Access Granted

A barricade in the Paris Commune, March 18, 1871.

Do you ever walk into a business and feel unwelcome? Like you don’t belong? Like the people behind the front door or service counter don’t even want to serve you? That is how persons with vision and hearing impairments feel all to often in online environments. Our institutions, as good and well-intentioned as they may be, oftentimes come laden with legacy barricades that would put the barricade shown above to shame. Fortunately, there are steps that can be taken to help provide accessibility to online resources. Read on to learn more.

Our EDTECH 502 class took on the daunting task of discussing accessibility on the Internet this past week. As an academic librarian whose main job is to provide assistance to online programs – and the students taking those classes – I spend a lot of time thinking about how to make the materials I provide more accessible to persons with vision and hearing assistance needs. By breaking down barricades to access, we can ensure that we are making our best effort to provide equitable access to web resources.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (see an accessibility checklist here) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (commonly referred to as WCAG) are two excellent resources on web accessibility. As accessibility can be achieved through a number of means.

I created the following web page to demonstrate that I understand the practices and principles behind accessible web design. I effectively used CSS, metadata, and color to provide a web page that meets approved industry standards. You may view the page here: http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/lancemcgrath/502/accessibility.html#readability

My completion of this activity demonstrates that I have competency in AECT Standard 3.6 – Diversity of Learners, in that I utilize practices in online materials design that are widely accessible to learners, and Standard 4.5- Ethics, in that I have demonstrated ethical treatment of learners with varying accessibility needs, thereby creating an environment that is intended to be inclusive rather than exclusive.