Welcome to the Great Lakes ADA and Accessible IT Center's monthly Bulletin on Accessible IT in K-12 schools.

Trainings & Events

The Great Lakes Center offers technical assistance, trainings, referrals, and resource material for K-12 and Postsecondary schools on Accessible Information Technology topics.

Resources

The Section 508 Standards are requirements that must be followed by a Federal Agency when producing web pages. These provisions apply unless doing so would cause an undue burden. Section 508 Standards

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. www.w3.org/WAI

WebAIM provides comprehensive Web accessibility solutions with many free tools and resources on their website, including videos of individuals with disabilities talking about their difficulties using the Internet. www.webaim.org

Accessible Information Technology in Schools

In today's schools, students regularly use technology for learning such as software and internet research, communication via e-mail or electronic chats, and productivity tools to complete assignments, such as multimedia presentations. This wide-spread use of technology in schools has supported learning and improved educational outcomes. However, some students with disabilities find it difficult, if not impossible, to use standard educational technologies, even when provided with assistive technology.

Technology in schools can be useable for students with a wide range of abilities and disabilities by applying universal design principals. Children with disabilities should not be treated as exceptions in schools, rather, the curriculum and technology should have built-in flexibility to help everyone reach his or her potential.

Creating information technology systems that are accessible requires the concerted effort of policymakers, information technology support staff, assistive technology specialists, teachers, parents, and students. It takes collaboration between those who teach students with disabilities and those who make information technology decisions, approve purchases, and provide technical support. The ultimate reward is a more accessible school and a more accessible world for everyone. These benefits outweigh the effort.

The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) has a website with an extensive searchable database to help get you started understanding Accessible IT. It is designed for educators, policy makers, librarians, technical support staff, and students and employees with disabilities and their advocates. The web url is:
www.washington.edu/accessit

Why should School Web Sites be Accessible?

It is the right thing to do! Web-based applications are increasingly being used in K-12 schools in addition to the standard educational software titles. Understanding and navigating web research is also critically important for students transitioning to post-secondary institutions, as the web-based emphasis for research and course management increases. Therefore, it is easy to see that without universal web design many people are shut out of educational opportunities.

So how can a school create web-based resources that are universally designed? The technology used to create websites varies, so the path toward accessible resources may look different, but the end result should be the same - accessible web pages. Some web authors may use development environments, such as Dreamweaver, to develop web pages, while others may use content management systems, such as Blackboard, to create websites. It's also difficult to say that all authors have control over their pages, as some pages are dynamically created, especially those with server-side components. Active Server Pages (ASP) are web pages created from a mix of template pages and stored data, so the source HTML file does not appear as the final product. In these cases, web authors should take into consideration basic accessibility design principles when designing templates.

Standards, such as the Section 508 Accessibility Standards can be used as a minimum guideline for page architecture, but also functional use scenarios should be kept in mind. Among the most important areas to look for potential issue in are:

• Headers & Navigation
• Document Linearization
• User Input (Forms)
• Hyperlink text (wording)
• Multimedia and Image Alternatives

By taking accessibility and functional use scenarios in mind, you can help meet your schools obligations under the IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title II. For more information on any of these laws or topics, contact the Great Lakes ADA & Accessible IT Center.