Distance Learning: How Accessible Are Online Educational Tools

Got the Back-to-School Blues? More and more schools, colleges and universities are using online educational tools that students are required to use to obtain course syllabi, access lectures and associated material, participate in class discussions, read course material, and receive grades and feedback from instructors. These popular tools, such as Blackboard, can frequently pose significant barriers to students with vision loss because they do not work well, if at all, with computer programs commonly used by students who are blind or visually impaired to read content displayed on the computer screen. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is exploring ways in which these popular online educational tools can be made more accessible, but we need your help. If you are a student who has used, or is currently being asked to use, such online educational tools, a family member or friend of such a student, or a teacher who has experience with such online tools, please tell us your story. What is the name of the online educational tool(s) with which you have experience? On a scale of 1 to 5, how accessible/usable do you think these tools are? How accessible are these tools? 1. No successful use/access 2. Unreliable/inconsistent 3. Doable with patience/effort 4. Fairly usable with some quirks 5. Accessible without difficulty Describe the kinds of difficulties experienced when using these tools. What features seem to be usable? What features pose the most problems? What access technology (such as screen reader programs) are you using to access these online tools? AFB is exploring how we might work with the providers of such online educational tools and the institutions that purchase them to improve their accessibility and usability. If we may contact you to discuss your experience and/or your interest in participating in this effort, please give us your contact information. Name City; State E-mail Telephone number with area code