Researchers increasingly suggest that accessibility remains a prominent issue across the World Wide Web (www). This study raises awareness about issues of access in higher education. This qualitative research design utilized a listserv that invited university based webmasters to use freeware to evaluate the overall accessibility of their…

This article describes the process of designing the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site to illustrate both the principles and the practice of universal design for learning. How the Web site overcame barriers to learning, information representation, interaction and navigation, and engagement barriers is addressed. (CR)

This discussion of how technology can and should be incorporated into the design of instructional systems for the use of disabled learners emphasizes the importance of the instructional designer being aware of the characteristics of the target population, including the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective factors involved. A "user-oriented…

This paper makes the case that if e-learning research and development projects are to be successfully adopted in real-world teaching and learning contexts, then they must effectively address accessibility and usability issues; and that these need to be integrated throughout the project. As such, accessibility and usability issues need to be made…

In the accessible e-learning community there are very few original metaphors, theories and models that have been developed to try and describe, explain and develop "best" practice. This paper will explore the extent to which existing accessibility models can help to develop our conceptualisations of accessible e-learning practice, and outline a…

This executive summary of a research synthesis of information about assistive technology (AT) for school children with disabilities focuses on device characteristics as quality indicators of AT for manufacturers, clinicians, and consumers. It also provides an overview of AT use in the schools and how this use is determined or affected by the…

The importance of accessibility to digital e-learning resources is widely acknowledged. The World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative has played a leading role in promoting the importance of accessibility and developing guidelines that can help when developing accessible web resources. The accessibility of e-learning resources…

This report presents a synthesis of information about assistive technology (AT) characteristics, for the purpose of identifying design characteristics that contribute to the quality of AT devices used by school children with disabilities. The first section provides a brief overview of AT, including a definition. The second section describes…

A study was undertaken to explore program policies and practices related to the accessibility of American distance learning courses to qualified students with disabilities. A literature review was conducted, a draft list of accessibility indicators was created, examples of applications of the indicators in existing distance learning programs were…

Reports on part of a project aimed at creating tools for training teachers in the diagnostic and adaptation process of Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) systems for disabled children. Based on evaluation results the long-term objective is to add tutorial and coaching features to the system to be used in special-education training…

As educators' awareness of their responsibilities towards ensuring the accessibility of the learning environment to disabled students increases, significant debate surrounds the implications of accessibility requirements on educational multimedia. There would appear to be widespread concern that the fundamental principles of creating accessible…

Universal design for assessment (UDA) is intended to increase participation of students with disabilities and English-language learners in general education assessments by addressing student needs through customized testing platforms. Computer-based testing provides an optimal format for creating individually-tailored tests. However, although a…