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 ([email protected])• Kirsten Bole ([email protected])• Nathan Hapke ([email protected])
• 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.
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