There is a growing trend on websites in education and elsewhere toward providing a navigational system that includes dynamic menus, menus that expand as users point to them with the mouse. Proponents of dynamic menus argue that they reduce page clutter and provide a familiar, organized interface to a website, comparable to that of most software applications.
One of the more challenging tasks facing web developers is creating accessible online forms, particularly forms that are accessible to screen reader users. This is partly because there are a variety of form control types—text, checkboxes, radio buttons, menus, and others—each with its own distinct accessibility challenges. It is also because different screen readers handle these form control types in different and somewhat unpredictable ways.
According to the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 2.0:
A user agent is any software that retrieves, renders and facilitates end-user interaction with web content. User agents include web browsers, media players, add-ons (plug-ins & extensions), and web applications that help in retrieving, rendering and interacting with web content.
A touch screen is a computer display screen that is sensitive to human touch, allowing a user to interact with the computer by touching pictures or words on the screen.
Multimedia can be an engaging instructional tool. Multimedia is increasingly delivered to students through CDs, DVDs, and streaming videos on the web. Multimedia, however, must be captioned and audio-described in order to avoid creating accessibility barriers for some individuals, including those with hearing impairments and those with blindness.
AccessComputing's Promising Practices tell how to deliver a variety of activities that serve to increase the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields. Activities include capacity-building institutes for faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders; strategies for creating or including accessible technology and materials, and outreach activities such as camps and workshops that fully include participants with disabilities.
At the Pathways to Success for Students with Invisible Disabilities Capacity Building Institute (CBI), held at Landmark College from April 8 – 9, 2013, a panel of Landmark faculty members discussed several different technologies that can be helpful to students with invisible disabilities, including learning disabilities, attention deficits, and autism spectrum disorders. Listed below are some panelist suggestions.
Assistive technology is technology used by individuals with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. Assistive technology can include mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs, as well as hardware, software, and peripherals that assist people with disabilities in accessing computers or other information technologies.
Undergraduate research can provide important and meaningful experiences for students in fields that include those in science and engineering. Research internships present opportunities for undergraduates to gain an exposure to research and consider whether they are interested in research careers and graduate school.
Following are examples of programs that allow undergraduate students with disabilities to become involved in research:
The audio content of multimedia presentations is inaccessible to people who are unable to hear. If there is content presented auditorially, the accessibility solution is captioning that provides a synchronized text alternative to the audio track. For additional general information about captioning, see How do I make multimedia accessible?
