Accessible ELearning Demonstrations Using IMS Accessibility Specifications

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Accessible E-Learning Demonstrations Using IMS
Accessibility Specifications

• Madeleine Rothberg
• WGBH National Center for Accessible Media
• CoSN 2006

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Access For All

• IMS Guidelines for Developing Accessible Learning
  Applications
• IMS Access For All Specifications
• New! ISO JTC1 SC36 Standard in progress
  (IMS/DC/LOM)
• http//support.imsglobal.org/accessibility
• http//ncam.wgbh.org/salt

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Each Learner Learns Differently

• Varies even for the same learner with context
  and discipline
• The major value added by on-line learning is the
  ability to personalize learning
• On-line learning gives us the ability to scale
  the individualized learning experience to a large
  group of learners

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Two Approaches to Meeting Accessibility
Commitments

• One compliant resource for everyone
• Rejection of valuable resources that are not
  compliant
• Time and expertise required of all resource
  creators
• Accessible for everyone but optimal for no-one
• Two resource versions and maintenance neglect
  (diversity of people with disabilities)
• A transformable, flexible resource system
• Cumulative authoring
• Matching resources
• Resource re-aggregation
• Providing tools needed by each learner

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Disability in Learning Context

• Disability Mismatch between learner needs and
  education offered
• Not a personal trait but an artifact of
  relationship between the learner and the learning
  environment or education delivery
• Accessibility The ability of the learning
  environment to adjust to the needs of all
  learners
• Environment includes AT tools

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Serving

• Learners with disabilities
• Learners with diverse learning approaches
• Learners with diverse hardware and software
• Learners in disabling environments
• Learners with diverse cultural or linguistic
  requirements
• Anyone who diverges from the hypothetical norm
• Any context, including commerce, government,
  publishing

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Advances Response to Equal Access Requirements

• Addresses legislative and regulatory requirements
• Does not compromise the experience of the student
  majority
• Does not unduly burden education provider
• Facilitates cumulative and collaborative
  authoring
• Respects unique individual requirements
  (learner-centric)

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AccessForAll Standard

• A description of the learners or users personal
  needs and preferences (IMS AccLIP, ISO PNP)
• A description of a digital resource (IMS AccMD,
  ISO DRD)
• Can be used with or without other personal
  profiles and other resource metadata

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Personal Needs and Preferences

• IMS Accessibility for Learner Information Package
  or AccLIP
• ISO PNP
• How do I want/need things to be displayed?
• How do I want/need things to be controlled?
  (includes AT information)
• What content alternatives, equivalents or helpful
  tools do I want/need?
• In what context?

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Accessibility Metadata

• IMS Access For All Metadata or AccMD
• ISO Digital Resource Description or DRD
• Information about
• 1. The Original Resource
• Can the display be transformed, is the method of
  control flexible?
• Does it require hearing, sight, tactile
  sensation, or text literacy?
• What are the locations of any known equivalents?

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Accessibility Metadata

• Information about
• 2. The Alternative
• Pointer to the primary resource this is an
  equivalent for
• A detailed description that parallels the content
  requirements of AccLIP/PNP

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Implementations

• Web-4-All
• TILE
• CWIS
• Teachers Domain Demonstration Site
• ANGEL

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Web-4-All

• Developed for Industry Canada to ensure seniors,
  new Canadians, and people with disabilities or
  literacy challenges have computer access to
  services information on the Internet.
• Each user can select, save, and deploy their own
  interface preferences using personal smart card
  technology that automatically configures a suite
  of assistive software hardware.
• Makes public internet access locations accessible
  to those requiring "non-standard" computer
  technology.
• Developed by University of Toronto Canadian
  partners
• http//web4all.atrc.utoronto.ca/

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Web-4-All

• Web-4-Alls Device Preferences screen, asking if
  the user would like assistance with seeing the
  display, identifying sounds, using the keyboard,
  or using the mouse.

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Web-4-All

• Web-4-Alls Alternative to Standard Display
  screen, asking if the user would like to make
  text and the cursor easier to see, highlight and
  read aloud text, read the screen aloud, or use a
  braille tablet.

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Web-4-All

• Web-4-Alls Screen Enhancement Settings screen,
  showing a choice of yellow text on blue
  background, plus options to change highlight
  color, cursor size and color, and screen
  magnification tracking.

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TILE

• E-learning environment that enables
  learner-centric transformation of learning
  content and delivery
• Authoring support for transformable content and
  for metadata
• Browser
• Learning Object Repository
• Learner Preference System
• http//inclusivelearning.ca

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• A math lesson on metric prefixes with a paragraph
  description, a table of names, greek letters, and
  multiplication factors, and a bar graph of
  relative size

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• The same math lesson, with a larger, high
  contrast font and a popup box defining the greek
  letter mu

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• A video shown without and with captions, which
  appear in a separate box below the video

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• A lesson screen with a table of contents, central
  text, and sidebar of tools including dictionary
  and thesaurus

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• TILEs user preference screen for Screen
  Enhancement, offering font color and size options

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• The same lesson screen, now shown in yellow text
  on a blue background

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• Two versions of a lesson screen, one with table
  of contents and tools on either side of the main
  reading and the other with only the main reading
  and limited top and bottom menu choices

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CWIS ACCLIP/ACCMD in Practice

• CWIS collection in a box portal software
  package developed for NSDL by the Internet Scout
  Project
• CWIS is open source web software implemented
  using PHP and MySQL
• CWIS is a turnkey package with a low technology
  barrier to entry

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ACCLIP with a Malleable User Interface

• CWIS supports multiple user interfaces and
  multiple user interface themes
• Interfaces are intended to be readily
  customizable by the portal implementer
• Interfaces are cascading so portal implementers
  only need to add or change what is necessary to
  add a new interface

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ACCLIP and the CWIS UI

• Added mini-wizard to CWIS to solicit AccLIP
  values from users
• CWIS UI is CSS-based
• AccLIP values (visual settings) are used to
  customize user interface via dynamic modification
  of CSS

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ACCMD and Finding Resources in CWIS

• Added AccMD fields to standard metadata schema
  used to describe resources
• Results are flagged based on matching AccMD
  metadata fields with AccLIP user settings when
  browsing resources
• Results can be filtered based on AccLIP user
  settings when searching resources

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Looking at CWIS

• Software is free and downloadable
  athttp//scout.wisc.edu/Projects/CWIS/(live
  demo also online there)
• CWIS requires PHP 4 and MySQL and is intended to
  run on a Linux or OS X web server
• CWIS 1.4.0 includes mini-wizard and UI
  modifications based on AccLIP settings, AccMD
  fields and resource flagging/filtering

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ANGEL Learning

• Commercial course management system
• Accessibility pilot in partnership with Penn
  State University
• Adapting UI to AccLIP settings
• Importing a content package with AccMD metadata
  and assigning appropriate resources to learners
• http//angellearning.com

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More Information

• Visit
• http//support.imsglobal.org/accessibility
• or http//ncam.wgbh.org/salt
• to find all the documents and links to
  implementations
• Contact me at
• madeleine_rothberg_at_wgbh.org