Accommodations Course Design
Most of my course is text based right now—the only audio clip is already paired with the text of the piece (“How to Mark a Book”); so for a hearing impaired person, the content is accessible—for a visually impaired person, though, my course design would be a disaster—not least because of my lack of understanding how to use HTML to work on text pages in order for text readers to make sense of what is there. I have to say, when the young man in the video suggests that schools or academic organizations have a set design interface in which instructors could plug in materials—I was thinking yes! The presenter didn’t agree for several good reasons, but for someone like me who is ‘learning by doing’—there is a lot missed and/or misunderstood about how things work in the online world.
Things for me to think about and investigate in terms of course design:
1. HTML—what it is, how it functions in the construction of a page of text, and how to better understand and use it.
2. What does it mean to not rely on a style sheet to put together your text? Does this mean a template? Or does this have to do with programs?
3. Text size & contrast—I think I need to use a larger text size for most of my materials and to think about how to use space around and within the text thick pages I have. On the other hand, this is a writing and reading course, and students are going to have to expect to be reading and writing more than in other classes—how to balance the text heaviness of the class with the need for rest and clarity on the page.
4. Mouse/Tab—I could not use the tab or my keyboard to access most of my class materials in Coursesites—is this a lack of understanding how to do this or a lack in my Mac and it’s software?
5. WebAIM doesn’t even have instructions for how to make Power Point on a Mac accessible—so does this mean I and my Mac are doomed?
6. Include more audio materials for visually impaired students, so that what is written can be heard (either through something like a text reader or me reading what is there)—of course this raises questions about what happens when students are asked to post their work and read and respond to each others’ writing—I don’t think I can ask students to record an audible reading of their work/response each time—what are the possibilities? Avatars for some? Video conferencing?
Mostly, I am left with questions about all I do not know and understand about the nuts and bolts of web design and online inner-workings and how these will effect my ability to design a course which is accessible to everyone—it is not just a little disheartening--
Most of my course is text based right now—the only audio clip is already paired with the text of the piece (“How to Mark a Book”); so for a hearing impaired person, the content is accessible—for a visually impaired person, though, my course design would be a disaster—not least because of my lack of understanding how to use HTML to work on text pages in order for text readers to make sense of what is there. I have to say, when the young man in the video suggests that schools or academic organizations have a set design interface in which instructors could plug in materials—I was thinking yes! The presenter didn’t agree for several good reasons, but for someone like me who is ‘learning by doing’—there is a lot missed and/or misunderstood about how things work in the online world.
Things for me to think about and investigate in terms of course design:
1. HTML—what it is, how it functions in the construction of a page of text, and how to better understand and use it.
2. What does it mean to not rely on a style sheet to put together your text? Does this mean a template? Or does this have to do with programs?
3. Text size & contrast—I think I need to use a larger text size for most of my materials and to think about how to use space around and within the text thick pages I have. On the other hand, this is a writing and reading course, and students are going to have to expect to be reading and writing more than in other classes—how to balance the text heaviness of the class with the need for rest and clarity on the page.
4. Mouse/Tab—I could not use the tab or my keyboard to access most of my class materials in Coursesites—is this a lack of understanding how to do this or a lack in my Mac and it’s software?
5. WebAIM doesn’t even have instructions for how to make Power Point on a Mac accessible—so does this mean I and my Mac are doomed?
6. Include more audio materials for visually impaired students, so that what is written can be heard (either through something like a text reader or me reading what is there)—of course this raises questions about what happens when students are asked to post their work and read and respond to each others’ writing—I don’t think I can ask students to record an audible reading of their work/response each time—what are the possibilities? Avatars for some? Video conferencing?
Mostly, I am left with questions about all I do not know and understand about the nuts and bolts of web design and online inner-workings and how these will effect my ability to design a course which is accessible to everyone—it is not just a little disheartening--