accessibility at blackboard
TRANSCRIPT
Accessibility at Blackboard
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JoAnna HuntAccessibility Manager
Blackboard
Scott ReadyDirector of Customer
RelationsBlackboard
Nicolaas MatthijsAlly Product Manager
Blackboard
Lily BondDirector of Marketing
3Play [email protected]
AccessibilityBringing Education to Everyone
3
JoAnna HuntAccessibility Manager
Nicolaas Matthijs
PM, Blackboard Ally
Scott ReadyDirector, Customer Relations
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Why Accessibility Matters
VisualImpairment
(~3% of population)
Hearing Impairment
(over 5% of population)
CognitiveImpairment
(~25% of population)
MotorImpairment
(~6% of population)
Approximately 1 Billion people worldwide have some form of disability
Disability Types:
*Sources: http://www.disabled-world.com/ & http://www.who.int/
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Encouraging Inclusive Environments for all
With increased attention being placed on inclusive environments and equal opportunity to access to information for everyone, it is important to understand the diverse needs your learners may have.
Revisit content and ensure it’s set up for universal consumption
Understand how people need to interact with different tools you are using and adjust
Rethink how learning is achieved and provide the means to help students succeed.
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The Bigger Picture
Creating accessible environments improves everyone’s ability to consume information - not just those with disabilities – and leads to higher quality material, more useable experiences and personalized access.
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Proactively building programs to avoidAccessibility Litigation
Awareness of the civil rights ofthe learner
Higher expectations forproduct
accessibility
Lower number of students disclosing disabilities
Mindset shifting towards inclusion
Current Trends in Accessibility: Higher Ed
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Blackboard’s 3 Part Solution
ContentPlatforms Consultation
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Platform Accessibility
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Blackboard is fully committed to delivering product experiences that conform to global accessibility standards. We believe that a mature digital accessibility program must establish a sustainable organizational culture and strong partnerships around accessibility.
Our Commitment
BCAB
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Commitment in Action
Web Community Manager
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Learn Moodlerooms
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Taking Action: Blackboard Collaborate
• Full-screen reader support of all key workflows.
• Global keyboard shortcuts for common actions.
• Screen reader support for whiteboard activities and uploaded files, without requiring complex conversions.
• Live closed captioning.
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Taking Action: Blackboard Learn
• Compatible with the latest versions of screen readers such as JAWS and VoiceOver
• Common Page Structure• Full support for captions in
uploaded media content.• Keyboard accessible
reordering• Ability for instructors to add
alt tags to identify images• High contrast style settings
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Taking Action: Moodlerooms
• Full support of screen readers, text magnifiers and speech-to-text solutions.
• Global keyboard shortcuts for common actions.
• Compliance with ADA, XHTML and JavaScript standards
• Accessible Chat Interface• Open Source and Open sharing
- all issues openly reported, discussed and fixed.
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Taking Action: Web Community Manager
• Template-based pages and apps provide consistent interactions and user experience across pages
• Allows configuration of templates while still remaining within the color contrast ratio
• Provides full support for keyboard navigation
• Text can be resized 200 percent without loss of content or functionality
• Contains page titles with the name of the workspace within which the user is working
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Content Accessibility
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Challenges
StudentInstructorInstitution
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Institutional Challenges
No insight into how institution
is doing
Difficult to track and identify
what to focus on
Lawsuits because of legal
requirements
Manual remediation
workflow
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Challenges
StudentInstructorInstitution
2020
Instructor Challenges
Lack of awareness of
what to do
Lack of understanding on how it can affect
students
Lack of guidance on how to improve
accessibility
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Challenges
StudentInstructorInstitution
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Student Challenges
Explicit alternative
format requests
Long delays on receiving
requested format
Closely related to quality and
usability
Excludes many students
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Automatic Analysis
• Automated accessibility checklist based on content type
• Based on WCAG 2.0 AA
• Uses machine learning algorithms for a full structural and visual analysis to learn semantics of document
• Identifies headings, heading structure, paragraphs, footers, tables, lists, mathematical formulas, etc.
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Alternative Accessible Versions
High quality semantic HTML version of the content
HTML
Automatically inject fixes into the original document
Enhance original
ePub, audio, electronic braille, etc.
Other alternative formats
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Instructor Feedback
• Provide feedback to instructors about accessibility of their course content
• Provide guidance on how to fix accessibility issues
• Aims to generate change in behavior over time
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Institutional Report
• Provide detailed understanding of how institution is doing
• Helps identify where problem areas are, what to focus on, who to target, etc.
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Automatically checks for accessibility issues and generates alternative accessible formats
Alternative Accessible Versions
Guides instructors on how to improve the accessibility of their course content and alters future behavior
Instructor feedback
Provides detailed data and insights to help further improve course content accessibility at the institution
Institutional report
Summary
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Ally User Group
• Receive updates about Blackboard Ally
• Participate in UX research, usability testing, early access, etc.
Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/blackboard-ally-user-group
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Accessibility Spectrum
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Consultation
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Registration through graduation must be accessible to enable eLearning students with varying abilities the opportunity to succeed.
Most NAHE institutions are unaware of how to do this and 60% to 80% of undergrads choose not to disclose a disability.
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eLearning Accessibility Plan
The solution is designed to identify operational barriers and provide remediation approaches within a variety of functions related to the eLearning student lifecycle. This solution results in a comprehensive accessibility operational plan to provide a barrier-free eLearning experience for individuals with disabilities.
Review of academic &
student services
Goals, strategies,
metrics, and tools for
improvement
Operational Accessibility
Plan
The plan will not address physical accessibility barriers on the institution’s campus nor are the recommendations a substitute for legal counsel.
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eLearning Accessibility Course Audit
Audit of eLearning
courses
Training on inclusive course
creation
Analysis and reports on barriers in
courses
The solution is designed to identify barriers within eLearning courses. This solution results in course and institutional level reporting of barriers along with recommended remediation approaches. Targeted course creation training is included to provide a barrier-free eLearning experience for individuals with disabilities.
It is worthy to note that these findings and recommendations are not a substitute for legal counsel.
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Blackboard’s 3 Part Solution
ContentPlatforms Consultation
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Questions
Q&A
Upcoming Webinars: Feb 23: Best Practices for Accessible Videos
Mar 9: Campus-Wide Response to Captioning
Mar 16: Getting Faculty Involved with Accessibility
Mar 30: Quick Start to Captioning
April 13: 15 Years Since an OCR Lawsuit: NC State
You can register for our free webinars at: www.3playmedia.com/webinars/
Panelists
JoAnna HuntAccessibility ManagerBlackboard
Scott ReadyDirector of Customer RelationsBlackboard
Nicolaas MatthijsAlly Product ManagerBlackboard
Lily Bond3Play [email protected]
Please type your questions into the window in your control panel. Reference the slide # when possible. A recording of this webinar will be available for replay.