Compliance for Technology, Electronic Documents and Webpages

1. Compliance for Technology, Electronic Documents and Webpages Southern Utah University March 28, 2013 Melissa L. Frost State of Utah, Division of Risk Management

2. Caveat • These materials are provided for informational purposes only and are not to be construed as legal advice. You should seek independent counsel to resolve the individualized legal issues that you are responsible to address.

3. Presentation Outline • Legal Requirements • Accessibility: What Faculty and Staff Need to Know • Universal Design • Accessibility: Staff and Faculty Role • Campus Accessibility Training • Campus Delivery Systems • How to Create Accessible Documents • Word • PDF’s • PowerPoints • Captioning and visual Descriptions • Website accessibility

4. Disability Law Overview • Section 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and • The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as Amended are civil rights statutes • are designed to prevent discrimination against students based on their disability

5. Who is Protected • An individual with a “disability” is any person who: • has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities • has a record of such impairment or • Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez, U.S. Supreme Court (2003) • is regarded as having such an impairment

6. Qualified Individual • Meets the Eligibility Requirements for a Program Service or Activity With or Without Reasonable Modifications such as: • Barrier removal • Auxiliary Aids • Program Modifications

7. Students With Disabilities • 5.1 % ADD • 4.1 % Chronic Illness • 3.7 % Psychiatric Condition • 2.1 % Other Disability • 1.7 % Vision Impairment • 1.6 % Hearing Impairment • 1.0 % Mobility Impairment National College Health Assessment American College Health Association Fall 2009

8. Right To Be In Higher Education • Students with disabilities must meet the same entrance criteria as other students • Once admitted, they have they have the same rights as other students • Students are responsible for determining their own level of success or failure

9. Right to Access All Programs • Once admitted, students with disabilities have the right to access all programs, academic and non-academic, that are available to other students in the most integrated setting • A professor cannot refuse to work with a disabled student because the instructor is concerned that the student will not be successful in education or employment

10. Covered Services • Programs and Activities • Course Materials / Websites • Testing • Physical Access to Facilities • Emergency Preparedness • Food Services • Housing / Parking • Community Events / Entertainment (plays, concerts, athletics) • Voting

11. Right to Confidentiality • Information about a student’s disability is confidential • The Student decides how much information to share • You May Issue a request for accommodation without giving a student’s name • Faculty Must avoid inadvertent disclosure • ADA allows a separate cause of action for breach of confidentiality

12. Legal Requirements – Right to Reasonable Accommodations • Institutions must make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability, UNLESS doing results in: • An undue financial or administrative hardship, or • Theperson poses a direct threat to self or others • Faculty need to be prepared to make adaptations (reasonable accommodations) to instructional practices changes in the delivery of some course materialsand assessment of knowledge

13. Three Strategies in Designing Accommodations • Adjust Pedagogy • Modify Equipment and Environment • Utilize Technology

14. Examples of Reasonable Accommodation • Making Facilities Accessible • Acquiring or Modifying equipment/devices • Restructuring a Task • Substituting Tasks • Changing Schedules • Modifying work/training site • Providing readers, writers, interpreters • Test Accommodations • Providing transition planning and support

15. Academic Freedom • Full Freedom to Conduct Research and Publish • Freedom to Teach Subject in the Classroom • Freedom to Speak or Write as Individual Citizens in the Community (not university representatives) • There is NO Academic Freedom to Discriminate against any Student including those with Disabilities.

16. OCR on Academic Freedom • Academic freedom is generally considered to mean the right of faculty to speak freely on political and ideological issues without fear of reprisal. • Faculty interpret this to mean teaching in the manner and style of their choosing. (using a particular methodology or give a certain type of examination). • No Court Ruling or OCR Decision yet, but NOT defensable. • It is clear that the Effective Communication standard requires a website available to students to be available for all students. • Websites developed by a professors are not immune from accessibility standards!

17. OCR’S “Effectively Communicate” Standard • Three basic components • (1) the timeliness of delivery • (2) the accuracy of the translation, and • (3) provision in a manner and medium appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities of the individual with the disability. (OCR 09-97-2002.RES) • For example, if a website is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for other users, the information must be available that way for the visually impaired student. • In the recent DOJ document, Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities, DOJ does not discuss the effectively communicate standard.

18. Technology and Universal Design Simply Good Teaching Techniques 1. Equitable/Accessible Use 2. Flexibility In Use (choice of teaching methods) 3. Simple and Intuitive (straight forward and predictable manner) 4. Perceptive Information (can be communicated effectively) 5. Tolerance for Error 6. Low Physical Effort (allow greater attention to learning) 7. Size and Space (with safety measures) 8. Community of learners (interaction and group work) 9. Welcoming and Inclusive (consider room set up)

19. Tips for Faculty • Instructors should speak clearly, to verbally label digressions and examples, and to use transitions to signal topic changes and relationships • Leave important projected or chalkboard text, diagrams, and charts in view long enough for the note taker to copy them or to provide handouts • Write numbers and difficult or foreign names and vocabulary on the board or provide a classroom handout with a numbered list (for easier reference) of these items

20. Technology: OCR May 26th 2011 Dear Colleague Letter • As the use of emerging technologies in the classroom increases, schools at all levels must ensure equal access to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of the technology for all students, including students with disabilities.

21. OCR On Determining Whether Emerging Technology Is Accessible (FAQ Cont.) • Consider accessibilityup front • Plan how the technology will be used • Create accessibility requirements • Ask: • What educational opportunities and benefits the school provides through the use of the technology? • How will the technology provide these opportunities and benefits? • Can it be modified or does the technology exist in a format that is timely, equally effective, and equally accessible to individuals with disabilities?

22. OCR’S Four Key Principles To Determine Accessibility 1. The exchange of information is fundamental to education, therefore all students must have equal access. 2. Every program and activity in the institution is covered by ADA/504. 3. If information is provided via computer, it must be effectively availableto all students. 4. Priorities to be taken into account include timeliness, flexibility, independence for the user, and integration (not only in one place on a campus).

23. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking  (December 8, 2011) • http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/refresh/draft-rule.htm • E201 Application • E201.1 Scope.ICT that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by agencies shall conform to these requirements.

24. Consider Multiple Accessibility Issues • Vision impaired or low vision – Describe images, pictures, tables in text or in audio for the student, • Hearing Impaired or Deaf Students – Captions or transcripts • Mobility Impairments – Time response can be difficult, browsers must support keyboard alternatives for mouse commands, and formats that cannot be ‘tabbed’ thru can be difficult or impossible, and • Cognitive Impaired – Text to audio, distracting visual, silence audio, language used is unnecessarily complex, there is a lack of graphics or there is lack of clear and consistent organization of materials.

25. 402.2 Speech Enabled. 402.3 Volume Control. 402.4 Characters. 403 Biometrics. 405 Flashing. 407.2 Contrast.  407.3 Tactilely Discernible. 407.3.1 Identification. 407.4 Key Repeat. 407.5 Numeric Keys.  407.6 Timed Response.  407.7 Status Indicators. 407.8 Color.  407.9 Operation.  407.10 Privacy.  407.11 Receipts, Tickets, and Transactional Outputs. Closed Functionality

26. What Do Faculty Need to Know About Teaching with Technology? • Their own current IT skills • A Plan for remediation if/where necessary • Relationship between technology and knowledge representation • Functions and structures of learning delivery/management systems and Web 2.0 tools • Accessible Features in Learning Delivery Systems • How to create accessible documents • How to facilitate effective accessible Communication

27. PROBLEMATIC FEATURES BLACKBOARD WEB CT LIVE TEXT Other Assessments Yes Yes Yes Yes Assignments Yes Yes Yes Yes Attachments Yes No Yes No Real-time chat feature Yes Yes No Yes Color contrast Yes No Yes Yes Discussion board Yes Yes No No Documents Yes Yes Yes Yes E-mail Yes Yes No Yes Graphics Yes No No Yes Maintenance Yes No No Yes Modifying text Yes No No No Navigation Yes Yes Yes Yes Recordings Yes No Nc No Security Yes Yes Yes Yes Sighted assistance required Yes Yes Yes Yes Technical support Yes Yes Yes No Timed graded activities Yes No No Yes Training Yes No No Yes Videos Yes No No Yes Note: “Yes” indicates the feature is problematic lor that particular type of online “No” Indicates the feature is not problematic I Campus Delivery Systems

28. PROBLEMATIC FEATURESSCREEN READINGSCREEN MAGNIFICATION SOFTWARE SOFTWARE Assements Yes Yes Assignments Yes Yes Attachments Yes No Real Time Chat Yes Yes Color contrast No Yes Discussion board Yes Yes Documents Yes Yes E mail Yes Yes Graphics Yes No Maintenance Yes No Modifying text No Yes Navigation Yes Yes Recordings Yes No Security Yes No Sighted assistance required Yes Yes Technical support Yes Yes Time graded activities Yes Yes Training Yes Yes VideosYes Yes Note “Yes” indicates the feature indicates the feature was problematic for that particular type of assistive technology “No” indicates the feature was not problematic for that particular type of assistive technology Campus Delivery Systems by Type of Technology

29. Accessible Word Documents • Style Sheets provide the ability to: • Create a consistent appearance throughout the document • Provide clear navigation for the reader of a document • Maintain the document structure and appearance wherever and whenever is displayed, including when it is exported to a different document formal • Automatically create a table of contents for the document that includes numbers, hyperlinks, or both • Provide better accessibility

30. Text Formats • Rich text format (.rtf), however, rtf retains most of the document features created in Word. It will probably be readable by wordprocessors and interfaces effectively with assistive technology • Plain text (.txt) format strips out all graphics and formatting, keeping just theunadulterated text—no extra space between lines or paragraphs and no formatting to identify headings often used by Web developers

31. Text Considerations • Typeface: A simple, crisp font requires less visual processing to understand,which means Sans Serif fonts such as Verdana are the best choice. • Font Size: Headings should be more prominent than body copy, and higher-level are typicallylarger than lower-level ones. Avoid font smaller than 10 • Color:Color aloneshould not be used to convey Information, as some colors cannot be distinguished by people who are color blind.

32. Text Considerations (Cont.) • Line Spacing:People who have problems visually processing information benefit from more blank space. Using line and a half spacing may enable these people to decode information better. • Line Length:Some readers with learning disabilities have trouble tracking long lines as do many people without disabilities. • Insert Table of Contents: Remove Table of Contents Save Selection to Table of Contents Gallery

33. Making Images ln Word Accessible • Problem: Including an image in your course content cannot be seen by someone using a screen reader unless you add an alternative description. • Solution: Add the alt tag with text to make sure it's accessible as follows: • Right-click on the image. • Select the format future option, • Click the Alt Text tab • Type in your description and clickthe Close button. • Now a screen reader will see that label when the pointer is over the descriptive label.

34. Example: Michigan State University • http://webaccess.msu.edu/tutorials/accessible-word-documents.html

35. Accessible PowerPoints: Features toAvoid • Text Boxes • Are often lost when exported • Animations • Are also lost when exported • Can confuse users with learning disabilities • Can cause screen readers to crash • Slide transitions • Wipes, fades, and other slide transitions cause similar problems

36. Accessible PowerPoint Features toAvoid (Cont.) • Automatic Timing • PowerPoint allows you to preset the interval that run by themselves but it is best to let the user choose the pace. • Hyperlinks and Buttons • Embedded hyperlinks do not work with screen reading software.

37. Accessible PowerPoints • Organize Content in a logical manner • Use simple language to avoid ambiguity and needless complexity • Avoid excessive brevity • Use legible type (Verdana or Sans Serif) • Contrast between background and foreground • Leave ample white space • If too dense may take more concentration than most people possess

38. Accessible PowerPoints • Slide Show timings automatically program from slide to slide. • There are advantages in allowing a person to manually control slide advancement. • Note:An application called LecShare Pro provides an alternate way to record “null” online PowerPoint slide shows. Trial and other versions can be down loaded from www.lecshare.com.

39. Captioning a Narrated Slide Show • Problem:No simple way to provide captioning for users with hearing impairments within a narrated PowerPoint show • Solution:Add the narration in the notes area of an unwarranted version and publish the file to Word, selecting the option to include notes and slides

40. Example: University of Washington Access IT and Doit • http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?28 • http://www.washington.edu/doit

41. Accessible PDF’s • From within the application where the document has been created • Through Adobe Acrobat or a similar program designed for this and related tasks • By scanning a hard copy and saving the image as a PDF file • Creating a PDF from an Electronic Document • Adobe Acrobat (Help) • Microsoft offers a free add-in for Office 2007 that enables you to create accessible pdf’s. • Once installed, it adds the PDF file type in the Save As dialog box.

42. Accessible PDF’s • Another add-in for Word is the PDF Accessibility Wizard Technologies which will check the PDF for accessibility and step-by-step, through the process to make the necessary correct Word document. • The Adobe Web site has a wide range of information on Acrobat and accessibility at www.adobe.com/accessibility/index.html. This site also information on how to create accessible Flash content.

43. Scanning a Hard-Copy Document to a PDF • Problem:Scanning a document creates a picture file document, not a text document that a screen reader will be unable to read. • Solution: The scanning software should also provide the ability to run optical character recognition (OCR) on the file so it will include both the picture of the document and the software's bell "guess" at the text it represented. • Some scanner software will even send the document directly to a word processor so that it can be distributed in that format.

44. Example: Cal State • http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/tutorials/pdf.shtml

45. Converting a Word Document to a Web Page • Both Word 2003 and 2007 let you save a Word document as a Web page using three options: • Single File Web Page • Web Page • Web Page, Filtered • Dreamweaver includes a feature for cleaning up Word HTML code. • If yourWord document includes headings and All Text tags, and is correctly uploaded to the system and identified as HTML, accessibility features should be saved. • www.virtual508.comAccessible Wizard walks you step by step through Web accessibility features to any Office document.

46. Example: WebAim • http://webaim.org/search/?q=convert+a+word+document+to+a+webpage&x=62&y=10

47. UCONN E-Tools • http://www.udi.uconn.edu/index.php?q=content/e-toolbox (grant funded) • Faculty Use: • Development • Delivery • MS wordhighlight with comments are helpful • Adobe Acrobat comments are excellent. Can put comments by students and by professor. Written and audio notes possible. Insert by using the Audio commenting feature by to the audio feature.  • Assessment • Grading rubric. Helps them to determine weight for attendance or assignments etc. examines the purpose.

48. Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 - Comment Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 - Extracting PDFs Audacity Apple Keynote - Audio Apple Keynote - Notes Apple Keynote - Presentation Mode BioAlive Camtasia Feeds Flash Fotobabble Google Docs Inspiration Jing MS Word - AutoSummary MS Word - Comment MS Word - Highlight MS Word - Outline Podcasts PowerPoint - Audio Narrations PowerPoint - Notes PowerPoint - Pictures PowerPoint - Presentation Mode YouTube E-Tools Instructional Supports and Materials For Course Content

49. Textbooks: DAISY Format • Solution: DAISY—Digital Accessible Information System—is a standard for digital talking books. • Offers superior navigation and document control • Note: Congress recently mandated that publishers of K-12 textbooks must make them available in an electronic format and specified that the National InstructionalMaterials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) format be used. NIMAS is a stripped-down version of DAISY.

50. Quality Control Checklist • Check the script for: • Timing captions coincides with associated audio • Continuity • Accuracy • Pronunciation • Flow • Spelling • Sound effects (applause, other additional audio)