Blackboard CE8 Accessibility Guidelines
According to the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) more than 3% of Australians are blind, vision-impaired or have another form of print disability.
In order to make your WebCT CE8 sites accessible for students with print disabilities you should inform yourself of the following guidelines.
While WebCT CE8 meets the accessibility requirements of the World Wide Web Consortium Priority 1 guidelines (WAI WCAG 1.0 Level A) the onus is on the site designer to ensure that the way they design their UoS site contributes to improved accessibility. These general guidelines for accessible design are in large no different to the guidelines for accessible design of any website.
Users with a print disability will usually use some form of assistive technology such as software to magnify a part of the screen or they may use a screen reader such as JAWS. Following simple accessible design guidelines will make the users experience with JAWS or other assistive technology better.
To see examples of how a user experiences the use of an assistive technology such as a screen reader visit this website http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/video/intro.asp
Guidelines
1. Images
All images should have an alt tag
The screen reader will read out the alt tag so put a description of the image
The WebCT built in editor allows you to easily add alt text when adding images to a file.
2. Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks should be clearly identified, try to avoid placing links in the middle of sentences unless it is clearly described in the text. Ensure that there are line spaces between lists of links.
3. Use of colours
Be aware that using colours to convey information may be inaccessible to colour blind students and is not advised.
4. Tables
Screen readers read tables cell by cell and usually from left to right, then row by row. If the table is large and complex provide a summary or description of the table layout and content.
Carefully identify row and column headers so that the user listening to the screen reader knows what the information refers to.
Always create tables with relative (percentage) not absolute (pixel) measurements, this will ensure they fit on the screen, useful for users using screen magnification software.
5. Graphs and Charts
Graphs and charts are usually inaccessible to screen readers so a text summary of the information contained in the item should be included.
The alt tag could be used in this instance to describe the graph or chart.
6. PDF files
If you are creating your own PDF files then you should ensure that you have created an accessible PDF file. Instructions for making your PDF accessible can be here - PDF Accessibility
Note: readings from journals and books should be linked to content provided by the library.
Useful resources/weblinks
For further advice or information on issues related to accessibility and disability services please visit the following sites.
- Disability Services at The University of Sydney
http://www.usyd.edu.au/stuserv/disability/ - DEST Disability Standards for Educational Institutions
http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/482C1E4B-9848-4CC3-B395-067D79853095/15406/DisabilityStandards_004_screen.pdf - Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee guidelines relating to Students with a Disability (May 2006)
http://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/documents/publications/policy/statements/DisabilityGuidelinesMay06.pdf - Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee guidelines on information access for students with print disabilities.
http://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/documents/publications/GuidelinesOnInfoAccessForStudentsWithDisablilities.pdf