CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE WEB SITES

Community colleges frequently are the points of access to postsecondary training and education for members of special populations. Physical barriers are obvious problems that limit access for individuals with disabilities, and community colleges have made reasonable accommodations in this regard. One area that often is overlooked, however, is the on-line barriers that limit access to Web-based content. This study examined the Web-based content accessibility of community college home pages. A total of 253 community college home pages were evaluated for content accessibility. Only 23% of the community college home pages evaluated were determined to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Types of accessibility problems, resources for designing accessible Web sites, and methods for validating Web sites are reported.     

Maslow and Team Organization

Many middle schools use the Web to disseminate and gather information. Online barriers often limit the accessibility of the Web for students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accessibility of home pages of a sample of middle schools. The authors located 165 Web sites using a popular online directory and evaluated the sites for accessibility. A software program quantified the number of accessibility errors at each site. Most middle school home pages had accessibility problems, and the majority of them represented severe concerns that should be given a high priority for improvement. The good news is that the majority of the errors can easily be corrected. The work reflects a need for middle schools to continuously examine the accessibility of their home pages. Direction for improving accessibility is provided.     

Ensuring the Provision of Accessible Digital Resources

A lack of awareness of disability issues in the provision of digital educational material is resulting in a situation where much of this material is, to some degree, inaccessible to people with certain disabilities. Current and proposed disability legislation in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom means that any educational material produced by institutions, and which has accessibility barriers, may soon be illegal. This paper discusses the issues involved in the provision of accessible digital material, with a heavy emphasis on Web‐based resources, with a view to raising awareness and avoiding a potentially embarrassing situation for educational institutions. The various assistive technologies used by disabled people to access digital material are discussed, along with the problems by inaccessible material, illustrated by examples of inaccessible Web pages. Solutions for ensuring the accessibility of digital material are provided, including a discussion of open standards and guidelines and principles of accessible content design     

The Accessibility and Usability of College Websites: Is your Website Presenting Barriers to Potential Students?

Thirty community college websites were evaluated for compliance with federal web accessibility standards found in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). Two typical sites were tested for usability by individuals with visual impairments, individuals with reading-related learning disabilities (LD), and a control group of individuals without disabilities. Ten additional sites were selected for Simulated Target Group usability testing. Testing revealed that less than 1% of pages evaluated met Section 508 web accessibility standards. Over half of the users found the online admissions application process frustrating, and less than a third of all users could complete the online application without assistance. The Simulated Target Group usability testing encountered similar usability issues across the additional 10 community college websites examined. All four evaluation techniques found that community college websites fared poorly in both accessibility and usability. However, many of the issues could be addressed without significant effort.     

Web accessibility policies at land-grant universities

The Web has become an integral part of postsecondary education within the United States. There are specific laws that legally mandate postsecondary institutions to have Web sites that are accessible for students with disabilities (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)). Web accessibility policies are a way for universities to provide a general guide to action for faculty and staff that serve as Website developers for the organization. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent and effectiveness of Web accessibility policies at land-grant universities in the United States. To that end, this paper presents a conceptual foundation for the study, ranging from an overview of Web accessibility studies, to legal mandates, to literature on organizational policies. Data collection consists of a content analysis of the Web accessibility policies of land-grant universities. Results show that while most universities have a Web accessibility policy, most policies have serious deficiencies. The deficiencies are of sufficient magnitude that many schools are likely in violation of the ADA and at risk for a law suit from a disabled person unless these policies are strengthened.     

Learning about web accessibility: A project based tool-mediated approach

Many websites remain inaccessible for people with disabilities, despite the availability of relevant guidelines and tools. This is mainly due to lack of appropriate training of Web designers on accessibility technology. In this paper, a project based learning activity designed to instruct Web accessibility guidelines and good design practices is presented. The activity is mediated by a web-based learning environment, which presents real-world examples of accessibility impasses that arise when certain, established guidelines are violated, and then provides advice on how to avoid or resolve them. The learning material contained in the tool is offered through a faceted browsing approach, thus enabling active exploration by the learner. A within-subjects case study compared the learning effectiveness of traditional academic instruction (pre-condition) with the proposed project based activity (post-condition) in the context of a University course. A significant improvement in students’ academic performance and perceived learning was found.     

残疾人现代远程教育的无障碍设计

现代远程教育的形式能否真正适用于残疾人,不仅与残疾人自身的能力以及辅助技术的使用有关,现代远程教育网站和资源本身是否具有较高的无障碍性是一个更重要的因素。本文将对网页、各种格式的文本文件、视频资源、交互工具等的无障碍设计进行研究,以便能根据不同残疾人的不同生理局限,有针对性地开发出可真正适用于残疾人的现代远程教育资源。     

The same but different: The use of the personal Home Page by adults with Down Syndrome as a tool for self-presentation

Recent research has suggested that people with learning disabilities can manage their identities and define the circumstances under which they will present a self-image that is the same or different to other people with learning disability. This paper reports a survey of personal Home Pages written by people with Down Syndrome and investigates the extent to which they use the pages to accept or deny membership of the Down Syndrome group. Opportunistic sampling of the pages listed by five Web Crawlers revealed twenty personal Home Pages of adults with Down Syndrome. Thematic analysis of the content, form and language of the pages revealed similarities and differences in the way the page owners expressed and perceived their self-identity. The results suggest that the personal Home Page has the potential to allow adults with Down Syndrome to express multiple identities: identities that are the same and different to other people with Down Syndrome.     

残疾人现代远程教育资源无障碍建设原则

现代远程教育的形式能否真正适用于残疾人，除了残疾人自身的能力外，现代远程教育网站和资源本身是否无障碍也是一个重要的因素。本文将在阐明信息技术与辅助技术区别的基础上。介绍网页、Word文件和PDF文件的无障碍原则．提出提高我国信息无障碍水平的几条途径。     

国外网站易访问性研究综述

网站易访问性是残疾人群和老年人群通过互联网(Internet)获取信息和进行学习的必要条件,在国际上网站易访问性的研究已经成为网站设计、开发、评价和维护的热点。本文介绍网站易访问性的相关概念和国外网站易访问性的相关法律、易访问性设计、评价标准,以期在我国网站设计和开发中引起重视。     

Stop the Pity,Unlock the Potential: The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Disability Services: Evaluating and Monitoring Progress

ABSTRACT

The aim of this qualitative study is to evaluate the role of non-governmental organisations in disabilities services. The study group comprised of nine representatives of each of these NGOs. Data obtained by semi-structured interviews were analysed by using the content analysis method on RQDA qualitative data analysis software. Voice of disabled people is represented through non-profit organisations. In enhancing capacity for development, considering the scope of disability (physical, social barriers), societal attitudes, and religious factors’ impact on society attitudes on persons with disabilities that disabled people are sick and helpless and need to be looked after and medical models that consider disabled people as sick patients trying to recover seem to be important. Content analysis was done to evaluate service capacity of Profession NGOs for the disability. This research study revealed that Profession type of non-governmental organisations need awareness on disability. They need in-service training to understand practices for disabled people. Integration of self-help projects, networking mechanism are essential for the development. The method of Sensitivity Training which is one of the most emphasised organisational development techniques comes forward. Expression of this education with the concept of sensitivity comes from recognising and understanding the behaviour of individuals.     

How people with developmental disabilities navigate the Internet

We live at a time when the Internet is used increasingly for communication, for information, and for the exchange of goods and services. Questions arise about how people with learning disabilities make use of this new technology. In this article, Bjorn Harrysson, with two of his colleagues, A. Svensk and G. I. Johansson, from the Department of Design Sciences at the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden, explores the opportunities and difficulties experienced by members of this group when navigating the Internet.
Harrysson, Svensk and Johansson observed seven people, aged between 15 and 44 and with mild to moderate developmental disabilities, as they navigated between different web pages using the general tools of Microsoft Internet Explorer Web Browser. The authors describe some of the strategies that were used for moving within and between web pages and for opening web pages, carrying out searches and finding preferred web sites.
The results of the study are partly optimistic. The people involved made good use of many of the features of the general software. They experienced greater difficulties when it became necessary to use text to navigate and explore the huge potential of the Internet. Harrysson, Svensk and Johansson close their article by making a series of recommendations for developments that would facilitate ease of access and independence in the use of the Internet for people with developmental disabilities.     

Policy–practice gap in participation of students with disabilities in the education and training programme of Ethiopia: policy content analysis

This study explores the extent to which the issue of special educational and training needs for persons with disabilities is addressed in the education and training policy of Ethiopia, with a specific focus on technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Focus group discussions and interviews were used to assess the content of the policy and related strategic documents, as well as legal frameworks and implementation instruments, in terms of the principle of inclusion. A pair of focus group discussions involved 22 members of the management and governance of four networks and eight indigenous, disability‐focused, non‐governmental organisations. Moreover, 14 high‐profile experts from the ministry were interviewed. Most participants agreed that the issue of disability was not addressed appropriately in issues of strategy and prioritisation. Six recommendations are presented for enhancing the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in education and vocational training.     

Science on the Web: Secondary School Students’ Navigation Patterns and Preferred Pages’ Characteristics

This study aims to explore navigation patterns and preferred pages’ characteristics of ten secondary school students’ searching the web for information about cloning. The students navigated the Web for as long as they wished in a context of minimum support of teaching staff. Their navigation patterns were analyzed using audit trail data software. The characteristics of their preferred Web pages were also analyzed using a scheme of analysis largely based on socio-linguistics and socio-semiotics approaches. Two distinct groups of students could be discerned. The first consisted of more competent students, who during their navigation visited fewer relevant pages, however of higher credibility and more specialized content. The second group consists of weaker students, who visited more pages, mainly of lower credibility and rather popularized content. Implications for designing educational web pages and teaching are discussed.     

K-12 online lesson alignment to the principles of Universal Design for Learning: the Khan Academy

The field of K-12 education is being transformed, with an influx of students, including those with identified disabilities, engaging in blended and fully online learning. While online learning shows promise for students with disabilities through flexible content and personalised instruction, concerns regarding accessibility and appropriateness of online learning for this population still exist. In order to examine this concern, researchers developed and used a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Scan Tool to measure lesson content and alignment with UDL principles, guidelines and checkpoints. Four hundred and seventy-eight math, science and world history Khan Academy lessons were randomly selected and evaluated for this study. The paper highlights the results of the study, in terms of the lessons’ alignment with UDL principles and guidelines, as well as a discussion on limitations and future research.     

School‐to‐work transition services for students with disabilities in Malaysia: organisations' views on policy and practices

Transition services are required by law for students with disabilities in many developed countries. In Malaysia, however, there is still no specific legislation mandating that school‐to‐work transition planning and services be provided to students with disabilities. This study investigated the state of the transition services provided by educational organisations to students with disabilities in Malaysia. A mixed method research design, which utilises both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, was employed to obtain information from 23 government organisations and NGOs involved in the education and training of students with disabilities. This study found that the organisations surveyed were aware of the lack of transition support and call attention to the importance of instituting a national policy on school‐to‐work transition services and supported employment systems for students with disabilities. The legislative and educational implications for Malaysia are discussed.     

一种面向Web的数据挖掘技术研究

采用标准Web技术——HTML,XML和Java,开发一种基于Web用Java把Web数据转换为XML的数据挖掘方法。该方法标识数据源并把它映射成XHTML,根据一定的相关关系查找数据内的引用点并进行智能数据抽取,将数据映射成XML。这种数据挖掘方法比较简单,通过选择可靠的数据源以及在这些数据源中选取与内容相关但与格式无关的锚点,可以较为方便地建立一个强壮的数据挖掘系统。     

The Production of World Wide Web Multimedia Resources by Australian Universities – An Institutional Analysis

World Wide Web (WWW) home pages are now ubiquitous for universities around the world. A university home page is the first place that many stakeholders will visit for research on the university or for information on a variety of topics. It was hypothesised that the size and nature of universities and their investment in the staffing of WWW sites will determine the level of output of WWW sites. A WWW-based survey was conducted of Webmanagers at all universities in Australia. A response rate of 80% was achieved. The number of services provided, the number of pages made available and the number of pages that are changed on a regular basis were alternative measures of output. The hypothesised relationships were not supported. The study found that universities are providing a wide range of services with low levels of staffing.     

Use of iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities

Over the past decades, technology has been considered an essential tool for providing equal accessibility and opportunities for students with disabilities. As technology has evolved, a new type of technology, mobile devices, emerged in the late 2000s. Specifically, iPads have quickly gained attention and popularity in special education settings. The potential benefits of the use of iPads as assistive technology (AT) for supporting students with disabilities has been demonstrated among professionals. This paper is a brief summary of previous literature on the use of iPads as AT for functional skills of individuals with disabilities. In addition, the paper addresses the beneficial features of iPads as AT and introduces example AT apps, as well as online resources for those apps.     

The World Wide Web and School Culture

Abstract

The vast educational potential of the Web continues to be largely unrealized in schools. There are many reasons for this, including cultural lag and the speed of technical advancements. Specific problems include educational Web pages that lack interaction, educational fads, frantic implementation of distance education with no regard for quality control, lack of teacher training, lack of institutional technical and pedagogical infrastructure, limited Internet access, and antiquated hardware. The article concludes with a call for research into these problems.