Workshop 4 Creating Usable Content Web Content Accessibility
Workshop 4 Creating Usable Content Web Content Accessibility Project Funded by BCcampus Natasha Boskic, Kirsten Bole, Nathan Hapke University of British Columbia
Workshop schedule • Monday August 21 Basics of Web Accessibility • Tuesday August 22 Coding an Accessible Website • Wednesday August 23 Accessible Multimedia • Thursday August 24 Creating Usable Content • Friday August 25 Disabilities & Assistive Technology
The Plan • • How is web content different from print? Learning disabilities & learning styles Site structure & navigation Use of different media
It’s hard to read a screen • Screen: 72 dpi (dots per inch) • Print: 200 -300 dpi • Staring at screen creates eyestrain • Sitting at desktops is also tiring • Result: people don’t read as much online as they do in print
Reading in bits & pieces • Web readers skim pages looking for key points & ideas • Headlines, blurbs, summaries • Shorter paragraphs, bullet points preferred • Print out large documents to read offline
Students with learning disabilities • Learning difficulties: dyslexia, ADHD • Cognitive difficulties: brain injury, autism, age • Poor concentration, memory, problemsolving, and/or time management • Anxiety, frustration
Facing learning disabilities • • • Guessing at content, rather than reading it Skimming looking for bolded keywords Rereading the same passage repeated times Avoiding interacting online Difficulty interpreting instructions …but all students & disabilities are different
Dealing with Learning Disabilities • Academic consulting & advice essential • Some tools used by blind & visually impaired can be useful for LDs • Screenreader highlights text and/or reads it aloud • Predictive typing assists with spelling & correct word choice
Learning styles • “Sage on the stage” or “sage on the screen” - traditional teaching method doesn’t work for everyone • Reinforce one concept with different methods • Mix & match for maximum effect
Learning styles • Visual-verbal: prefers to read • Visual-nonverbal: charts, animations, videos • Auditory: prefers to listen • Tactile: learn by doing, interaction • Sensory: fact-based activities
Preferred approaches • Intuitive: reflection & imagination • Inductive/deductive: examples, theories • Active: through application or work w/others • Reflective: think about topics before engaging • Understanding: see “big picture” first • Sequential: step by step
Applying this to YOUR content…
Website structure • Map out your site before building it • Goal: keep your navigation simple and consistent on every page • What sections & subsections will you need? • What might you need to add in the future? Where would that go?
Navigation • Group similar items together • Keep same on every page • Offer site map, search, index
Keep it clean • Avoid distracting animations • Avoid background patterns No, no.
Keep it clean High contrast text is important …but be careful with your colour choices
Keep it quiet • Don’t autoplay sounds • Distracting, disturbing • Interferes with screenreaders • The same goes for pop-up windows
Redundancy can be good • Good content can take many forms • Reinforce ideas through multiple media • Offer same content as text, image, video, interactive tool
Assignment options • Offer students a choice between essays, presentations, posters… • Different ways of expressing same knowledge • Makes grading more interesting, too
Assignment criteria • Clear, unambiguous directions • Built-in checkpoints benefit LD students – How will you approach this problem? – Submit a paragraph summary of your project – Submit a proposed project schedule
File formats • PDF, Word, Excel, PPT often used unnecessarily • Content could be on web instead • Good forms, complicated charts, anything that must look perfectly consistent to everyone • Warn if user is about to download file
Getting started • Which learning styles do your course materials appeal to the most? • What parts of your online course materials could be offered in another format or media? • How could you modify your course to benefit learning-disabled students?
Thank you for coming! • Join us tomorrow for Disabilities & Assistive Technology - 12 pm PST • Natasha Boskic (natasha. boskic@ubc. ca) • Kirsten Bole (kirsten. bole@ubc. ca) • Nathan Hapke (nhapke@interchange. ubc. ca) • Thanks to Deb Butler of UBC for her advice on learning disabilities • Thanks to Kevin Kelly of SFSU for his advice on Universal Design and learning styles.
- Slides: 25