EASI is the Premiere Provider of Online
Training
on Accessible Information Technology for Persons with Disabilities
reaching more than 5,000 people in over 3 dozen countries since 1993.
EASI simplifies the creation of accessible information technology
so you can better focus on designing creative content.
E-learning is spreading rapidly across colleges, universities, schools, businesses and government agencies. In the beginning, most institutions gave little if any attention to making their systems accessible to students and staff with disabilities, several projects are now underway to make these systems accessible to users with disabilities. These activities have been funded by different agencies and there is a need for a central place to provide awareness of and access to these resources. EASI hopes that this Web page will help fill the gap. Accessible e-learning has been a major concern for EASI for more than a decade, and we have contributed to this work both with written papers, conference presentations and Internet-based activities.
What Is E-learning Accessibility?
Many still are asking, "What is accessible e-learning?" Addressing this important, basic question is the place to begin exploring how to make e-learning systems fully accessible to everyone.
What Is Courseware Accessibility
Accessible e-learning has TWO major components: making the interface accessible and making the actual content it holds also accessible. Courseware or Learning Management Systems have made significant strides towards making the courseware interface accessible. When making system purchases, institutions need to examine each vendor's claims carefully.
On the face of it, producing accessible course content requires having the content producer create content that complies with either the WAI guidelines or with Section 508 standards. However, courseware systems enable faculty to create and post content without knowing HTML and certainly withouth learning accessible HTML. There is a need to provide simple directions for faculty using software such as Word or Powerpoint to create Web output that is reasonably accessible.
Publications and Presentations On Accessible E-learning
Conferences and publications have carried a number of materials on various aspects of e-learning accessibility. We have selected some of these we believe will be useful to our readers.
Webcasts and Media On Accessible E-learning
Multimedia presentations on Web e-learning is becoming common. We have selected several multimedia presentations that focus on accessible e-learning.
Policy and Legislation On Accessible E-learning
Legislation is increasingly taking the requirements of providing access to e-learning seriously. Similarly, e-learning providers are developing their own policies to guide them in creating systems that are accessible to users with disabilities.Multimedia Accessibility In E-learning
One of the more important and more complex aspects of e-learning to design for accessibility is multimedia content itself. Computers and the Web have become increasingly dominated by media, and course designers are including it in courses. Multimedia can be fully accessible, and it is important to learn how to do it. Designing it with accessibility from the beginning is crucial. Frequently, it cannot be built in later.
Courses and Tutorials On Accessible E-learning
EASI has created online activities to help designers create accessible e-learning. This page will point to these and to many other resources exist on the Web.
Networking On Accessible E-learning
One of the most powerful aspects of the Web is the ability it provides for people to meet and network with others with similar interests and concerns. EASI has a listserv on accessible information technology which includes considerable information on accessible e-learning.