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Workshop 4 Creating Usable Content

Workshop 4 Creating Usable Content. Web Content Accessibility Project Funded by BCcampus Natasha Boskic, Kirsten Bole, Nathan Hapke University of British Columbia. Workshop schedule. Monday August 21 Basics of Web Accessibility Tuesday August 22 Coding an Accessible Website

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Workshop 4 Creating Usable Content

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  1. Workshop 4Creating Usable Content Web Content Accessibility Project Funded by BCcampus Natasha Boskic, Kirsten Bole, Nathan Hapke University of British Columbia

  2. Workshop schedule • Monday August 21Basics of Web Accessibility • Tuesday August 22Coding an Accessible Website • Wednesday August 23Accessible Multimedia • Thursday August 24Creating Usable Content • Friday August 25Disabilities & Assistive Technology

  3. The Plan • How is web content different from print? • Learning disabilities & learning styles • Site structure & navigation • Use of different media

  4. It’s hard to read a screen • Screen: 72 dpi (dots per inch) • Print: 200-300 dpi • Staring at screen creates eyestrain • Sitting at desktops is also tiring • Result: people don’t read as much onlineas they do in print

  5. Reading in bits & pieces • Web readers skim pages looking for key points & ideas • Headlines, blurbs, summaries • Shorter paragraphs, bullet points preferred • Print out large documents to read offline

  6. Students with learning disabilities • Learning difficulties: dyslexia, ADHD • Cognitive difficulties: brain injury, autism, age • Poor concentration, memory, problem-solving, and/or time management • Anxiety, frustration

  7. Facing learning disabilities • Guessing at content, rather than reading it • Skimming looking for bolded keywords • Rereading the same passage repeated times • Avoiding interacting online • Difficulty interpreting instructions …but all students & disabilities are different

  8. Dealing with Learning Disabilities • Academic consulting & advice essential • Some tools used by blind & visually impaired can be useful for LDs • Screenreader highlights text and/or reads it aloud • Predictive typing assists with spelling & correct word choice

  9. Learning styles • “Sage on the stage” or “sage on the screen” - traditional teaching method doesn’t work for everyone • Reinforce one concept with different methods • Mix & match for maximum effect

  10. Learning styles • Visual-verbal: prefers to read • Visual-nonverbal: charts, animations, videos • Auditory: prefers to listen • Tactile: learn by doing, interaction • Sensory: fact-based activities

  11. Preferred approaches • Intuitive: reflection & imagination • Inductive/deductive: examples, theories • Active: through application or work w/others • Reflective: think about topics before engaging • Understanding: see “big picture” first • Sequential: step by step

  12. Applying this to YOUR content…

  13. Website structure • Map out your site before building it • Goal: keep your navigation simple and consistent on every page • What sections & subsections will you need? • What might you need to add in the future? Where would that go?

  14. Navigation • Group similar items together • Keep same on every page • Offer site map, search, index

  15. Keep it clean • Avoid distracting animations • Avoid background patterns No, no, no.

  16. Keep it clean High contrast text is important …but becareful with your colour choices

  17. Keep it quiet • Don’t autoplay sounds • Distracting, disturbing • Interferes with screenreaders • The same goes for pop-up windows

  18. Redundancy can be good • Good content can take many forms • Reinforce ideas through multiple media • Offer same content as text, image, video, interactive tool

  19. Assignment options • Offer students a choice between essays, presentations, posters… • Different ways of expressing same knowledge • Makes gradingmore interesting,too

  20. Assignment criteria • Clear, unambiguous directions • Built-in checkpoints benefit LD students • How will you approach this problem? • Submit a paragraph summary of your project • Submit a proposed project schedule

  21. File formats • PDF, Word, Excel, PPT often used unnecessarily • Content could be on web instead • Good for forms, complicated charts, anything that must look perfectly consistent to everyone • Warn if user is about to download file

  22. Getting started • Which learning styles do your course materials appeal to the most? • What parts of your online course materials could be offered in another format or media? • How could you modify your course to benefit learning-disabled students?

  23. Thank you for coming! • Join us tomorrow for Disabilities & Assistive Technology - 12 pm PST • Natasha Boskic (natasha.boskic@ubc.ca) • Kirsten Bole (kirsten.bole@ubc.ca) • Nathan Hapke (nhapke@interchange.ubc.ca) • Thanks to Deb Butler of UBC for her advice on learning disabilities • Thanks to Kevin Kelly of SFSU for his advice on Universal Design and learning styles.

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