Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2014 | Page 22

Internet Learning
the contractor for editing. Once editing is
complete, the Project Manager reviews the
course using the accessibility standards list
and either approves the course or sends it
back to the contractor for additional work
if needed. If additional work has been requested,
the Project Manager needs to review
the course again for approval.
A goal for the second year of the
project is to add staff members to the project
to support the Project Manager, spreading
out the work that needs to be completed,
as well as the knowledge of online
course accessibility in general. We also plan
to implement the accessibility standards
list into our course development process as
soon as possible.
Quality Matters Standards
8.3 and 8.4
Quality Matters Standards 8.3 and
8.4 are both two-point standards, meaning
that Quality Matters declares them as “Very
Important” but not “Essential” (Quality
Matters, 2011).
Standard 8.3 requires that “course
design facilitates readability and minimizes
distractions,” which focuses on the visual
aspects of the course. This standard most
obviously affects students with physical impairments
such as low vision or blindness,
but it also affects those with cognitive disabilities,
as their brains do not process visual
elements in the same way that nondisabled
students would. For example, while
flashing objects can cause trouble for someone
with a physical disability such as epilepsy,
they may also be a barrier for processing
anything else on the page for someone
with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(WebAIM, 2014). This standard covers
elements such as the use of color, tables,
graphics, text placement, and text formatting
(Quality Matters, 2011). Table 1 provides
some examples of common elements
in an online course web page and some best
practices to make each of these elements accessible.
While minimizing distractions
does not mean that any design elements
or images should be eliminated from online
course pages, simplifying the design of
the pages can make it easier for those with
cognitive disabilities to process the page,
or manipulate the page using an assistive
technology program.
Quality Matters Standard 8.4 states
“The course design accommodates the use
of assistive technologies” (Quality Matters,
2011). Assistive technology refers to
equipment or software that is used to improve
or correct the functions of disabled
persons (Assistive Technology Industry
Association, n.d.). Assistive technologies
can either be input devices that allow users
to control and navigate computers and
web pages, or output devices that interpret
and/or manipulate data and elements on
computers and web pages such as screen
magnifiers, screen readers, and learning
disabilities programs (Microsoft, 2014).
A vision-impaired student may use an assistive
technology like the screen reader
JAWS (2014) to have the elements on the
screen read aloud to them. A student with a
cognitive disability may be much more successful
processing the information when it
is read to them by a screen reader or other
type of assistive technology, and they may
also benefit from being able to take the
content on the screen and manipulate it,
adding highlighting, breaking up areas of
text, turning off images, or adding notes.
Standard 8.4 covers elements such
as text formatting, equations, links, tables,
scanned PDFs (portable document formats),
and media (Quality Matters, 2011.)
Table 2 provides some examples of com-
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