variety of audience
• ESL students: If they are copying/pasting into
translator the chances of success are few
– Simple declarative sentences
– Less jargon or cumbersome sentences

29. ORGANISATION, MEANING
System concept descriptions provide:
• The missions, features, capabilities and functions of the
system
• Major system components and interactions
• Operational environment including manual procedures
required
• Operational modes such as production, backup and
maintenance
• Interfaces with other systems
• Required performance characteristics such as response time,
throughput and data volumes
• Quality attributes such as availability, reliability and usability
• Other considerations such as security, audit, safety and
failure modes in emergency situations
• Deployment considerations such as acquisition of business
data to support the system including data cleansing and
loading
• The classes of users that will interact with the system
• Requirements for support of the system such as maintenance
organization and help desk.
System concept descriptions provide:
Functional requirements
• The missions, features, capabilities and functions of the
system
• Major system components and interactions
• Operational environment including manual procedures
required
• Operational modes such as production, backup and
maintenance
• Interfaces with other systems
Non-functional requirements
• Required performance characteristics such as response time,
throughput and data volumes
• Quality attributes such as availability, reliability and usability
• Other considerations such as security, audit, safety and
failure modes in emergency situations
Deployment and Operational Requirements
• Deployment considerations such as acquisition of business
data to support the system including data cleansing and
loading
• The classes of users that will interact with the system
• Requirements for support of the system such as maintenance
organization and help desk.

30. 1st YEAR GEOLOGY COURSE
Needs Improvement

31. AUDIO, VIDEO, ANIMATION
• Most players allow
playing of captions
• Easy to do
• Built into most Web
Conferencing
• Transcripts are the
minimum
• Avoid flashing or
flickering content

32. TRANSCRIPTS, NOTES

33. MULTIPLE METHODS DOWNLOAD,
STREAM, TEXT

34. VIDEO INDEX

35. 100% KEYBOARD FUNCTION
• Make all functionality usable from the
keyboard
– alternative mice & keyboards
– Voice dictation
– Screen readers
• Visual keyboard focus
• Make a Button a Button
• A form field needs a label
• Avoid JavaScript unless you can do it right

37. DOCUMENTS
Similar guidelines apply
• Use Styles in original documents (Word,
PowerPoint)
• When you convert good originals to a PDF
the accessibility features transfer
(headings, links, lists and image alt text)
• Don’t use image only PDF: documents are
searchable
• Ensure PDF files are searchable

38. USABLE TEXT FOR ALL DEVICES
•

39. TABLE USE
• DO NOT use tables for layout use CSS
• Data Tables need Table headings <TH>
• Add Captions at the top and a Table Summary
Name Telephone
Bill Gates 555 77 854
Mr. Bean 44 106 555 1563

40. FORCED DESIGN

41. CSS DISABLED

42. ACCESSIBLE IT
• Keyboard functionality
• Allows flexible use (font, color, line spacing)
• Visually identify focus of the keyboard & mouse
• Predictable behavior for buttons and controls
• Consistent operation/look
• Understandable controls and content
(instructions, required field, buttons, form labels,
error messages)
• Avoid JavaScript or flash unless it is done
accessibly

43. MUCH LEARNING

44. MATH 265 - MATHML

45. LMS ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
• LMS do not incorporate UDL (flexible, easy to use,
consistent design, etc.)
• Mouse driven
• Rely on colour and images without alternatives
• Unfriendly forms (blogs, wikis, quiz, embedded items)
• Download/upload of content inaccessible
• No captions/transcripts for multimedia
• Meaningless link text “here”
• Print to e-course without much redesign
• http://projectone.cannect.org/online-education/lms-
accessibility.php

46. AFB STUDY 2008
Percentage of Respondents who Provided Accessibility Ratings of Online Education Tools by
Type of Online Educational Tool
Accessibility Rating Overall Blackboard Web CT Live Text Other
1. No successful
use/access
6% 4% 0% 67% 7%
2. Unreliable/inconsistent 24% 15% 50% 33% 50%
3. Doable with
patience/effort
30% 34% 50% 0% 7%
4. Fairly usable with some
quirks
31% 38% 0% 0% 22%
5. Accessible without
difficulty
9% 9% 0% 0% 14%
other included Moodle, Apex Learning, Aventa, MyMathLab, Wimba, ed2go,
Elluminate, PowerSchool, and other various online educational tools available
exclusively through certain educational programs

47. Problematic Features of Online Educational Tools by Type of Online Educational Tool
Problematic Features Blackboard Web CT Live Text Other
Assessments Yes Yes Yes Yes
Assignments Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachments Yes No Yes No
Real-time chat feature Yes Yes No Yes
Color contrast Yes No Yes Yes
Discussion board Yes Yes No No
Documents Yes Yes Yes Yes
E-mail Yes Yes No Yes
Graphics Yes No No Yes
Maintenance Yes No No Yes
Modifying text Yes No No Yes
Navigation Yes Yes Yes Yes
Recordings Yes No No No
Security Yes No No No
Sighted assistance
required
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Technical support Yes Yes Yes No
Timed graded activities Yes No No Yes
Training Yes No No Yes
Videos Yes No No Yes
Yes = problematic

48. OHIO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA 2011
• Tested
• Login and
Configuration/Compatibility
Testing
• Personalization and
Customization
• Navigation
• Common Modules/Tools
(Student Facing)
• Forms
• Authoring Tools/Content
Creation (Instructor Facing)
• Help and Documentation
• Features Unique to LMS that
Affect Accessibility
• Blackboard 9.1 SP3
• D2L 9.2
• Moodle 1.9
• Sakai 2.8.0
• http://presentations.cita.illinoi
s.edu/2011-03-csun-lms/

49. OHIO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA 2012
• Ilinois State – Hadi Rangin Blog
http://blog.bargirangin.com/2013/03/a-
comparison-of-learning-management.html
 Blackboard 9.1 Service Pack 6 & 8
 Desire2Learn 10
 Moodle 2.3
 SAKAI 2.8
 http://blog.bargirangin.com/2013/03/a-
comparison-of-learning-management.html

50. • Login, Configuration, and
Compatibility Testing
• Personalization and
Customization
– Layout Customization
– Styling
– Session Time Out
– Saving Current State
– Default Page
– Selecting Editor
– Alerts
• Navigation
– Page Title
– Breadcrumbs
– Navigation Bars & Menus
– Navigation Technique
– Linearization and Tab
Order
– Link Type and Link Text
– Visible Indication of Cursor
Focus
– Tooltips Technique
• Forms
– Form Control Labels
– Form Submission
• Help and Documentation
– Inline Help
– Tutorials and Guides
• Common Student Facing
Modules/Tools
– Announcements
– Discussion
– E-mail
– Chat
– Assignments, Activities,
Course Content, Learning
Modules
• Navigation
• Up/Downloads
– Grade Book
– Quizzing/Testing
Components
• Navigation Features
• Question Types
• Saving Quiz
Progress/Draft
• Notification and
Verification
• Authoring Tools & Content
Creation
– File Uploading
– Authoring Tool
– Grade Book (Instructor
Level)
– Multimedia Content
Handling

51. OTHER STUDIES
North Carolina State U
http://accessibility.oit.ncsu.edu/reports/moodle-2-1/
Neil Squire Foundation – Vancouver
AccessDL U of Washington DO-IT
http://www.washington.edu/doit/Resources/accessdl.html
OSU & U of Guelph
http://www.uoguelph.ca/tss/projects/LMSaccessibilitytips.pdf
MANY MORE..

52. Neil Squire Foundation: TTS in Moodle
(with pronunciation)
Moodle 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 released 12/14/2012
https://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=block_tts

53. WHY IS ACCESSIBILITY NOT
HAPPENING 90%
• No mandate
• No compliance incentives
• Anticipated cost, especially retrofit
• Unclear Guidelines especially certain material OER
• Pushback (academic freedom, visual design vs
accessible or intuitive design, no time, no resources)
• No compliance is better than half compliance
• IT products without accessibility considerations
• OER lack of accessibility guidelines
• Stats justification - % that will benefit

54. IT’S A PROCESS
Champions of the cause
– often enthusiasm isn’t enough Learn your stuff
– Accessibility reviews
– Awareness workshops
At least one executive on board (ethical, economical, legal)
Values built into corporate documents
– Need a leg to stand on
– UD/UID/Accessibility Policies
– Best practice/guideline docs
Implementation
– Stakeholder participation
– Promote guidelines/BP
– Resources - easy access with examples
– Faculty and staff training (access challenges, standards, resources)

55. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Ensuring that distance education courses,
materials and resources are accessible to students
with disabilities is a shared institutional
responsibility. Faculty need to receive appropriate
training in order to ensure that they understand
what constitutes accessibility, and institutions
must provide faculty with both the necessary
training and resources to ensure accessibility.

56. INFO RESOURCES
• WebAIM’s Introduction to Web Accessibility http://webaim.org/intro
• Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act Implementation
Guidelines
http://www.dhs.state.il.us/IITAA/IITAAWebImplementationGuidelines.ht
ml
• iCITA HTML Best Practices http://html.cita.uiuc.edu/
• ATHEN The Access Technology In Higher Education Network
http://collaborate.athenpro.org/
• NCDAE http://ncdae.org/resources/cheatsheets/
• Accessibility Conferences & workshops
• NCAM http://ncam.wgbh.org/
• CAST – UID http://www.cast.org
• Accessibility initiatives in other institutions
• Litigation in the industry

57. DOCUMENT RESOURCES
Creating accessible PDF
http://www.adobe.com/enterprise/accessibility/p
opup_create_pdfs.html
Appropriate Use of Alternative Text
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/alttext/
Adobe Acrobat accessibility guide
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acr
obat/pdf/A9-pdf-accesibility-overview.pdf
Word: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-
help/video-find-and-fix-accessibility-issues-in-
word-2010-VA102627140.aspx?CTT=3

58. LMS RESOURCES
• All these products are significantly more
accessible than a few years ago.
• Blackboard Accessibility Interest Group
http://collaborate.athenpro.org/group/bb/
• Desire2Learn Accessibility Interest Group
http://collaborate.athenpro.org/group/d2l/
• Moodle Docs Accessibility Page
http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Accessibility
Moodle Accessibility Tracker
https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL/co
mponent/10083
• SAKAI Accessibility Working Group Page
https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display
/2ACC/Accessibility+Working+Group

59. WEB TESTING TOOLS
Browser Plug Ins
• Firefox Web Developer Extension http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/
• Firefox Accessibility Extension
http://www.accessfirefox.org/Firefox_Accessibility_Extension.php
• Firefox WAVE Accessibility Toolbar http://www.wave.webaim.org
• Internet Explorer Web Accessibility Toolbar
http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/ais/toolbar/
Colour Contrast Analyzers
• Fujitsu Colour Selector application for use on any files not just web pages.
http://www.fujitsu.com/global/accessibility/assistance/cs/
• Juicy Studio Luminosity & Contrast Analyzer & Firefox Toolbar
http://juicystudio.com/services/luminositycontrastratio.php
• Juicy Studio Colour Toolbar for Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/addon/juicy-studio-accessibility-too/
Flicker Test http://trace.wisc.edu/peat/

60. EASY WEB TEST QUESTIONS
• Select all (control A) shows you the items screen reader and voice
dictation users will have trouble accessing
• Disable style sheets for a text only view
• Press the TAB key and watch if where you are moving has a visual
indicator
• Is there a visual indicator for the mouse hover on actionable
targets (links, buttons)
• Can you Zoom the view without loosing content or structure
• Is there a transcript for multimedia
• Tool tip pop ups describe an important image
• Do diagrams have a caption to describe what we’re seeing
• Where can I get help?

61. QUESTIONS
Carrie Anton
Assistive Technologist
Athabasca University
carriea@athabascau.ca
Ph: 780-421-2548
Thank you!