Web Design to Accommodate SLD Students

Web Design to Accommodate SLD Students

According to Robin Cook and Marsha Gladhart, in their article, "A Survey of Online Instructional Issues and Strategies for Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities:"

Instructors who create their own Web sites to enhance or encompass their course materials need to be aware of accessibility guidelines for online instruction (Paciello, 2000). While most of the guidelines are a matter of basic design, few educators learning how to create their own Web pages are familiar enough with Web design or the myriad needs of students with disabilities to be able to meet the standards. (Schmetzke, 2001)

The following are some resources to help educators develop more effective Web sites.

WebAIM, a Web site designed to improve Web accessibility for people with SLD's, offers a Web accessibility checklist based on Tech Act, Section 508, standards, tutorials on how to meet these standards, as well as a simulation of how users with a cognitive impairment such as a learning disability might view your web site
"The Center for Applied Special Technology provides a Web service (Bobby) that helps authors identify and repair accessibility problems with their Web pages (Cast, 2000). Further, faculty can consult accessibility standards issued in December 2000 by the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, which are consistent with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 2000). These standards identify electronic and information technology as covered by the above Act, as well as technical and functional performance criteria necessary for such technology to be rendered accessible" (Adobe, 2001).

Poorly designed Web sites take extreme persistence and/or physical and mental effort to navigate. The following table outlines some typical navigation problems and suggestions for correcting these problems. While these solutions can be particularly useful for students with specific disabilities, these suggestions are generally helpful for any Web user.

Adapting Web Content for Students with Learning Disabilities
Problem	Solution
Using color to emphasize points and to add motivation	Keep colors and fonts simple to avoid distracting users
Dark backgrounds with low contrast font color	Use only high contrast background and text Keep background graphics simple
Using frames to organize Web pages	Use tables instead so screen readers can read from left to right
Long text documents in small print	Provide graphic organizers to guide users through the text Divide long documents into hyperlinked pages Provide a table of contents or site map to show how information is organized
Complex tables and graphs	Provide textual descriptions
Crowded hyperlinks	Use graphic links or separate text links with line breaks
Media requiring special software	Provide links to Web sites where software can be downloaded
Animation and flashing graphics	Keep these minimal to avoid distracting users Provide textual information to supplement content conveyed by animation
Changing navigation bars or buttons from page to page	Develop one navigation scheme and stick to it
Graphic dense pages	Provide link to text version and update both versions

Return to "Accommodating SLD's" main page

_________________
Information taken from
Cook, Robin A. and Marsha A. Gladhart "A Survey of Online Instructional Issues and Strategies for Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities." Information Technology and Disabilities EASI 8.1 (2002). 5 March 2002 <http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd/itdv08n1/cook_gladhart.htm>.