Learning Management Systems
As an online instructor, discuss two basic steps you would take to ensure your course on an LMS is accessible to all students.
As an online instructor, two basic steps you would take to ensure your course on an LMS is accessbile to all students would be to 1) place ALL course material in the LMS, and 2) ensure that it is accessible to all students (and yourself) by working with the Disability Services Office. If there are any issues with accessibility, the instructor and the Disability Services Office should work together to remedy them.
Parrish,
It would also be a good idea for the instructor to have a 3rd party person go through the materials on the LMS to make sure that they are accessible.
Renee Shaffer
I would make sure that I'm using all of the accessibility features in the LMS as I customize my classroom… And I would also check from several different types of browsers to make sure that everything is visible, the way I want it. Thank you. Mike Crowley
Michael,
Really good point about the browsers. Also remember that the LMS may be a little behind the curve dealing with accessibility issues so try not to wholly rely on its capabilities!
Renee Shaffer
I think based on the readings this week that online instructors should avoid using online forms in their courses because students with disabilities may not adapt to this well. I also would never use special effects, transitions, fades and audio in my PowerPoint slide presentations.
Andrew,
Filling out online forms can be a traumatic event for those with disabilities, so try not to use them!
Renee Shaffer
Sure! So what is the alternative to online forms?
Andrew,
There really isn't a good alternative. The only way is to re-make the forms in a way that can be read by a screen reader.
Renee Shaffer
The two steps I would use to ensure that my course in a Learning Management System is accessible to all students are to present all material in multiple formats and to use a service like WAVE to review my class page once it is posted.
Dolores
I suppose one of things I would do is provide my students with shortcuts, settings and layout options that would enable them to customize and simplify their experience with the system. For example, provide some kind of controls, such as drag-and-drop functionality, that have fully integrated keyboard and assistive technology alternatives. I use Blackboard all the time. It is supposed to be already, or so it claims to be, accessible to everyone! I have had students with disabilities use it. They have not complained about anything yet. So, this may be a good sign! :-)
First would be to provide captions to pictures, graphs and MS Power Points slides.
Second would be to provide transcripts to audio files.
I would make sure all students had access to the by providing links and instructional aids. I would also do a welcome call with each student and walk them through accessing the course. I actually had a student who was deaf a couple of semesters ago and we communicated by phone through an operator who type what I was say to her and rely the message back to the student. I found this experience very enlightening because had I not made the phone call I would not have known about the student's disability because all of work was completed and turned in on time
I review the material as if I were a student
- open,print out, and review all of the handouts
- make sure my videos have captioning
I also send all of my materials to the Disability Services Department and get their feedback to see if any potential issues could arise.
Additionally, I ask my students to let me know either by e-mail or phone call if there is anything that that cannot be opened, read, or properly understood. I find that the feedback from the students is most helpful in identifying potential problems.
Lanny,
Oh yes, feedback from the students can be most helpful. Good work!
Renee Shaffer
As an instructional designer all videos need to have either closed captioning or a text based transcript.
All graphics need to have text based captions as well.
Any images used need to have a descriptive 'alt' tag.
Michelle,
Boy it is difficult to get this donw after the fact, so instructors should do it from the very beginning.
Renee Shaffer
As an online instructor I like to make sure that my students have access to both audio and visual representations of what is being covered in class. I feel that a PowerPoint and a live chat that covers the PowerPoint allows for ADA students the ability to understand the course content.
Hi -
Providing transcripts with audio is one basic step.
Also providing audio files to help with written items can help accessibility.
Thanks!
Jocelyn
Jocelyn,
Transcripts are such a key though they do take extra time on the part of the instructor.
Renee Shaffer
