[WG: Accessibility] FW: Sakai is being recognized as "taking accessibility seriously" on the WebAIM e-mail list

[Michael S Elledge]

Hi All--

Several LMS products have received certification from NFB, including 
Desire2Learn and Blackboard:

http://secure.nfb.org/nfbnva/public/certifiedsites.aspx

It seems like this something Sakai should look into, since not having 
certification will put it at a competitive disadvantage; NFB will do a 
free review btw.

More information about testing can be found at this address:
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/certification_criteria.asp?SnID=2043227788

Mike

On 12/11/2010 12:25 PM, Nate Angell wrote:
> Brian/Mary:
>
> I agree with Eli: thanks for sharing!
>
> My takeaway from this is that whatever Sakai's actual accessibility,
> our approach to accessibility is correct: to be open and thorough.
> Just putting a stamp on software certifying a complex characteristic
> like accessibility is not the same thing as having an ongoing, open
> and deep engagement with it.
>
> - Nate
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 9:21 AM, Eli Cochran<eli at media.berkeley.edu>  wrote:
>> Brian,
>> Thanks for sharing that. I'm spreading a little wider.
>>
>> - Eli
>>
>> On Dec 9, 2010, at 9:10 AM, Richwine, Brian L wrote:
>>
>>> Mary found this encouraging take on the Sakai Community on a WebAIM e-mail list:
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Stores, Mary A.
>>> Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 11:55 AM
>>> To: Richwine, Brian L; Londergan, M D; Humbert, Joseph A
>>> Subject: Sakai is being recognized as "taking accessibility seriously" on the WebAIM e-mail list
>>>
>>> Is there anything I should say to them? I'm happy to do something.
>>>
>>> Mary
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Forwarded message from deborah.kaplan at suberic.net -----
>>>     Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 11:47:14 -0500 (EST)
>>>     From: deborah.kaplan at suberic.net
>>> Reply-To: WebAIM Discussion List<webaim-forum at list.webaim.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Accessible SCORM Compliant E-Learning Software
>>>       To: WebAIM Discussion List<webaim-forum at list.webaim.org>
>>>
>>> Sam asked:
>>>
>>> "I am looking for a SCORM compliant e-learning software and authoring tool that is accessible. Ideally, both the authoring tools and the courses they produce should be accessible."
>>>
>>> And Michael Langum responded:
>>>
>>> "Don't forget that an accessible course is only half the issue.
>>> You (or you client) will also need to ensure that your Learning Management System (LMS) is also accessible."
>>>
>>> I will also add, the classes are only accessible as the course designers make them. No matter how much accessibility is built into the learning management system, if the professor/course designer puts up videos without captions, flash without accessibility, and images without alternative text. Training your faculty/course designers is a huge part of making sure your classes are accessible.
>>>
>>> (Also, kudos for making sure that both the authoring tools and the courses be accessible -- many course designers have accessibility needs as well! As do the LMS administrators, so make sure that the administration tools are also accessible.)
>>>
>>> In any case, I've been very impressed with both Moodle and Sakai, fairly unimpressed with Blackboard, and exceedingly unimpressed with Angel. The latter two obfuscate what they mean by accessibility and what their accessibility efforts are. Moodle and Sakai, on the other hand, both take accessibility very seriously and are very open about what they mean by accessibility and what their efforts are:
>>>
>>> http://docs.moodle.org/en/Moodle_Accessibility_Specification
>>> http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/2ACC/Sakai's+Current+Accessibility
>>>
>>> My favorite part of the Moodle accessibility specification is at
>>> <http://docs.moodle.org/en/Moodle_Accessibility_Specification#Rationale_for_Moodle_accessibility>:
>>> the legal, moral, and market argument for taking accessibility seriously.
>>>
>>> -Deborah
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> To manage your subscription, visit http://list.webaim.org/ Address list messages to webaim-forum at list.webaim.org
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- End forwarded message -----
>>>
>>>
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>> . . . . . . . . . . .  .  .   .    .      .         .              .                     .
>>
>> Eli Cochran
>> manager of user experience design
>> user interaction developer
>> Educational Technology Services, UC Berkeley
>>
>> "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
>>     - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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