technology basics for disability services staff
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Technology Basics for Disability Services Staff. March 20, 2006 Athens, Georgia. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All public or private institutions receiving federal funding, must make programs and services accessible for individuals with disabilities. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Technology Basics for Disability Services Staff
March 20, 2006Athens, Georgia
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
All public or private institutions receiving federal funding, must make programs and services accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Enforcing agency: Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
OCR has ruled … Not whether student with disability is provided
access, but extent that communication is actually as effective as that provided to others.
In favor of making information technology (IT) accessible for students with disabilities.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Passed 1990 before Internet.
Disability if meet one of three-part definition.
Title II “Effective communication” applies to Internet per Department of Justice.
www.adabasics.org
Information Technology
Terminology
IT Terminology
Information Technology (IT) Any technology that stores or processes
information. Hardware and software Internet pages, PDF files, Office documents Copiers Faxes Voice mail
IT Terminology
Assistive Technology (AT) Assists a person with a disability in
performing a task that most people can do without such technology.
For more information on AT and disability-related resources, visit the National Public Website on Assistive Technology:
www.assistivetech.net
Common AT for Computer Access
Voice Activated Software
Trackballs and Touch Pads
Common AT for Computer Access
Magnification and CCTV
Braille Display/Refreshable
Screenreaders
IT Terminology
Universal Design (UD)Design of products, environments, and communications to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without need for adaptation or specialized design.
AKA: Design for All, Inclusive Design, Lifespan Design
IT Terminology
UsabilityEfficiency with which a user can perform required tasks with a product, for example, a website. Usability can be measured objectively via performance errors and productivity, and subjectively via user preferences and interface characteristics.
UD to Accessibility and Usability
Built-in design that makes the learning goals achievable by individuals with wide differences in their abilities to see, hear, speak, move, read, write, understand English, attend, organize, engage, and remember.”
Source: Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
IT Terminology
Accessible Information Technology Compatible with assistive technology
and may include flexible features that allow users with disabilities to use assistive technology.
In principle, accessibility means that users are able to interact with the technology in ways that best work for them.
Barriers to Access Generally occur when I.T.
NOT designed to interact
with A.T.
IT Terminology
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) Group of industry professionals who set
standards for Internet use
IT Terminology
WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) Project of the W3C, which focuses on
accessibility of websites.
IT Terminology
WCAG 1.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) (2.0 in Development) Guidelines for website accessibility,
developed by the W3C and WAI. Uses “Priority One”, “Priority Two”, and
“Priority Three” standards.
IT Terminology Section 508
Part of Vocational Rehabilitation Act The U.S. Access Board adopted the Section 508
standards in 2001. Federal departments must:
Accommodate employees with disabilities.
Design accessible websites.
Procure accessible information technology.
IT Terminology
Hypertext Most Web sites utilize hypertext, which
includes text links to other pages.
IT Terminology
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) The language in which most web pages
are written. Web browsers use this code to display pages.
IT Terminology
Markup or Code Other names for HTML, designed to
confuse people.
IT Terminology
Tags create “behind the scenes” framework
and identify elements i.e. headings, lists, links, paragraphs
Framework <Tags> of HTML Webpage<html> <head> <title>Name for Document</title></head> <body> Content goes here </body></html>
IT Terminology
Tables How most data is displayed on an HTML
page. There are two kinds of tables: Layout tables Data tables
IT Terminology
Frames Some pages use multiple HTML
documents on one page which appear as “frames”.
http://www.hyperorg.com/misc/DoubleTreeShow_files/frame.html
IT Terminology
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) A CSS file is a set of instructions that tell
a browser how to display a given page (in terms of text fonts, colors, etc.)
www.csszengarden.com
IT Terminology
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) The URL is the address of any given
page. http://www.sedbtac.org/
IT Terminology
Alt-tag (really Alt Attribute) Alternative text used by screen-readers.
IT Terminology
Skip-nav Skip-navigation text used by screen
readers.
IT Terminology
XML, PHP, Cold Fusion Software programs that merge
databases with HTML to create web pages.
IT Terminology
Courseware Software products used in distance
learning to provide content in a consistent manner. Blackboard WebCT
IT Terminology
Multimedia Any website that uses sound and video.
IT Terminology
Applet Any software program running within a
website, such as Java or Flash.
IT Terminology
Plug-in Any software program a user needs to
download in order to run a file, such as Flash or PDF.
What is the User Experience?
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearchr at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbeslm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh!