 It's been going on for generations teachers and students communicating long distance From mailboxes to max. It's a time-honored way of connecting words appear on a laptop traffic real connections Making distance learning accessible to everyone Lindsay student I really liked online courses because I could go at my own pace in a quiet environment outside of school I've taken a couple language classes an anatomy class Eric student Another language class They are in our history class if you already know something you don't have to go over it again and again And you can just do the homework really quickly. There's less of it It's helpful for me because I have a learning disability So like you don't have like go super fast and like it's all like all at your own pace So you can learn like at the speed of others Distance learning allows students to do other things like summer camp or a vacation with the family and that's The beauty of distance learning it makes educational opportunities available anywhere any time to anyone Veronica student The point of distance learning is to give access to more students which has always included those with time or distance limitations For people with disabilities the way that information and content is delivered is critical to success Sarah Lopez distance learning actually utilizes various modes of delivery and each one of those modes needs to be accessible for students With a variety of disabilities do it program UW that goes for instructors with disabilities to Making a course accessible to qualified individuals is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act a person uses a braille device Now let's look at a typical real-life situation. This is Cliff a young man signed up for a distance learning class This is his instructor Cheryl She's planning the resources for her class including a website class discussions using email some printed information And a little video as well what she doesn't know is that Cliff is blind. She turns to the camera. He's a blind Yep When structures need to think about ahead of time is universal design and they need to think about that well They're planning their course so that they're ready for students who may arrive with a variety of disabilities And it's a lot easier to do that during the planning stage Rather than waiting till a student with a disability shows up at your class For Cliff there are a number of challenges in accessing Cheryl's course. I can't read standard print I can't see graphics on a website and sometimes on video. It's hard to understand exactly what's going on if it's very visual Other students may have disabilities such as mobility impairments learning disabilities hearing impairments or speech impairments I will have a no People with disabilities may use specialized hardware and software for the computers such as screen readers Alternative keyboards and speech input But even with this adaptive technology accessing course materials can be difficult When you're developing a distance learning course you're trying to make all the activities and all the course content Accessible to a student with disabilities and when you do that type of planning You're not only making accessible for the student with a disability, but you're actually making it more accessible for all the students Okay back to Cliff and Cheryl they're going to help us walk you through some strategies for accessibility words up here For students with visual impairments or with specific learning disabilities standard print just doesn't work I can't read it. Okay Print can be converted into braille large print or electronic formats electronic format works best for me Because with my screen reading software. I'm ready to go Screen reading software reads allowed text that appears on the screen such as an email or on a web page Electronic access also works very well for people whose learning disabilities make it difficult for them to read words appear email Welcome to our first class discussion Many email applications are fully accessible to people with disabilities So email is an accessible choice for delivering a syllabus or other course materials Students can use email to turn in their assignments and tests as well email works great because if you have a disability You already have the technology to access the information so the teacher doesn't have to change anything words appear Real-time chat five people in different locations type on keyboards in some courses Participants might be required to communicate electronically at the same time Although this works for Cliff real-time chatting can present access challenges for many screen reader users Or someone with a learning disability who takes a long time to compose his thoughts might not be able to participate fully This would also be true for someone whose input method is slow If you're planning to use synchronous communication online where people are talking live You might need to make it optional or you could offer an equivalent alternative assignment for the student with a disability words appear web pages Web pages work well as long as the designer thinks about how I can read it For instance my screen reader can't read graphics Web pages should conform to accessibility standards such as the W3C's web content accessibility guidelines For example images should include alternate text for screen reader users A researcher reaches into a zealotox to manipulate a small square of solar cells And make sure all features accessible by a mouse also work without a mouse Test this by navigating through a web page using only a keyboard If a test fails to access the material that you need for content then you need to rethink your design Keep page layout simple clear and consistent. This will help students with low vision or learning disabilities use HTML headings to clearly communicate the structure of the page and Use navigation choices that do not rely on color alone since some students may be unable to perceive color Words appear learning management systems Learning management systems or LMS are software applications often used to deliver courses online Most are web based so are subject to the same accessibility issues as other websites Even if a learning management system is accessible an online course using it can still be inaccessible if the instructor fails to use accessible course materials words appear video Cliff puts a DVD in a player DVD televised or online videos may be included in distance learning courses Videos okay sometimes. I can usually understand what they're what's going on just by listening But depending on if they're demonstrating something or if it's too visual. I may not quite grasp the whole idea On the computer chalkboard happy faces stop the screen a separate audio track to describe actions or graphics works Well for people with visual impairments Captioning makes audio content accessible for people with hearing impairments The cheapest and easiest solution is to find video that already has captioning or audio description But sometimes that's not possible and you have to make your own adjustments Text transcripts for videos can be read by a screen reader using a Braille display for people who are deaf-blind Transcripts also provide access for people who have technical limitations And for any user text-based captions make it easy to locate specific information at a later time Words appear teleconferencing Teleconferencing puts together small groups of people to work with an instructor who's somewhere else they can use video or possibly audio only The problem with this is that it's a scheduling problem for everyone a lot of people take distance learning classes because their schedules are tighter They already have conflicts another issues accessibility for a student who may be deaf or has a speech impairment words appear web conferencing Another question from Matthew Web conferencing incorporates live interaction and data sharing over the internet It might include a video or audio chat a text chat a slideshow or a whiteboard When purchasing or subscribing to a web conferencing system many of the web and video accessibility questions apply such as whether the system supports captioning screen readers and keyboard navigation electronic documents Electronic documents can present accessibility challenges similar to those of web pages for example Images require alternate text and HTML headings and subheadings need to be marked up as such words appear onsite instruction On-site instruction that's part of a distance learning course is similar to teleconferencing in that it requires students to meet at a shared location Some of the same difficulties apply if you do use this option. However, be sure the facility is wheelchair accessible Consider class space restrooms and parking the instructor needs to speak clearly Facing the class for those who lip read an interpreter must be provided for students who are deaf And if any visual materials are used the instructor should describe them aloud for students with visual impairments words appear getting started The important thing in making your distance learning course accessible is to be proactive Don't wait until someone with a disability enrolls to figure it out Consider accessibility issues from the start words appear. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind Think about the wide range of abilities and disabilities potential students might have in Promotional publications include information on how to request accommodations and publications in alternative formats When procuring distance learning technologies ask vendors specific questions about the accessibility of their products or services Make sure media can be accessed using site or hearing alone a Range accessible facilities for any on-site instruction Be prepared to offer additional accommodations as requested By applying universal design your distance learning class will be accessible to any student who enrolls and any instructor Who was hired to teach it? It's the right thing to do Reduces legal risk and creates a better learning environment for everyone Distance learning is a good option for a lot of people Classes can be made accessible and should be made accessible. It's not that hard to do described by audio eyes for more information about IT accessibility consult www.uw.edu slash accessibility The content of this presentation is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 98 00324 Any opinions findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation Copyright 2015 University of Washington Permission is granted to copy these materials for educational non-commercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged