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Integrating digital libraries and VLEs in higher & further education
Universal accessibility
It is part of the DiVLE vision that resources should be accessible to the widest possible range of users, but recent legislation means that providers of educational resources are now obliged to consider access issues for the disabled. It is also necessary to consider accessibility in the wider sense, for example in relation to the needs of off-campus students.
We recommend the following:
- Follow appropriate guidelines (see links below).
- Accessibility issues should form an integral part of user testing of
products and services.
- Validate using online validation software....
- .... but be aware of the limitations of accessibility-checking software. This means it is necessary to assess aspects of accessibility manually and to test with users.
- Despite the apparent dominance of Internet Explorer, browsers are not standard - test with a wide range of browsers.
- The issue of accessibility in a wider sense, for example in relation
to the needs of off-campus students, should not be forgotten and may
require particular attention.
- Many vendor products do not comply with accessibility standards. We
recommend that all such instances should be recorded and that
feedback to the JISC and to the vendor on this point be encouraged.
Additional Resources
- TechDis aims to improve
provision for disabled staff and students in higher and further
education through technology.
- The World Wide Web Consortium has a Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines which are a good definitive
source, but quite formal in approach.
- A more accessible checklist
is included with these guidelines.
- A quick summary of the W3C guidelines, is available on their Quick Tips
page.
- Also very useful are the Making Connections Unit's
Guidelines for Building an Accessible Web Site , which are
extensive and informative. (They are on one long page, and really
intended to be used by printing them off.)
- The CETIS site has a number of resources on Making VLEs Accessible , including links to studies of access with several commercial VLEs.
CERLIM's work on accessibility and usability includes: