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Welcome to the December 3, 2015 AIM webinar Acquiring Accessible Digital Materials: Just in Time!

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Acquiring Accessible Digital MaterialsJust in Time!

Joy Zabala, Ed.D., Director of Technical AssistanceDiana Carl, MA, LSSP, Special Projects CoordinatorCenter for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and

the National Center of Accessible Educational Materials for Learning

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Purpose and Big Ideas of this Session

The purpose of this webinar is related to the timely acquisition of accessible digital materials and technologies needed by students with disabilities

Part One will focus on the following main ideas:– A very brief review of foundational information included in an AEM

Basics webinar– A brief introduction to accessible digital materials– Purchasing accessible digital materials– The moving target of accessibility– What to look for and what to ask for

Part Two will directly address questions and comments submitted by participants throughout the session

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Questions and Comments

Don’t be shy! The only “foolish question” is the one that is not asked.

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National Center for Accessible Educational Materials for Learning

http://aem.cast.org

October 2014 to October 2019

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Materials are Materials

Instructional=

Educational=

Learning

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AEM Center Goal

To build the capacity of states, districts, postsecondary institutions, families, publishers, and other stakeholders to increase the availability and use of high-quality accessible educational materials (AEM) that support improved learning opportunities for students with disabilities.

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A Very Brief Review of Foundational Issues

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Relationship of AEM to FAPE?

“Timely access to appropriate and accessible instructional materials is an inherent component of [an LEA’s/SEA’s] obligation under [IDEA] to ensure:

• that FAPE is available for children with disabilities and • that children with disabilities participate in the general

education curriculum as specified in their IEPs.”

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), 71 Fed Reg. 46618

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IDEA Fed. Reg. Section 300.172

Provisions in the IDEA 2004 regulations require state and local education agencies to ensure that printed textbooks and related core instructional materials are provided to students with print disabilities in specialized formats in a timely manner.

Legal requirement is placed on state and local education agencies. IDEA cannot place requirements on publishers

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What OSEP says about AEM in 2015

“Accessible educational materials” means print- and technology-based educational materials, including printed and electronic textbooks and related core materials that are required by SEAs and LEAs for use by all students, produced or rendered in accessible media, written and published primarily for use in early learning programs, elementary, or secondary schools to support teaching and learning.”

CFDA 84.327Z, Footnote #10

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AEM and Civil Rights

Two federal civil rights acts, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability• speak to the obligation of public schools to provide

accessible educational materials to students with disabilities who need them.

http://aem.cast.org/navigating/selection-faq.html#p-online

Point to Ponder

Given the OSEP expanded interpretation of accessible materials, should we really be talking about a “text disability?”

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A Brief Introduction to Accessible Materials

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Joint Dear Colleague Letter June 29, 2010Department of Justice and Department of Education

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What are AEM?

• Materials that are designed or enhanced in a way that makes them usable by the widest possible range of student variability regardless of format (print, digital, graphical, audio, video)

• Content may be “designed to be used as print” and require retrofitting

• Content may be “designed to be used digitally” and difficult to retrofit if not accessible from the start

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When thinking about accessible materials, it is important to understand that the content and the delivery technology are two sides of the AEM coin and both require careful consideration and selection.

Lesson Learned…

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Two Sides of the AEM Coin…

• The information is the content

• Accessible technology is the delivery system that the student uses to perceive and interact with the content

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Acquiring Accessible Digital Materials

Lesson Learned…

As the publishing industry “goes digital” the most promising sources of AEM for widespread use are:• accessible digital learning materials developed by

publishers and made available for purchase• accessible open educational resources (OERs)

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but here’s a problem…

Many of the digital educational materials and their delivery systems are not currently accessible!

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White paper. Center for Online Learning and Students with Disabilities

http://centerononlinelearning.org

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Created Accessible from the Start

Benefits of acquiring digital materials that are accessible from the start:

• Supports inclusion

• Benefits all students’ learning

• Benefits teachers

• Reduces complexity

• Reduces costly accommodations

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and here’s another problem…

As exciting, inviting digital materials are being developed, publishers are not hearing much of a demand for accessibility or broad usability!

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What does “accessible” mean?

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Chris Bugaj

http://attipscast.com

Lesson Learned…

Asking a commercial publisher or a creator of OERs if their digital materials are “accessible” often leads to answers that are not very enlightening.

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The Moving Target of Accessibility

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Think about a student who is deaf or hard of hearing

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Accessibility is increased with…

• Captions for multimedia presentations • Transcripts of multimedia presentations • Simultaneous sign language input • Alternatives for sound cues • Amplified sound and noise reducing earphones

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Think about a student with low vision

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Accessibility is increased when…

• Compatible with screen magnification software • Flexible formatting such as fonts, font size, contrast

and colors available• Text-to-speech software can be utilized• Audio formats provided• Logical order to content that is easily

understandable

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Think about a student who is blind

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Accessibility is increased when…

• Screen reader software can be utilized• Compatible with refreshable braille devices with

speech options• Transcripts of multimedia presentations can be

read with refreshable braille devices• Alt text for images provided• Logical order to content is easily understandable

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Think about a student with a physical disability

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Accessibility is increased when ...

• Navigation is mouse-free and all functionality is available from the keyboard or other devices

• Visual focus provides guidance

• Alternative input devices or programs are compatible such as voice recognition or visual keyboards when writing is required

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Think about a student who has a learning disability, dyslexia, ADHD, autism or other cognitive disability

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Accessibility is increased when...

• Formatting can be changed to meet preferences

• Text-to-speech software and supported reading software are compatible

• Access location supports and progress bars are available

• Time limits for responses can be extended• Logical order to content is easily understandable

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Leveraging ResourcesSimply Said: Understanding Accessibility in

Digital Learning Materials

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http://aem.cast.org/navigating/palm.html

Lesson Learned

Purchasers of materials or those who influence purchasers, must ensure that contracts require that all materials purchased from publishers/developers

are aligned with relevant accessibility standards (e.g., DAISY, WCAG 2.0 at minimum, Section 508).

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The PALM Initiative

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Purchase

Accessible

Learning

Materials

http://aem.cast.org/navigating/palm.html

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Increasing the Production of Accessible Digital Materials for Purchase

If you are a purchaser of materials or influence those who purchase materials, be sure that contracts require that all materials purchased from publishers/developers are aligned with relevant accessibility standards (e.g., DAISY, WCAG 2.0 at minimum, Section 508).

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Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0

Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Web Accessibility Initiative

http://www.w3.org/wai

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WCAG 2.0, Level AA Principles

• Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive

• Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable

• Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable

• Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including AT

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Section 508?DAISY?WCAG 2.0?

?

?

?

?

Accessibility for the Rest of Us

Show me!

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“Show me” Indicators of Accessibility

Seek out and purchase materials that:

• Can run on a variety of devices

• Are developed in device-agnostic file formats (e.g., accessible HTML, Microsoft Word, PDF, ePUB)

• Have content represented in multiple ways (e.g., video captions, alt text, text and image descriptions that can be voiced, digital braille)

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“Show me” Indicators of Accessibility

Seek out and purchase materials that:

• Are compatible with other technologies (e.g., assistive technology, screen readers, refreshable braille, text-to-speech, and human-voice reading)

• Have rich navigation alternatives (e.g., keyboard shortcuts/mapping or screen gestures)

• Have location supports such as page numbers and/or progress bars

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“Show me” Indicators of Accessibility

Seek out and purchase materials that:

• Have mathematical, scientific, and music symbols, formulas, and notations represented in multiple ways (e.g., explained with text alternatives, MathML)

• If writing is required, keyboard entry is supported by alternatives (e.g., word prediction, on-screen keyboards, voice input)

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and another thing….

Electronic Digital Rights Management (DRM) built into materials

MUST NOT prevent access

to built-in accessibility features

or necessary assistive technologies.

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Lesson Learned…

If purchasers consistently DEMAND accessibility in all digital products and give

preference to accessible products, the production and availability of accessible

digital materials for purchase WILL increase!

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Where can I get help when I need it?

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http://aem.cast.org

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Questions

Don’t be shy! The only “foolish question” is the one that is not asked.

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“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress,

in every society, in every family.”

Kofi Anan

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What can you do?

• Visit the AEM Center web site at: http://aem.cast.org

• Check out the PALM Initiative at the AEM site http://aem.cast.org/navigating/palm.html

• Check with your AEM State Contact for state-specific policies and practices http://aem.cast.org/policies/aem-state-contacts-sea-information.html

• Dig deeper into accessibility standards and other issues at http://aem.cast.org/creating/accessibility-standards-specifications-guidelines.html 55

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We’re always just a fingertip away!

Joy Zabalajzabala@cast.org

Diana Carldiana.carl@comcast.net

AEM Teamaem@cast.org

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2-Minute Evaluation

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