An evaluation of accessibility in online learning management systems
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830210452640 |
| Published date | 01 December 2002 |
| Date | 01 December 2002 |
| Pages | 441-451 |
| Author | AnnMarie Johnson,Sean Ruppert |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
An evaluation of
accessibility in online
learning management
systems
AnnMarie Johnson and
Sean Ruppert
Millions of computer users in the USA have
some sort of disability that makes it difficult, if
not impossible, to use the Web. Many Web
pages contain features that inhibit these users
from accessing some or all of the Web's
content. Disabilities that keep people from
being able to access pages range from color
blindness and Attention Deficit Disorder
through blindness and lack of fine motor
control. Whatever the reason for the disability,
it is very important to ensure that those with a
disability are able to view the materials on the
Web. The need for accessible Web pages
becomes even greater in an educational setting.
How can a student learn course content
presented in formats she cannot access?
Two federal laws have been applied to
educational Web sites. The Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) states that all persons be
given equal access to education and public
buildings. The ADA also applies to educational
materials placed on the Web[1]. In 1998, the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended with
the Workforce Reinvestment Act. Section 508
of this law requires federal agencies to make
information technology accessible to persons
with disabilities. A set of 16 requirements were
written specifically for Web-based
information[2]. Some institutions of higher
education believe that they must comply with
Section 508[3], although at least one state
university system decided otherwise[4].
How do we know if Web pages are accessible?
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) sets
technical specifications and standards for the
Web. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
(WAI) developed 14 guidelines for making Web
content accessible to people with disabilities[5].
Each guideline is linked to one or more
checkpoints, which describe how to apply that
guideline to specific Web page features. Each
checkpoint is assigned a priority level based on
its impact on accessibility. Priority 1
checkpoints must be satisfied, otherwise some
groups of people will be unable to access
information on the site. Priority 2 should be
satisfied, or it will be very difficult to access
information. Priority 3 may be satisfied, or
some will find it difficult to access information.
Section 508 has 14 requirements,
incorporating all of the W3C/WAI Priority 1
The authors
AnnMarie Johnson (annmarie@northnet.net) is the
Instructional Technology Developer and Sean Ruppert
(ruppert@uwash.edu) manages a multimedia computer lab,
both at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, USA.
Keywords
Distance learning, Disabled people, Internet
Abstract
Millions of computer users in the USA have a disability
making it difficult to use the Web. The University of
Wisconsin System recently required that all System Web
pages meet Priority 1 accessibility guidelines as set by the
World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative
(W3C/WAI). Class materials available in online learning
management systems should also be accessible to students
with disabilities. Four systems, Blackboard 4 and 5,
Prometheus 3, and WebCT 3, were assessed against
theW3C/WAI guidelines for a numerical statistic of
accessibility. Practical accessibility was tested with Lynx,
IBM Homepage Reader, and JAWS. Validation was
performed with A-Prompt and the W3C/WAI checklist.
Electronic access
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The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
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Theme articles
441
Library Hi Tech
Volume 20 .Number 4 .2002 .pp. 441±451
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830210452640
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