INST 7150 - Accessibility

"Look forward to hearing your additional thinking about accessibility issues.."

Ha. Accessibility is another pet peeve of mine. In this case I was thinking of a couple of ways in which accessibility issues arise.
1) The obvious - Windows vs. Mac
How many java applets did I look at when trying to find useable learning objects for the original incarnation of my final project? Many. Many. Many. How many were cross-platform or useable for Macs? Virtually none. Of the couple I found, they were either: 1) Meant for higher educational levels than the students I have in mind, or 2) Really lame and didn't add anything to the concept that students couldn't already get from a book or 3) Created for OS 7-9.5..... and while my iBook was perfectly happy to switch from OSX to Classic, or even boot up in 9, this Powerbook acts like I'm asking it to kiss George Bush's hiney.

2) Less obvious - the accessibility of some learning objects to my disabled students (both in digital and non-digital format). Flash does not work well with adaptive devices - this eliminates many of my students from utilizing various animated games or simulations - which I find to be extremely ironic, since these kids are often the ones who would benefit most from them. Likewise, many java applets are equally unaccessible for various reasons, including conflicts with adaptive equipment, poor visual quality that eliminates them from the use of my students who have any visual impairments whatsoever, poor quality photos or graphics, web pages that do not meet Section 508 compatibility requirements, brand-new "educational" software that does not meet Section 508 (it's the law, you rejects!), the list goes on and on. It's not just digital either - I usually have 2 versions of the same book in my library - one regular, one with adaptations so that my little ones who cannot turn pages well can actually turn the pages ON THEIR OWN! Textbooks (basal readers) should come in digital format as well as printed, so that I can pop a CD into the computer and allow a screen reader or Adobe reader to read the text to my students who cannot read it to themselves.

3) Final thought - which may or may not go properly under accessibility depending on how you think about it.....
Accessibility in that you can move it (i.e, classroom webpage), reuse it, or repurpose it without breaking copyright. There are many things out there that I would like to use, just not in their current context, but I cannot access them or move them or repurpose them without having the Feds (or worse - Disney) on my back.

And now that I've digressed slightly from my appointed task of writing the 25+ page paper that is due on Tuesday (yes, this Tuesday)..... back to the fun world of multiple baseline designs. Joy.
(insert swear word of choice here)