Links to Key Resources for Design Educators

Access E-Learning (AEL) from the Georgia Tech Research on Accessible Distance Education (GRADE), Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) is a free, ten-module tutorial that is a resource for those seeking to make their distance education accessible for individuals with disabilities. AEL offers information on the most common needs in distance education, and provides instruction in techniques that will enhance the usability of online materials for all students.

Website: http://www.accesselearning.net

The Accessibility in Distance Education website at UMUC aims to educate online faculty about how people with disabilities navigate the web and the things they (faculty) need to do to ensure that electronic learning materials are accessible to all students.

Website: http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/cade/ade/index.html

The Accessible University (AU) mock site was developed by AccessIT as a tool for demonstrating web accessibility principles. The intended audience is people who are delivering web accessibility presentations and workshops. These individuals are expected to have a fundamental understanding of web accessibility issues, including at least a basic understanding of W3C web content accessibility guidelines and Section 508 web accessibility standards. People who are not delivering presentations on web accessibility, including those who are complete novices to web accessibility issues, may also find Accessible University to be helpful, as it provides a unique learning tool in which web accessibility problems and solutions are presented in an easy-to-understand way, with actual web pages exemplifying them.

Website: http://www.washington.edu/accessit/AU/index.html

This resource is a research-based center that includes resources, programs and products for students of all ages and abilities. Home of Teaching Every Student (TES, supporting educators in learning about and practicing Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Former home of Bobby, a web-site evaluation tool now found at http://bobby.watchfire.com

Website: http://www.cast.org

This resource is dedicated to expanding access to present and future media for people with disabilities. Creators of numerous tools including Media Access Generator (MAGpie), an authoring tool that enables developers of Web- and CD-ROM-based multimedia to create captions and audio descriptions for rich media.

Website: http://ncam.wgbh.org

This resource was one of the early sites to provide resources for making information technology accessible to people with a range of characteristics. Includes online courses featuring national experts in e-learning, multi-media production.

Website: http://www.rit.edu/~easi/

This resource was developed for the UD Education Online site by Leslie Young of the Center for Universal Design. The intent is to assist submitters in describing all of the images in their materials to assure communication with viewers who have limited vision, or limited bandwidth. Text description of graphic images is the skill of turning what is seen into something that can be heard or read. It has been adapted from the technology originally created for television, ‘Descriptive Video.’

Website: http://www.udeducation.org/how2submit/writing_descriptions.asp

Information Technology Technical Assistance & Training Center (ITTATC) promotes the development of accessible electronic & information technology (E&IT) by providing technical assistance, training and information. Includes free online course on techniques for creating accessible web sites. The target audience includes industry and government agencies concerned with Section 508.

Website: http://www.ittatc.org/

This resource has a trial version for web developers to download to test how your site sounds to text-to-voice screen readers.

Website: http://www.freedomscientific.com

This resource is a national resource for the nation-wide system of ADA and Information Technology Centers. They promote the use of electronic and information technology (E&IT) for students and employees with disabilities in educational institutions at all academic levels. This Web site features the AccessIT Knowledge Base, a searchable, growing database of questions and answers regarding accessible E&IT.

Website: http://www.washington.edu/accessit/index.php

Detailed directions on downloading and use of a new tool to make PowerPoint presentations accessible. The Office Accessibilty Wizard was created by the University of Illinois as an add-on to PowerPoint that does a good job of converting PowerPoint slides into an accessible HTML format.

Website: http://www.webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/

This resource is part of an extensive site from the University of Toronto. Many of the easy to follow strategies are based on the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0).

Website: http://www.websavvy-access.org/resources/top_ten.shtml

This resource, located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a facilitating leader in ‘Designing a More Usable World for All.’ They are the original source for most of the accessibility innovations built into computer operating systems, into telecommunications equipment, and consumer products. Their staff was involved with the 508 Guidelines development.

Website: http://www.trace.wisc.edu

This resource provides practical resources primarily for higher education on all aspects of Internet use. Topics include policies for college administrators as well as technical issues for developers. Site includes ‘how to’ tutorials and resources for people with varied levels of experience, as well as examples and usability tips. Designers will welcome tutorial on graphics accessibility.

Website: http://www.webaim.org

This resource is an international organization that pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development. Developed through high-level working groups, their guidelines have provided the basis for much of the web accessibility worldwide. See their Resources page for guidelines and checklists and review the well-organized Site Map for the big picture.

Website: http://www.w3.org/WAI