Information Technology in the School Banner

Students

Parents, Employers,
Teachers

Workshop Modules

Information Technology Career Opportunities
“Hands On” Beginner Programming
Introduction to the Internet
Email and Mailing Lists
Information Resources of the Internet
Computer Tools (Word, Excel)

Information Technology Accessibility and Training of the Blind/VI Student

Introduction
Accessibility Policy and Guidelines - 1
Accessible Web Site Design in the High School Curricula - 2
Introduction to Information Technology Curricula for blind/vi - 3
Equivalent availability of hardware and software - 4
Conferencing/Distance Learning for blind/vi students - 5

Printable version | District Powerpoint presentation download

Introduction

This document refers to“Recommendations to the District” section of the presentation to the Hillsborough County School District. The purpose is of this document is to list the resources and background of each of the areas addressed in the presentation.

Most of the references and background material was gathered from AccessIT.com.
The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) was funded by a 5-year grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education through September, 2006.
AccessIT's Knowledge Base, Web Design and Development Curriculum, Information Technology in Education Accessibility Checklist, and Accessible University Mock Site continue to be available online and managed and updated by AccessComputing, a project funded by the National Science Foundation (grant #CNS-054061S) and led by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and DO-IT at the University of Washington.

DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) serves to increase the successful participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs such as those in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology. Primary funding for DO-IT is provided by the National Science Foundation, the State of Washington, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Select Presentations A small sample of slide shows from presentations by AccessIT staff are available.
DO-IT Publications: Information Technology - Thorough list of UW AccessIT references

Accessibility Policy and Guidelines - 1

Have an accessibility policy/guideline document and checklist against Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 508 Access Standards.

Justification and Policy Objectives

It is unlikely that electronic resources in educational institutions, libraries, and other organizations will be accessible to students and employees with disabilities without the establishment of specific policies and/or procedures. As technology applications become ubiquitous and multimedia is the norm, an ad hoc approach to accessibility becomes increasingly less effective.

The justification and project objectives for the Kentucky Accessible Information Technology In Schools (KY-AITIS) Project has a thorough Accessibility Policy justification. A majority of the document could probably be used as is.

SRBE (Southeast Disability and Business Educational Technology Cooperative) Paper, April 2004 -Why is Technology Access for Students With Disabilities Important?. Another good source for justification.

“Introduction to Accessible Information Technology in Education” a free online web course. This Web Course is for anyone who wants to learn more about information technology accessibility and related law and policy issues in education.

Accessible IT Policy in K-12 Education (Pat Brown) PowerPoint version This is a very presentation on the responsibilities of the district and state. It also gives an overview of other states accessibility policy and laws.

Accessibility Checklist

Information Technology in Education Accessibility Checklist Use this on-line interactive tool to learn about IT accessibility, and to manage your educational entity's IT accessibility goals. Use this online resource to create the checklist. There is an accompanying Companion Guide and the list of categories contained in the checklist.

Use the “Policy Language or Guidelines Component” and the associated checklist of the Information Technology Accessibility Policy Matrix of the Kentucky Accessible Information Technology In Schools (KY-AITIS) Project as a template. This checklist can be used as a template for creating a district checklist.

Policy Governing World Wide Web Accessibility

The document “Policy Governing World Wide Web Accessibility at UW–Madison” web accessibility policy can be used as a beginning template for a Web Accessibility policy.

The Web Accessibility Guidelines has the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines breakdown as well as other guideline (e.g., National Federation of the Accessibility Blind Criteria, AccessIT.com ). There is a WCAG 2.0 table which is a condensed table of guidelines.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT's) Online Web Accessibility course is another resource for the Web Accessibility Guidelines.

A good slide presentation on Universal Design and Web Accessibility: Unexpected Beneficiaries (Terry Thompson) PowerPoint version

IT Accessibility Video Testimonials

Video: Accessible Information Technology in Education: Building a Better Future - This video presents the voices of students with disabilities and experts in accessible IT as they discuss the importance of ensuring that information technology is accessible in educational settings.
Video: Surfing the Web With a Screen Reader
What's all the web accessibility talk about? Surf the web with a blind user and see for yourself! To find out more information, follow the above link.

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Accessible Web Site Design in the High School Curricula - 2

Include accessible web design and website maintenance in the Introduction to Web Development curriculum.

Most of the references and background material in this section was gathered from AccessIT.com.

Web Design & Development I - Instructor Version

The AccessIT Web Design & Development I course curriculum is a project-based introduction to web design developed for use in secondary schools, grades 9-12. The curriculum emphasizes standards-based and accessible design, is cross-platform and vendor-neutral, and is freely available for teachers to use in their own classrooms. The curriculum was designed by a team of high school web design teachers in Bellingham, Washington, working in collaboration with the National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT), with input from web design teachers nationwide, as well as from professionals working in careers related to the design and development of web content.

The course Web Design & Development I curriculum is a project-based introduction to web design developed for use in secondary schools, grades 9-12.
Accessible University Mock Site
Use this mock site for demonstrating web accessibility principles in presentations. Includes a Companion Guide tutorial which presents Web accessibility problems and solutions in an easy-to-understand way, using Web pages as examples.

Introduction to Information Technology Curricula for blind/vi - 3

Create an Introduction to Information Technology program for the blind/vi students outlined in the slide “Required “Competitive” IT Skills”

Internet communications tools (i.e., Email, Mailing Lists, Conferencing).
Internet research using search engines and online information retrieval.
PC Word processors and spreadsheets
Keyboard typing training.
Work collaboration experience
Implied: Use of the latest assistive technology.

A great article on why this initiative is so important "7 in 10 blind Americans unemployed, but technology opens workplace"
Blind and visually impaired students need to be competitive for job and career opportunities. The technology in the past five years now allows the blind/VI student to be competitive. Yet, as the article above states, "7 of 10 of the blind and visually impaired persons are not employed". There needs to be an increased emphasis in the school systems to ensure that these students are thoroughly trained in the use of the latest assistive technology and with the programs and applications available on the PC and Internet.

The goal of the initiative are for each student to Increase the college or technical school entrance and employment of the blind and visually impaired.
This website will document the efforts of the initiative to be used as a template for other chapters and school systems. All the resources that were reference and used are either documented in this site or have links to them. The "workshop Modules" listed below are classroom scripts informally developed to educate the students to become IT proficient. They are, at this moment, a guideline and proposal. The intent here is to show the content that is deemed necessary to include in the courses.

See the "Distance Learning" section below on the formal courses presented by the Hadley School for the Blind. These courses are free to students 14 and above.

Information Technology Career Opportunities – Module 1

The purpose of this module is to introduce the student to Information Technology. What is it? How it is used? IT’s ubiquitous nature throughout our lives, business and industry. Information Technology is then described on how it is used used/developed within companies. The various types of careers are generally described.

“Hands On” Beginner Programming - Module 2

The purpose of this session is to answer the question "What is a program?". The Ruby programming language is an easy to use and learn programming language. It is an interpretive, interactive language that allows statements to be entered an executed as the student enters them. The results are displayed immediately. This will allow easy "hands-on" teaching of how to enter and execute a simple program. An added advantage of Ruby lends itself readily to JAWS, increased font size and magnifying needs.

Introduction to the Internet – Module 3

The purpose of this session is to introduce the student to the Internet. The following will be introduced and discussed:

What is the Internet?
How the Internet is used in everyday activities.
The issues and considerations involved with security, personal identification and privacy when using the Internet
Email and Mailing Lists – Module 4

The purpose of this session is to introduce the student to the Email application. The screen reader application. NVDA, is used to demonstrate and teach the basic Email functions . The following will be introduced and discussed:

Emphasize that learning to type is an absolute necessity.
Learning the NVDA screen reader and how to navigate the desktop using NVDA.
Familiarize the student of the basic functions of Outlook Express.

Information Resources of the Internet - Module 5

The purpose of this module is to introduce the student to two of the major methods of gathering information on the Internet: Mailing Lists (e.g., Groups, Forums) and Search Engines (e.g.,Google, Yahoo)

Computer Tools (Word, Excel) - Module 6

The purpose of this module will be to introduce the student to basic functions of MS Word and Excel.

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Equivalent availability of hardware and software - 4

As part of the policy, address the assurance that blind/vi students have equivalent availability of hardware and software.

Issue accessible text books

Educational entities often struggle with questions as to which file formats are best for distributing online materials. Traditionally, online documents have been delivered primarily using HTML. However, a growing number of documents in education are distributed in other formats, such as Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) and Microsoft Word. Whether these file formats are accessible is not a simple question with a yes or no answer. For guidance in making this determination, see the AccessIT Knowledge Base articles Is PDF accessible? and How accessible are Microsoft Word documents? See also, Which states have accessible textbook laws and what do they say about file formats?

K-12 school computer lab accessible to all students

The following is article in AcessIT.
“Designing a school computer lab to be accessible to all students?”
As increasing numbers of people with disabilities pursue educational opportunities that require computer use, accessibility of computing facilities becomes even more critical. Making a computer lab accessible requires that attention be devoted to the physical accessibility of the lab facility, as well as to the accessibility of the available technology. Assistive technology (AT) should be available for students who need it. However, AT alone does not make a computer lab accessible. Computer hardware and software must be compatible with AT and must be accessible to all users, whether they interact with technology using sight, sound, or touch.

You can make computer labs can be made accessible by employing principles of universal design. Universal design means that rather than design your facility for the average user, you design it for people with a broad range of abilities. Keep in mind that individuals using your lab may have learning disabilities or visual, speech, hearing, or mobility impairments.

Individuals from each of these groups will need access to the facility, equipment, software, electronic resources, and printed materials. There is no federal standard that covers all of these areas, but there are many legislative mandates that apply to aspects of computer lab access for people with disabilities. These include but are not limited to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Telecommunications Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Rehabilitation Act. A good starting point for information about disability-related federal legislation is the U.S. Department of Justice's publication A Guide to Disability Rights Laws [1].

Another excellent resource is DO-IT's publication and accompanying video Equal Access: Computer Labs [2]. This publication includes a checklist with dozens of specific recommendations regarding planning, evaluation, policies, and procedures; facility and environment; lab staff; computers, software, and assistive technology; and information resources.

References

[1] http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/cguide.htm
[2] http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Technology/comp.access.html

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Conferencing/Distance Learning for blind/vi students - 5

Investigate the use of “conferencing”/Distance Learning for group instruction of blind/vi students via the Internet/internal network.

Article “National Primer on K-12 Online Learning” by North American Council for Online Learning is a thorough discussion. Published April 2007. http://www.nacol.org/docs/national_report.pdf
The Florida Virtual School (FLVS) served more than 31,000 students in 68,000 half-credit courses in school year 2005-2006. FLVS, which has grown steadily since its inception in 1997, has shown the popularity of online learning when students are given the choice of taking online courses, and has demonstrated the ability of a program to grow rapidly. http://flvs.net/
FLVS Fact Sheet: Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is an established leader in developing and providing virtual K-12 education solutions to students nationwide. A nationally recognized e-Learning model, FLVS was founded in 1997 was the country’s first state-wide Internet-based public high school. Today, FLVS serves middle and high school students with more than 90 courses. In 2000, the Florida Legislature established FLVS as an independent educational entity with a gubernatorial appointed board. FLVS is the only public school with funding tied directly to student performance. FLVS provides online solutions for grades 6 to 12, as well as for adults seeking GED alternatives both in FL and out-of-state through their Global Services Division.
Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A review of state-level policy and practice, 2006, available at http://www.nacol.org . Keeping Pace lists 24 state-led programs, and one has been added, in Tennessee, since Keeping Pace was published in October 2006.

Accessible Distance Learning

Equal Access: Universal Design of Distance Learning - a checklist to assure access and promote the learning of all students.
Real Connections: Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone - guidelines for designing Internet-based distance learning courses to fully include all students.

E-Mentoring

Opening Doors: Mentoring on the Internet - students develop supportive relationships with adult mentors on the Internet.

Supporting Peer-Peer and Mentor-Protege Relationships on the Internet - article written by Sheryl Burgstahler and Deb Cronheim published in Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34 (1), 59-74.

Peer Support: What Role Can the Internet Play? - article written by Sheryl Burgstahler published in Journal of Information Technology and Disabilities, 4 (4).

Additional Background Material

Distance Learning Policies and Practices (Sheryl Burgstahler and Terry Thompson) PowerPoint version Large presentation on DL issues, policies and approaches.

The Hadley School for the Blind does offer distance education courses to eligible students age 14+. In many cases these courses, if completed successfully, earn Carnegie Units, a form of credit that is transferable to local high schools. Many visually impaired students have done this, in agreement with their districts, to add credit to their local program.

Hadley also offers technology related courses. The list follows. Details can be found in the High School Program area of Web site: www.hadley.edu. The courses are offered tuition-free to high school students.
Technology
Access Technology: Beginnings
Word Processing
Internet Basics
Internet: Beyond the Basics
Using Excel

There are course offerings at Carroll Tech, the technology arm of the Carroll Center for the Blind in Massachusetts. They provide a variety of access technology specific distance education course. There is a reasonable fee. Their site is at: www.carrolltech.org.

Dawn E. Turco
Senior Vice President
The Hadley School for the Blind

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