Workshop 4Creating Usable Content

Web Content Accessibility Project

Funded by BCcampus

Natasha Boskic, Kirsten Bole, Nathan Hapke

University of British Columbia

Workshop schedule

• Monday August 21Basics of Web Accessibility

• Tuesday August 22Coding an Accessible Website

• Wednesday August 23Accessible Multimedia

• Thursday August 24Creating Usable Content

• Friday August 25Disabilities & 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 onlineas 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, problem-solving, 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, 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 gradingmore 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 for 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.