edet 755 annotated bib

7/28/2019 EDET 755 Annotated Bib

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Abigail Magaro

EDET 755

Research Synthesis

June 25, 2013

Accessibility Issues with Online Learning

Online learning is a technological advancement in our society that will only

expand. One problem that continues to arise during online learning is accessibility.

Accessibility in online education means that all students have the equal opportunity

to gain the same information and experience. With disabilities such as blindness or

deafness, participating in an online course can be difficult if accessibility is an issue.

The following research articles discuss the issues facing accessibility in online

education as well as the laws that are in place to ensure the learning experience is

fulfilled.

Accessibility for the Visually Impaired

Asuncion, J., Chwojka, C., Barile, M., Ferrero, V., Fitchten, C., Klomp, R., Nguyen, M., &

Wolforth, J. (2009). Disabilities and e-learning problems and solutions: An

exploratory study . Educational Technology and Society, 12(4), 241-256.

Retrieved from http://www.adaptech.org/cfichten/abDisabilitiesAndE-

LearningProblems.pdf

This study goes in depth to determine the barriers facing students in secondary

education who use online learning. The first issue the most of the participants faced

was the inaccessible web pages that their screen readers could not read. Second

was the audio and video components. If a student was blind, they were not able to

see the video, so they relied on the audio. If a student was deaf, they had to rely on

the visual aspects of the video. However most of the videos did not include captions.

The study found that most online lectures which are commonly used in online

courses were not captioned and therefore inaccessible to deaf students. The study

provided adequate results and discussions about those results.

Babu, R. (2011). Developing an understanding of the nature of accessibility and

usability problems blind students face in web-enhanced instructional

environments. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), Available from ERIC.

(ED534223).

This doctoral study was conducted to address the accessibility and usability issuesfacing blind and visually impaired students using online education. The barriers

that the authored discovered included but were not limited to images, tables, and

anchors that did not meet the standards set forth by the Web Content Accessibility

Guidelines. The study provides a procedure to determine the accessibility and

usability of an online course for students with visual disabilities.


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Hamilton, F., King, N., & Petrie, H. (n.d.). Tension, what tension? website accessibility

and visual design.

This article not only disputes the theory that if materials for an online class are

accessible to the visually impaired, they are unappealing to students without

disabilities, but introduces case studies to verify their statements. The authors state

that making a webpage accessible should be seen as a challenge rather than aconstraint to web developers.

Rainger, P. (2005). Accessibility and mobile learning. In A. Kukulska-Hulme & J.

Traxler (Eds.), Mobile Learning: A handbook for educators and

trainersRetrieved from

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=g50i6p7Ox2wC&oi=fnd&pg=

PR1&dq=accessibility issues to online learning &ots=Js0eNVDlLy&sig=_Y-

pfq6LW9X6duhucw71k57S6GQ

This chapter discusses the accessibility factor along with mobile learning. The

author first discusses the principle of universal design for learning. Online learning

puts more constraints on the visually impaired seeing as how more accessibilityfactors need to be taken into place for a blind student. The author indicates that

ensuring accessibility for all students means providing the same learning experience

across the board.

Slatin , J. (2001). The art of alt: Toward a more accessible web. Computer and

Composition, 18, 73-81. Retrieved from

http://www.mua_att.thaicyberu.go.th/courseware/acc01/pdfs/Art of

ALT.pdf

This article starts by stating the four crucial parts to the article, and then by

discussing the web content accessibility guidelines. For users who are not familiar

with those guidelines, this article is a perfect find. The article goes on to say that thegoals of creating a rich learning experience should be available to all users,

regardless of disabilities. Providing ALT text within a web page allows visually

impaired students to not only know what image they cannot see, but the ALT text

should serve as a function, meaning the description should serve a purpose, not

merely describing what the image is.

Sloan, D. (n.d.). Creating accessible e-learning content. In L. Phipps, A. Sutherland &

J. Seale (Eds.),Access all areas: Disability, technology, and learning (pp. 35-

41). Retrieved from http://assist-it.org.uk/assets/pdf/AAA.pdf

Chapter 8 in this book details the issues facing the visually impaired and make sure

all web pages are accessible. Not only are issues such as screen readers not beingable to read a page and graphics not being viewable, but solutions to these issues

are also discussed. This chapter is a great tool to use because the author lists ways

to check to see if the content is accessible, and he also gives a list of free software

available for accessibility checks.

Rules and Regulations


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Asby, G., Blanck, P., Hansen, L., Klein, D., Michaelson, S., & Myhill, W. (2003).

Electronic doors to education: Study of high school website accessibility in

iowa. Wiley InterScience, Retrieved from

http://bbi.syr.edu/publications/blanck_docs/2003-

2004/electronic_doors_education.pdf

This article goes in depth with the laws that are in place to ensure that all studentsget an equal education regardless of their disabilities. The author indicates that the

main issue with web accessibility lies with the visually impaired students and their

inability to gather the same information from a mostly image related source. The

software required to view those images with ALT text are not always available to

students at school.

Dudley-Sponaugle, A., Greenidge, K., & Lazar, J. (2004). Improving web accessibility:

A study of webmaster perceptions. Computers in Human Behavior,20, 269-

288. Retrieved from

http://triton.towson.edu/~jlazar/webmaster_accessibility.pdf

This research study is based by a survey that was given to web developers askingthem of their knowledge about web accessibility. Of the 175 participants in the

survey, only 43 stated that their websites were in compliance with the governments

regulations on accessibility, even though 129 stated they knew what the regulations

were. Its surprising to me that the majority of the participants know about the

regulations, yet less than half dont follow them.

Hackett, S., & Parmanto, B. (2005). A longitudinal evaluation of accessibility: Higher

education web sites. Internet Research, 15(3), 281-294. Retrieved from

http://www.hari.pitt.edu/Portals/0/internetresearch.pdf

In this study the authors indicate that with the development of more complex web

design, more barriers are being discovered with web accessibility. I found itinteresting that in their study, even though there are laws in place that require

website be accessible to all, there were government sites that did not meet the

correct standards required by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Opitz, C. (2002). Online course accessibility: A call for responsibility and necessity .

AACE Journal, Retrieved from editlib.org

This article discusses the legal rights for students with disabilities who are enrolled

in online courses as well as the technologies available to assist those students. The

author states that when some materials are not accessible to students with

disabilities, they are not getting the education they paid for and are therefore having

their rights revoked. In the article I think it was great that the author addressedusing WebAIM as a tool to web accessibility.

Schmetzke, A. (2001). Online distance education: Anytime, anywhere, but not for

everyone. Information Technology and Disabilities Journal, 7(2), Retrieved

from http://easi.cc/itd/volume7/number2/axel.html

This study indicates the reasons behind making online courses accessible for all.

Not only does the law demand accessibility, but it is simply the right thing to do.


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The study reveals that out of 219 sites, only 15% of the homepages were fully

accessible to all viewers. This study provides the information needed and

quantitative data needed to determine the major accessibility issues facing the web.

Wattenberg, T. (2004). Beyond legal compliance: Communities of advocacy that

support accessible online learning. Internet and Higher Education, 7, 123-139.Retrieved from

http://www.rank06.thaicyberu.go.th/courseware/acc01/pdfs/Beyond legal

compliance.pdf

The authors of this article state that with the evolution of technology more

opportunities are available for the disabled. Higher education being one of them.

Colleges and universities have been in compliance with the ADA and offer

specialized services, including making course materials accessible and offering

instruction on assistive technologies. People with disabilities are more unlikely to

have internet than their peers making it hard to achieve a higher education.

Accessibilities and Accommodations Regarding Other Disabilities

Burgstahler, S., Corrigan , B., & McCarter, J. (2004). Making distance learning courses

accessible to students and instructors with disabilities: A case study. The

Internet and Higher Education, 233-246. Retrieved from

http://courseware.thaicyberu.go.th/courseware/acc01/pdfs/Making

courses acccessible.pdf

This case study discusses certain benchmarks that are required in order to make

sure an online course is accessible to all students, regardless of their disability. The

authors state that in many cases accommodations to accessibility are made when a

student with a disability enrolls in the class. The institutions used in this study

follow this procedure because it is financially beneficial to them. The authors finalnotes indicate that online learning can be beneficial to everyone if the accessibility

issues are handled during the design process and not wait until it is needed.

Debevc, M., Kosec, P., & Holzinger , A. (2010). Improving multimodel web

accessibility for deaf people: Sign language interpreter module . Multimedia

Tools and Applications, 54(1), 181-199.

The author indicates that a lot of web content is not friendly towards the deaf. A

solution was thought of to add sign language into media content. Most videos take

up the entire screen. If a small portion of the screen was dedicated to supplying an

interpreter who signs the spoken words, students who are deaf would be able to

gain the same amount of information as their non deaf peers.

Koppi, T., & Pearson, E. (n.d.). Inclusion and online learning opportunities: Designing

for accessibility. Retrieved from

http://www.researchinlearningtechnology.net/index.php/rlt/article/viewFi

le/11398/13094

This article details some accessibility issues with online learning for students with

disabilities. The article states guidelines that every web developer should follow in


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order for the course to be accessible to everyone. Questions that were asked to web

developers included Is the content page including organization, headings, and lists

consistent? For accessibility purposes, a student with visual impairments who

might be using a screen reader would have a lot of issues if the page lacked headings

and organization.

Zeng, X. (1997). Evaluation and enhancement of web content accessibility for persons

with disabilities . (Unpublished doctoral dissertation)Retrieved from

http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7311/1/XiaomingZeng_April2004.pdf

This study discusses the many issues facing web accessibility. According to the

author, web developers need to make sure the content, browsers, and media players

support the assistive technologies needed in order to view the material in order for

it to be deemed accessible. The author then continues by identifying the laws that

are put into place to ensure all web based content is accessible.

Other

Berge, Z., & Muilenburg, L. (2005). Student barriers to online learning: A factor

analytic study. Distance Education,26(1), 29-48. Retrieved from

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/simonec/public/Motivation retention

articles/Articles/Muilenberg_StudentBarriersToOnlineLearning.pdf

Learning in an online course setting is quite different than learning in the classroom

setting. This article is a study that takes a look at the individual differences in

outcomes for online learners. The accessibility for learners to interact with each

other was the biggest barrier facing the students involved in the study. Support for

studies and learner motivation were close seconds. While face to face interaction is

limited in an online course, actions can be taken to make sure students interact with

each other and build that community.

Chrysostomou, S., Grinnell, R., Joordens, S., & Le, A. (2010). Online lecture

accessibility and its influence on performance in skills based courses.

Computer and Education, (55), 313-319. Retrieved from

http://lecturecast.utsc.utoronto.ca/documents/WebOption_CognitiveSkillsC

ourses_PerformanceDecline.pdf

This study decided to look at whether the use of their online lecture tools were

being put to good use and producing good performance outcomes. The study stated

that while there is a discrepancy between those to attended face to face lectures and

those who attended online, it might have been due to student motivation. While the

university acknowledges the benefits of online learning, those who are sitting athome watching the lecture might not be as cognitively committed as students who

actually go to the lecture.

Cooper , M. (2006). Making online learning accessible to disabled students: An

institutional case study. Research in Learning Technology, 14(1), 103-115.

Retrieved from ascilite.org.au [HTML] Online learning communities:

Investigating a design framework


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This article details the accessibility issues facing students of online education in

regards to what should be accessible. The term reasonable adjustments is used

frequently describing what materials should be accessible, and the answer is all of

them; paper-based, web-based, videos, images, and audio all need to be accessible

whether through accommodations to the actual materials or another form that

serves the same function. The question of who is responsible for making materialsaccessible arises in the article. The author states that it is ultimately up to the

institution to make their materials accessible along with the instructor to delegate

the appropriate accommodations. This article does a great job addressing the

responsibilities required of an online course and its accessibility to all students.

Kelly , B., Phipps , L., & Swift , E. (2004). Developing a holistic approach for e-

learning accessibilty. Canadian journal of learning and technology, 30,

Retrieved from

http://cjlt.csj.ualberta.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/138/131

The authors state many facts regarding accessibility issues within the online

learning community. The pedagogic issues particular stuck out to me. It is statedthat many feel that putting lecture notes or a video of a lecture constitutes as online

learning. This is a major accessibility issue. This article discusses the many ways in

which online learning instructors are not really teaching online, just facilitating their

materials online.

Conclusion

While I believe that equal accessibility for all will always be an issue with online

education, professional development and education will decrease its stress on those

who struggle. Instructors of online courses need to be taught the proper ways to

make documents, presentations, and modules accessible for all of their students.Not only should instructors know what types of accessibility issues face their

students, they should understand the assistive technologies that their students are

using for their course. I find it ridiculous that even though there are laws in place to

keep online information accessible for all, the laws are being broken and nothing is

being done about it. Web developers and instructors of online courses should make

their courses accessible in the beginning so that issues dont arise in the future. The

better educated online instructors are, the less likely it is for a student to fall

through the cracks of online accessibility.

edet 755 annotated bib

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