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Re: which campuses offer on-line courses that are accessible to blind or deaf?

for

From: Christopher Phillips
Date: Aug 20, 2003 6:16PM


Great question Alice, it is good to hear about some other universities
interested in accessibility.

At the University of Massachusetts, the powers that be are primarily
using Prometheus as their course management software and are working to
implement accessibility fixes to the software on their own.

Blackboard has a page dedicated to the accessibility of their product
at:
http://www.blackboard.com/products/access/index.htm
Does anyone out there have experience with version 6 of the Blackboard
Learning System that can comment? It looks like they are working with
some great groups- including WebAIM.

WebCT also has a list discussing the accessibility of their product:
http://www.webct.com/products/viewpage?name=products_accessibility

In addition, here is a page with a great collection of relevant links:
http://tatp.edb.utexas.edu/distance.html

Lastly, I haven't tried it yet, but ATutor claims to be an "Open
Source Web-based Learning Content Management System (LCMS) designed
with accessibility and adaptability in mind." It is available at:
http://www.atutor.ca/

Christopher Phillips
Institute for Community Inclusion
http://www.communityinclusion.org


On Wednesday, Aug 20, 2003, at 12:24 US/Eastern, Mark Bryant wrote:

> Alice,
>
> I think one thing to look at is that many colleges and universities are
> using WebCT and Blackboard to provide their online instruction. The
> last
> time I reviewed these products, they were far from accessible.
>
> -mark
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Wayne Dick" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> To: < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 1:40 AM
> Subject: Re: which campuses offer on-line courses that are accessible
> to
> blind or deaf?
>
>
>> Dear Alice,
>>
>> I am the Academic Senate Chair at California State University, Long
>> Beach.
>> It sounds like we are in a similar level of development as you. We
>> are
>> currently moving from academic technology a primarily a supplemental
>> tool
> to
>> a significant online delivery mode. We have just formed a committee
>> to
>> develop standards for online course development that promote
> accessibility.
>> We will make this policy and enforce it. If you are interested in our
>> progress, I'll be glad to keep in touch.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> Wayne Dick, Ph.D
>>
>> Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science,
>> Chair Academic Senate,
>> California State University, Long Beach
>>
>>
>> PS. I have had low vision since birth. Print accessibility is a
>> subject
>> near to my heart.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Alice Anderson" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>> To: < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 10:44 AM
>> Subject: which campuses offer on-line courses that are accessible to
>> blind
>> or deaf?
>>
>>
>>> All,
>>> Does anyone know of a list of colleges and universities who were
>>> working on making
>>> on-line courses available to persons who are blind or deaf.
>>>
>>> I know that some campuses are ahead of the curve