For those working on information access issues, particularly education
access concerns.
kelly
Accessibility of Information in Electronic Textbooks For Students Who Are Blind
or Visually Impaired
A Report to the 75th Texas Legislature from the Texas Education Agency
* Overview
* History
* Accessibility of Information
+ What does accessibility mean?
+ The Need for Accessible Electronic Textbooks
+ Which Textbooks Should Be Made Accessible?
+ What must be made accessible?
* Direct Accessibility Versus Compatibility with Assistive
Technologies
+ Advantages of Direct or Built-In Accessibility
+ Advantages of Access Via Assistive Technologies
* Strategies for Making Electronic Textbooks Accessible
+ Variety of Formats And Media
+ General Accessibility Guidelines For Students Who Are Blind
or Visually Impaired
+ Compatibility Guidelines
* Accessibility of The Major Components of Electronic Textbooks
+ Text
+ Text Formatting And Hierarchy
+ Graphics
+ Navigational Systems
+ Hyperlinks
+ Expand And Collapse Features
+ Search Features
+ Sound
+ Fixed Sequence Animation And Movies
+ Interactive Animation And Simulations
+ Video Conferencing
+ Virtual Reality Environments
* Media-specific Strategies
+ Videotapes
+ Videodiscs
+ Multimedia Software
+ On-line Services And The Internet
* Costs
* Conclusions
* Recommendations
* Appendix A: Texas Task Force on Electronic Textbook Accessibility
+ Agency Textbook Accessibility Project Managers
* Appendix B: Additional Guidelines for Making Electronic Textbooks
Accessible to Individuals with a Wide Range of Disabilities
* Appendix C: Resources
* Glossary
Overview
This report on the Accessibility of Information in Electronic
Textbooks for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired was written
in response to a mandate from the 74th Texas Legislature to conduct a
study for the purpose of determining ways in which information
contained in electronic textbooks may be made available to students
who are blind or visually impaired. The report is based on the
findings of an agency task force organized for the specific purpose of
generating ideas and recommendations that reflect the interests of
several communities including students who are blind or visually
impaired, textbook publishers, media accessibility researchers,
software and hardware developers and teachers of the visually
impaired. Task force members are listed in Appendix A.
The report discusses the recent changes in the state textbook adoption
program in Texas, and the move from reliance solely on traditional,
print-based textbooks with comparable braille, large type or audiotape
textbook copies provided to students who are blind or visually
impaired to a wide variety of instructional media. These recently
available formats include but are not limited to computer software,
compact disks (CD-ROM), videotapes, interactive videodiscs, and
instructional materials downloaded from the Internet or the various
on-line services. These formats are not easily accessible to students
who are blind or visually impaired in that they require additional
adaptation beyond the braille, large type and audiotape versions
currently supplied by the agency.
The most common components of electronic textbooks which should be
made accessible to students and teachers who are blind or visually
impaired are described in the report. The report also summarizes the
types of information and delivery modes which must be made accessible
and analyzes how these electronic textbooks can be made accessible to
blind and visually impaired students as well as to students and
teachers with other disabilities.
Specific recommendations are included in the report. These encompass
design and implementation of demonstration projects to analyze
potential costs, processes, and timelines for developing accessible
electronic textbooks; and collaboration with experts in media
accessibility research, textbook publishers, software and hardware
developers and educators to develop minimum standards for new
electronic textbook submissions in Texas.
History
In 1989, the 71st Texas Legislature amended the textbook adoption
process to include electronic media. The expansion of the definition
of "textbook" to include product configurations that encompassed new
technology led to the submission of a variety of multimedia
instructional materials for state adoption. In subsequent years,
instructional materials were submitted in configurations that ranged
from teacher components only to more traditional student and teacher
components, in print or electronic format, or in electronic format
with supplemental teacher and student material in print format.
Electronic components in many state-adopted programs include computer
diskettes, CD-ROM, audio and videocassettes, and laser discs. More
recently, access to the Internet and on-line providers has expanded
rapidly as have opportunities to receive educational programming and
distance learning via satellite.
The Texas Education Agency has a long history of providing equal
access to state-adopted instructional materials for students who are
blind or visually impaired. Since 1955, the agency has worked with
various organizations to acquire textbooks in braille. With emerging
technology, the process of acquiring braille evolved from primarily
manual production to electronic production using publisher-provided
computer files specifically formatted for more rapid translation into
braille textbooks.
In 1991, the 72nd Texas Legislature required publishers of textbooks
adopted by the State Board of Education to furnish the agency with
computerized textbook files for the production of braille textbooks.
The Legislature also mandated formation of a commission to work with
textbook publishers on developing processes for converting publisher
textbook files into formats needed for speedy braille production. In
March 1993, this commission made a series of recommendations for
revisions to the process of braille textbook production. Subsequently,
the agency expanded the list of content areas for which textbooks
could be brailled electronically to include all literary subjects in
English and other languages. Currently, music and mathematics are
exempt from this list due to technical complications that arise in
brailling these subjects. Files supplied by the publishers were
standardized and the minimum standards for these file formats are
reviewed regularly to ensure that they are consistent with changes in
technology and improvements in the brailling process.
Also in 1991, a videodisc-based program called Windows on Science
became the first state-adopted electronic textbook in the nation. It
was followed in 1992 by three electronic programs from as many
educational publishers in the area of computer literacy, a required,
full-year course at grade seven or eight in Texas. Each of these three
programs included computer diskettes for Apple, Macintosh, or MS-DOS
computers, integrated commercial software, laser discs or videotapes,
and printed ancillaries. Subsequent electronic programs have been
adopted in chemistry, Science I and II, world geography, accounting,
economics, and other subject areas.
While expanding the range of learning opportunities for students
capable of using their visual and audio features, electronic textbooks
present new challenges to educators of students with visual
impairments or blindness. Articulation of the major challenges and a
series of recommendations to address them comprise the body of this
report.
Accessibility of Information
What does accessibility mean?
Accessibility refers to the freedom or ability of an individual to
obtain or make full use of a product or environment. A product is
accessible to an individual only if he or she is able to use it to
carry out all of the same functions and to achieve the same results as
individuals with similar skills and training who do not have
disabilities.
The Need for Accessible Electronic Textbooks
Consider these common classroom uses of technology:
* Elementary science students watch a videotape of an experiment
being performed.
* Middle school students manipulate commercial software
applications, which prepares them to use rapidly changing
technology in the workplace and in the society at large.
* High schoolers learn about thermodynamics through a full-motion
video segment recorded on a CD-ROM, then play interactive
chemistry "games" that score their manipulation of chemical
equations and formulas to solve real-life problems.
Now, focus on the students who are blind or visually impaired in these
same classrooms:
* A child who is blind cannot see the experiment being performed in
the elementary science classroom. There are no audible
descriptions to allow him or her to grasp the step-by-step
procedures nor to see their results. He or she cannot participate
in this portion of the instruction.
* Middle school students who are visually impaired are unable to
complete the assigned computer activities because the commercial
software is not compatible with available adaptive devices which
would permit the student to participate to some degree.
* High school students who are visually impaired cannot make use of
the full-motion video unit on thermodynamics because they cannot
see the information which is presented. Thus, they are excluded
from acquiring the information presented.
Each of these hypothetical scenarios demonstrates the need for
accessible electronic textbooks for all students. Obvious benefits are
that the students will:
* Perceive the information for which they could be held accountable.
* Respond to information in the textbooks and interact with the
information on a variety of levels.
* Learn from the information.
An accessible electronic textbook is one which allows students who
have disabilities to use the textbook and achieve the same intended
benefit as students who do not have disabilities. Moreover, they would
be able to achieve the benefit with approximately the same amount of
effort.
At a minimum, that means that the electronic textbooks should be:
* Perceivable. That is, the information which is presented in the
book must be available in a form which can be perceived by the
student. For example, if the student is blind then all of the
information which is presented visually in the book should be
available in another form such as audiotape which the student can
use.
* Operable and Navigable. That is, students should be able to orient
themselves and move within the electronic textbook. For example,
if a student is blind and the electronic textbook uses controls or
navigation aids which require eye-hand coordination, then an
alternate means for navigating the control would need to be
available, such as voice or keyboard control.
* Functional. That is, the textbook should provide the same function
or benefit to the individual with a disability as it would to
other students.
Which Textbooks Should Be Made Accessible?
Not all electronic instructional media can or should be made
accessible to students with visual impairments. However, the decision
as to whether to make the materials accessible cannot be based on
technological ease or cost. It should be based on a consideration of
the intended learning that is to be achieved from the particular
program, and a determination that the medium will support the same
instructional goals for students who are blind.
Textbooks that use graphic depictions and manipulation of the graphics
to teach concepts may not be appropriate instructional methodology for
someone without vision. For example, the electronic textbook might
teach the concept of the piston engine by presenting a visual
simulation of a model four-stroke engine where the user can manipulate
the components by using a touchscreen or a mouse to grab the flywheel
and turn it left and right in order to see how the pistons operate.
One might think it would be sufficient to associate a tone with the
position of the piston; as the individual used the arrow keys to
rotate the flywheel, a rising tone would indicate the rising position
of the piston. The individual could hear the piston going up until the
sound of an explosion was heard at the same time that the simulation
of the spark is given. The individual would then hear the piston tone
going back down. In a four-cycle engine, they could hear the valves
opening and the piston going up without an explosion, the exhaust
valve opening and closing as the intake valve opens. The auditory
sounds could be accompanied with a simple narration of the events as
they were happening.
However, with this type of adaptation, the student who is blind would
not achieve the same benefit as the other students. For him or her,
the unintended learning might be that a flywheel is a left/right
button. The noises would have no meaning unless they were the same as
those coming from a real piston engine that the student has directly
touched and manipulated. The student with a visual impairment; as well
as the student with normal vision; cannot learn the concepts
associated with a piston engine with noises and verbal descriptions,
nor would participation in this activity reinforce learning that was
achieved through other teaching strategies.
Selection of textbooks to be made accessible and the resulting
adaptation should be determined for students with visual impairments
only after careful analysis of the instructional goals of the program
by experts in the education of students with visual impairments.
What must be made accessible?
It is useful to look at the different elements of electronic textbooks
and to contrast them with the elements of traditional print textbooks,
which are used as a point of reference.
The Texas Education Code defines electronic textbook as "computer
software, interactive videodisc, magnetic media, CD-ROM, computer
courseware, on-line services, an electronic medium, or other means of
conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the
learning process through electronic means." (Sec. 31.002 (1)) This
definition defines only the physical delivery media (e.g., computer
software, videodisc, and CD-ROM) which are often inaccessible to
students with visual disabilities. However, if the electronic
textbooks are not properly designed, it is possible to create
electronic textbooks which are partially or completely inaccessible
and unusable by students who are blind or have visual impairments.
In order to discuss accessibility, it is important to provide a common
frame of reference. Many of the delivery media have common design and
formatting elements that must be made accessible. The print textbook
is an information delivery system with which most people are familiar
and, therefore, is used as a point of reference in this section.
A print textbook is made up of the following formatting and design
elements:
* Text. The unformatted words and punctuation that make up the
document.
* Text Formatting. Text formatting includes all of the attributes of
characters and words, such as bold, italics, underline, colored
lettering, or size. These different attributes provide the reader
with additional information, such as identifying words that are
new terms or the name of an important person, so that the print
textbook is not just a random collection of words. The words are
structured into meaningful units, such as sentences, paragraphs,
pages, sections, and chapters, as well as tables and lists.
* Graphics. Graphics include photographs, maps, charts,
illustrations, and diagrams. These may have text associated with
them, as with captions, or contain text embedded within the
graphic itself.
* Navigation Systems. Print textbooks have methods of finding
specific information within them, such as a table of contents,
different levels of heads (chapter, section, subsection), indices,
and page numbers. These navigation systems help the student find
specific information (text or graphic) in a print textbook.
Electronic textbooks are made up of these same formatting and design
elements as print textbooks-text, text formatting, graphics, and a
navigation system. These formatting and design elements are enhanced
because the information is provided electronically.
* Text. Text in electronic textbooks may be resized, or the font may
be changed to meet the reader's needs.
* Text Formatting. In addition to all of the attributes of printed
textbooks, text formatting in electronic textbooks may include
hyperlinks which can move the reader to other parts of the page or
book. A hyperlink is a segment of text (word or phrase), or an
inline image (an image displayed as part of a document) which
refers to another document (i.e., text, sound, image or movie)
elsewhere on the World Wide Web. When a hyperlink is activated or
selected, the referenced document is fetched from the World Wide
Web and is displayed appropriately.
* Graphics. The electronic versions of graphics may allow the image
to be expanded to fill the entire screen, or sections of the image
could be expanded to show detail.
* Navigation System. Electronic textbooks use techniques for finding
specific information within them, such as navigational maps,
tables of contents with hyperlinks, heading levels, indices, and
page numbers. The electronic textbook may also include a "search"
feature to find a specific word or phrase anywhere in the book.
These navigation systems help the student find specific
information (text or graphic) in the electronic textbook.
Electronic textbooks may also include the following elements, which
are not typical of print textbooks:
* Expand and Collapse Features. Electronic textbooks also have the
ability to expand or collapse their structure. For example, it is
possible to produce a document which would collapse down to its
major titles and subtitles. This makes it much easier to see the
overall structure and to navigate to a particular level in the
structure. Once that point is reached, it is possible to expand
the structure exposing all of the paragraphs at that point. It is
also possible to have a document which provides a cursory
treatment of all of the material, but which allows the student to
expand the information presented at any point in the document if
he or she requires additional information.
* Search Features. Search features provide users with the ability to
search documents and to jump immediately to any particular word or
phrase which is used. This capability also includes a "fuzzy"
search capability, which allows an individual to search, for
example, for the word "fish" and automatically find occurrences of
the word "fish," "fishing," "mackerel," "trout," and "perch."
* Sound. Electronic textbooks may include sound. Examples of this
auditory information include warning music, spoken words and
natural sounds such as a lion's roar.
* Fixed Sequence Animation and Movies. Electronic textbooks may
contain moving graphics. These may take the form of a simple
diagrammatic animation or a full-color, high-resolution, graphic
movie which may or may not be accompanied by sound.
* Interactive Animation and Simulations. Electronic textbooks may
contain visual graphic animation which can be controlled and
manipulated by the user. In the example presented earlier, it is
possible to show a four-stroke engine where the student can
actually turn the flywheel on the engine and by moving it forward
and backwards at different speeds, study all of the workings of
the engine, including the timing of the various events and
mechanisms. More sophisticated simulations even allow students to
carry out chemistry experiments where beakers, flasks, burners,
and other apparatuses are manipulated on screen and the chemical
reactions (e.g., color changes, heating, and explosions) occur on
screen as they would if the real items had been manipulated.
* Video Conferencing. Through modern telecommunications, live people
may be embedded in electronic textbooks. Touching an image in the
electronic textbook would cause a communication link to be opened
with a person - the teacher, or perhaps a resource person
somewhere else in the country. The student would then be able to
ask questions or interact with that individual. Essentially, a
video teleconferencing session would be opened between the student
and the teacher or resource person. In addition to face-to-face
visual communication, the two individuals could also share a
"white board" or area of the screen where they can draw, write,
calculate, or otherwise work together on the same "piece of
paper." An electronic textbook could be designed so that students
would contact different people when they were studying different
topics or were on different pages within the same book.
* Virtual Reality Environments. An electronic textbook could allow a
student to don a pair of glasses and headphones and perceive that
they are in an alternate, virtual environment. Although the
virtual reality environments look somewhat cartoon-like today in
their simplicity, it will soon be possible to allow individuals to
visually and auditorially simulate their location in almost any
location on earth or any situation imaginable. This would include
the ability to create three-dimensional simulations of an engine,
as discussed above, in which the individual could move around and
even travel as it operated. Individuals could become very large to
study geography or very small to study biology. They could stand
in an empty room and see an entire chemistry laboratory in which
they could move about and carry out any type of experiment without
the cost or danger of real equipment and rare or toxic chemicals.
Direct Accessibility Versus Compatibility with Assistive Technologies
In discussing access to electronic textbooks, it is useful to use the
terminology and approach which has been adopted in the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104-104 (1996 Act). This
Act refers to accessibility as the ability of individuals to directly
use telecommunication products without requiring special assistive
devices (i.e., devices designed to meet the needs of individuals with
disabilities). The Act states that telecommunication products and
services should be made accessible if this is readily achievable. The
Act then goes on to state that if it is not readily achievable to make
products accessible, the telecommunication products and services
should be compatible with existing peripheral devices or specialized
equipment commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve
access, if readily achievable.
Because there is a close parallel between telecommunications software
and electronic textbooks, parallel terminology is used here as
follows.
* Direct or Built-In Accessibility. The ability to use an electronic
textbook without the use of separate assistive technologies. In
essence, for a product to be directly accessible, the needed
capabilities would have to be built into the product rather than
relying on add-ons.
* Compatibility With Assistive Technologies. The ability of an
electronic textbook to be used in conjunction with standard
assistive technologies used by people who have disabilities.
Unlike the Telecommunications Act of 1996, where a clear preference is
shown for having direct or built-in accessibility for
telecommunication products and services, it is not as clear at this
time that direct accessibility for electronic textbooks would always
be superior to access via assistive technologies. In fact, each
approach has advantages.
Advantages of Direct or Built-In Accessibility
* Cost. Direct accessibility has advantages in cost, availability,
and inclusiveness. When products are directly accessible to a
student, schools do not need to deal with the added expense of
acquiring special assistive devices to access and use the
electronic textbook. Given the rapid changes in technologies, this
also means that schools would not need to continuously buy new
assistive devices as electronic textbooks evolved.
* Hardware Independence. When accessibility is built in, students do
not need to worry about whether their assistive technology will
work with a particular computer. Today, electronic textbooks are
available in a limited number of formats. However, in the future,
it is likely that electronic textbooks will be produced in a wide
variety of hardware and software formats, making it difficult for
a user to have all of the right assistive devices or adapters.
Also, students may encounter electronic textbook technologies in
the library, in laboratories, and in different classrooms, meaning
they would have to always have their assistive devices with them
and these devices would have to be compatible with the various
hardware and software platforms encountered.
* Inclusiveness. When students with a disability can directly use
the electronic textbooks and equipment, it is easier for them to
work side by side with their peers who do not have disabilities.
Students could use any textbook or textbook viewer/work station at
which they and their partners sit, rather than having to work at
specially adapted stations which may not be in the same location
or which may not be usable or usable at the same time by their
peers without disabilities.
* Intuitiveness. When access is built into electronic textbooks, it
generally provides better and more intuitive learning experiences
for the student who is blind. Once the textbook has been started,
all of its functions should be usable without sighted assistance.
This is particularly important for students who are blind and in
grades K-5, where mastering the instructional goals of the
textbooks and learning to use other adaptive devices
simultaneously would present a much higher cognitive load.
Advantages of Access Via Assistive Technologies
Access via assistive technologies has advantages also. These are
primarily in the areas of possible standardization and power.
* Possible Standardization. If a single user interface (i.e., the
parts of a computer program which can be seen or heard by users)
is designated for access to all electronic textbooks, students
with disabilities would benefit greatly. All electronic textbooks
could then present information in a standard format which would be
compatible with many popular assistive technology devices.
* Power. At the present time, the most powerful and well-developed
user interfaces for many disabilities, including blindness, are
those which have been developed by assistive technology
manufacturers. Some strategies are very powerful; but it would be
difficult to build them directly into electronic textbooks. For
example, use of dynamic braille displays (i.e., computer-driven
electro-mechanical devices which display braille symbols with
small prongs, pins or other means and allow the braille to be
changed as each line of text is presented) or printed braille are
very powerful access strategies for individuals who know braille.
However, it is unlikely that it will ever be economically feasible
to build braille printing capability into standard printers or
dynamic braille displays into electronic textbooks. Individuals
with multiple disabilities, such as those with visual and hearing
impairments, would need to use interfaces.
For these reasons it is important that both direct accessibility and
compatibility with assistive devices be considered in the design of
electronic textbooks wherever it is feasible.
Strategies for Making Electronic Textbooks Accessible
Electronic textbooks can take many forms. Each has different
advantages and poses different accessibility opportunities and issues.
There are, however, some general strategies which apply across most
electronic textbook formats. The following section describes some
examples of the various formats of electronic textbooks, general
accessibility guidelines pertaining to students with visual
impairments, and issues related to compatibility between common
assistive devices and electronic textbooks.
Variety of Formats And Media
Electronic textbooks may be produced in many different formats. For
example, it is possible to deliver a standard movie either as a VHS
videocassette, as a videodisc, in digital form on a new digital
videodisc (DVD), or as a digital file which is downloaded from the
Internet. When viewed, the users would have no idea whether they were
looking at a videotape, a videodisc, or a file downloaded from the
Internet. Similarly, an interactive textbook might be delivered to the
school on a DVD disc, on a CD-ROM, or over the Internet or
Internet-like communications link within a single school district
(i.e., an intranet).
Regardless of the format in which an electronic textbook is produced,
the basic considerations for making it accessible are the same. Some
of the delivery formats lend themselves to including accessibility
features more than others.
General Accessibility Guidelines For Students Who Are Blind or Visually
Impaired
1. All important information which is presented visually should also
be available to the user in both auditory and electronic text
(e-text). Electronic text is text arranged in a digital form
readable by computers and capable of being easily rendered as
braille or enlarged text. The phrase "important information" is
used to differentiate between visual information which is
essential to the use of the electronic textbook and visual
presentations which are merely decorative. It is not necessary nor
even always desirable to present to the student who is blind all
of the decorative aspects along with the more essential
information. It can both slow access to the essential information
and increase the cognitive load due to the need for the student to
evaluate and filter the information.
2. All controls should be operable without vision.
3. Users should be able to zoom in to view portions of the screen in
more detail. Where possible, they should also be able to adjust
the size and type of font.
4. There should be a way of operating all controls by using commands
formatted as electronic text.
Implementation of these general guidelines would also provide access
advantages to individuals with reading difficulties and other physical
disabilities. They would also allow a greater flexibility of access
for all users, including the ability for users to operate devices more
easily in very noisy environments or in very quiet environments. For
additional guidelines on making electronic textbooks accessible to
individuals with a wide range of disabilities, see Appendix B.
Compatibility Guidelines
An electronic textbook without built-in accessibility should be
compatible with common assistive devices and software used by people
with disabilities. Three types of add-on access solutions are
available to make electronic textbooks accessible to students who are
blind or visually impaired. These include screen magnification, speech
output and braille output.
* Screen magnification results when special software enlarges a
selected portion of the presentation to fill the entire screen.
This software will enlarge text, graphics, and movies.
* Speech output combines a speech synthesizer and screen review
software. This software reads text displayed on the computer
screen and sends it to the synthesizer in an intelligent fashion.
The students can hear individual characters, lines, words,
sentences, or paragraphs, as well as punctuation. Screen reading
software also allows students to explore and navigate the text on
screen.
* Braille output combines screen review software with a dynamic
braille display. That is, the software converts text on the screen
into braille characters which are produced almost as quickly as
the printed characters on the screen.
Since only approximately ten percent of the people who are legally
blind know and use braille, it cannot be used as the only way to make
information accessible. For those who do know braille (and a higher
proportion of young people who are legally blind know braille), use of
a dynamic braille display is a very powerful technique which has
advantages over speech, particularly in dealing with spatially
formatted information. Therefore, use of a dynamic braille display is
an important and effective option.
Although there are a number of assistive technologies available in
each of the above categories, the effectiveness of these assistive
technologies in providing access to an electronic textbook is
dependent upon the design of the electronic textbook. Information
which is not available in text form, for example, cannot be displayed
using speech or braille. Software which requires an individual to
simultaneously monitor two events occurring at opposite edges of the
screen would be difficult for someone to operate by using screen
magnification. It is not necessary, however, to limit electronic
textbooks to purely text presentation in order to make them
accessible. Strategies exist for making even richly graphical systems
accessible.
Accessibility of The Major Components of Electronic Textbooks
This section will look more closely at each of the major components of
electronic textbooks presented earlier and discuss the implications of
making each of these accessible.
Text
There are four basic ways in which text is presented visually in
electronic textbooks:
1. Standard Text Draw. The electronic textbook uses the standard text
writing routines of the computer and its operating system to draw text
to the screen.
2. Proprietary Text Draw. The electronic textbook uses a text drawing
method which is copyrighted by a single company and is available for
use only by purchasing the software from that company.
3. Bit-Mapped Image. The electronic textbook is copied to the screen
as an image.
4. Animated Text. The text is presented as a moving object or scrolled
like a marquee. Either standard or proprietary text drawing may be
used to accomplish this.
The text may also be presented by speech.
If built-in access is provided, none of the four above-named
strategies for writing text to the screen presents a problem. With
built-in accessibility, the same program which writes the text to the
screen would provide the information in auditory form. The program can
provide a parallel presentation of the information in alternate form;
such as, speech.
Built-in accessibility should also allow the individual to move about
in the text by section, paragraph, sentence, and word, as well as
allowing the words to be spelled.
Presentation of information in auditory form is usually appropriate
for individuals who are blind or have low vision but who do not have
any hearing impairment. For individuals with hearing impairments or
deafness, however, this form of presentation is a problem, unless the
information is also available in visual form. For individuals with
visual and hearing impairments, the information would need to be
available in electronic form so that it could be presented using
dynamic braille displays, as described above.
Electronic textbooks, which use standard text drawing, are compatible
with standard screen reading software. Care must be taken, however, to
ensure that the information is written to the screen in such a way
that the individual can make sense of it using a screen reader which
typically scans horizontally across the screen. Simple text layout on
the screen can be very helpful here; side by side paragraphs would not
work.
Electronic textbooks which use proprietary text drawing, bit-mapped
imaging, or animated text are not compatible with today's screen
readers. Electronic textbooks which use these strategies must use
either built-in accessibility methods or incorporate advanced
object-oriented strategies which would make the text version of the
information available to the screen reading software. It should be
noted that some software packages use display techniques, standard
text drawing, proprietary text drawing and bit-mapped imaging all
intermixed when writing information to the screen. One such software
package reads Postscript Data Files (PDF). PostScript is a popular
computer language used to drive office printers and many graphics
programs use PostScript. If the fonts are resident (i.e., ready and
waiting), it will use the standard routines discussed above. If the
fonts are not resident, it will use its proprietary screen drawing
routines to simulate the appearance of the font. At yet other times,
text from this software package may be drawn to the screen as part of
a bit-mapped image. This results in accessibility to only part of the
text and this is not acceptable.
With regard to screen enlargement software, all of the first three
methods of writing text to the screen would be compatible. Care must
be taken, however, in how the information is laid out or dynamically
changed to ensure that it is comprehensible to someone who is only
able to view a small portion of the screen at any point in time.
A useful quick analogy is to think about trying to operate the
electronic textbook while looking at the screen through a soda straw
(to simulate the portion of the screen available to a screen reader)
or through a paper towel core (to simulate a screen magnifier),
especially when dealing with spatially laid out text or material.
In addition to providing access to the information from within the
electronic textbook, it is sometimes possible for publishers to
provide techniques for extracting information and presenting it as
separate or companion text files. This text file could then be used in
conjunction with a word processor and screen reader or voice output
text file reader.
An external representation of the text in an electronic textbook could
be achieved in two ways:
1. From the publisher. The publisher of the electronic textbook could
provide an alternate form of the electronic textbook as an ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) or other
accessible text file.
2. Extraction. A special tool could be provided by the publisher of
the electronic textbook or a third party that would allow users to
extract the information from the electronic textbook and store it as
an ASCII or other accessible text file.
This approach is a viable approach for simple, static electronic
textbooks which are composed primarily of text and which have stored
in the electronic textbook a text version of any graphically or
auditorially presented information. When such an extraction tool is
used, it is important that all of the information which is conveyed in
layout and formatting (e.g., bold, italic, and titles) be preserved,
along with navigational aids (table of contents, indices, page
references, and hyperlinks).
This strategy does not work for documents which have information
presented in graphic or auditory form where an alternate text version
of the information is not embedded in the document.
Additionally, this strategy works only for documents which are linear
in nature (e.g., like a book or novel). For example, it does not work
on material where the user can take any one of a large number of paths
through the material.
Moreover, this strategy also does not work for materials which are in
any way interactive.
Text Formatting And Hierarchy
Access to text formatting and hierarchy is important because it
provides information about the structure of the information and to
additional layers of information such as emphasis and key words. Text
formats identify relationships between one text element and another
(as in a definition), highlight key words, identify a sequence of
presentation (as in a table of contents or headings in a chapter),
provide information about the hierarchy of information (as with
paragraph indentation) and provide other secondary levels of
information to the reader. Making information about text formatting
and text hierarchy available can be done in several ways, including:
* Verbal tags: For example, "begin bold," "end bold," "Level 1
title," and "Chapter header," which are embedded in the text
and/or spoken when the formatting is encountered in the text.
* Some type of tonal cues could be provided when various formatting
occurs. This could take the form of beeps or tones immediately
preceding the words.
* Background noise which is played while the specially formatted
text is being presented or read.
* Change in intonation or voice: for example, italicized words could
be spoken with a different voice or at a different pitch or at a
different volume.
Of these approaches, only the verbal tag approach would work with
information which is exported to a dynamic braille display. For spoken
output, the other approaches may be less disruptive, but will become
more effective as techniques which relate specific auditory cues to
specific text formatting features are developed.
As discussed under Text, systems with built-in accessibility have the
advantage in that they are aware of any special formatting which is
built into the text being presented and can take measures to present
this information. Systems which are relying on external assistive
technologies for providing access to the formatting information must
use the standard system tools for formatting text so that they will be
compatible with the screen readers. Some types of formatting and text
hierarchy, however, may be difficult to present in a fashion that
screen readers would be able to use or recognize and convey.
Graphics
Graphic information within electronic textbooks falls into three
general categories:
1. Information which is purely decorative and does not convey any
particular information.
2. Information which is presented graphically but which is also
presented in text form.
3. Information which is presented only in graphic form.
The challenges in making electronic textbook graphics accessible are:
1. Differentiating between important and decorative information.
2. Indicating the presence of information presented graphically.
3. Where appropriate, providing descriptions of the graphic images.
4. Where appropriate, providing alternate presentation of any
important information which is presented graphically via description,
tactile, or other appropriate means.
Text descriptions of graphic information may be either presented in
parallel with the graphics for all users to see, or hidden in such a
manner that it can be called up on request. Increasingly,
accessibility researchers are finding that when information is hidden
and available to be called up on request, it is requested by many
users who are not blind. This feature adds to the comprehension of the
graphic information by individuals with perfect vision.
There is great value in the redundant presentation (i.e., the
repetitive display of the information in multiple formats, such as
audio, closed captioning, descriptive video, braille and enlarged
type) of information. For individuals who are blind or have visual
impairments, it is often desirable to have supplemental methods or
materials available in addition to any verbal descriptions to help in
the presentation and interpretation of graphic information. Tactile
models, raised line drawings, braille and audio tracks help provide
orientation and information that enhance comprehension of graphic
images.
Navigational Systems
In order to move about effectively within an electronic textbook,
students must be able to independently and efficiently operate and
navigate the textbook. Electronic textbooks use many methods to convey
the structure of the content, such as simple outlines, expanding
outlines, tab folders, and image maps. Electronic textbooks also draw
upon a variety of methods to allow users to navigate the contents.
These include menus, sub-menus, buttons, tab folders, outlines, scroll
bars, icons, graphics, hyperlinks, and search functions. It is
important for the student who is blind or visually impaired to
understand what is contained within the textbook, how the textbook is
organized, and what navigation options are available.
In general, these navigation methods can be made accessible to
individuals with visual impairments. Some methods for achieving this
include:
* Ensuring that all navigation can be accomplished through the use
of a keyboard, speech or electronic text rather than by using a
mouse.
* Providing a capability for collapsing a document down to its major
titles or components along with some indication of the size of the
material beneath each title or in each component.
* Providing a capability for presenting information which is
distributed around the screen in a linear fashion whenever
possible.
Hyperlinks
There is nothing inherently inaccessible about hyperlinks. The two
major problems faced are (a) identifying when something is a link, and
(b) having some idea of the context when one gets to the other end of
the hyperjump. Hyperlinks are generally indicated through text
formatting (e.g., the text is a different color or the text is
underlined or italicized). If all of the formatting information is
available to the user, the existence and location of hyperlinks is
generally available as well. When an individual has executed a
hyperlink jump, some type of a verbal announcement that a jump has
taken place is useful as a cue to the individual that the "world
around their soda straw view" has changed, so that they look around
and reorient themselves to the place to which they have jumped.
Expand And Collapse Features
In some cases, expand and collapse features may already be accessible.
Problems arise, however, depending on how they are implemented in a
given system. All expand and collapse features should be executable
from the keyboard with speech or electronic text. All non-text visual
cues that are provided in conjunction with the expand and collapse
features should be available via built-in accessibility or revealed to
the screen reader.
A subset of the expand and collapse feature would be a zoom feature.
Such a feature allows individuals who are sighted to get a bird's-eye
view of the general layout of the document or landscape. They can then
zoom in for detail. The equivalent for those who cannot see would be
the ability to provide an image which they could feel tactually. In
addition, auditory cues could be provided to indicate white space,
text and numbers. This would allow them to get a sense for the global
layout of the page in the same way as a sighted individual.
Search Features
In addition to the ability to search for words or phrases, it is also
very useful to search for character formatting or for structural items
in the document. For example, the ability to search for the next title
is very helpful for stepping through a document. If structure
information is not available, the ability to search for the next bold
or underlined text can be useful.
Sound
As with graphics, audio information in an electronic textbook can
convey important information, or it can be purely supplemental or
decorative. For individuals who have visual impairments and perfect
hearing, presentation of audio information presents no barriers. If
the individual has a visual and hearing impairment, then any
information which is presented auditorially would need to be available
in amplified form or, if they had severe hearing impairments or
deafness, in electronic form so that it could be presented via
braille. The pace at which the auditory information is presented
should be controllable to allow for different levels of comprehension.
For example, it should be possible to speedup, slowdown, terminate,
pause or replay speech.
Fixed Sequence Animation And Movies
Electronic textbooks may contain full-motion video in color or black
and white, with or without sound. The audio portions of the movies
would be accessible to students who have low vision or blindness;
however, the students may have limited or no information regarding the
visual information which is displayed on the screen. In order to make
animation and movies accessible, the electronic textbook should
provide:
* Audio descriptions of the visual contents.
* The ability to turn the descriptions on and off at will.
* The ability to back up and replay some or all of the information.
* An electronic text version of the audio caption for individuals
with visual and hearing impairments.
For some electronic textbooks, it may be helpful to include
supplemental materials such as tactile models, raised line drawings,
braille or audio material which can provide orientation and
information which would assist students who are blind or visually
impaired to understand the graphic information or auditory
descriptions.
Interactive Animation And Simulations
This is one of the more difficult areas. Often, simulations where the
user can manipulate the components rely on eye-hand coordination. An
example of this is the model four-stroke engine described earlier in
this document. In that example, the user could use a touchscreen or a
mouse to grab the flywheel and turn it left and right in order to see
how the pistons operate. Two strategies that can be used to make these
systems accessible are:
1. Allowing all of the manipulations on the screen to be accomplished
from the keyboard. This would also be useful for individuals with
physical disabilities.
2. Providing auditory cueing of the status or change in status of the
various components. Such auditory enhancement of the visual picture is
usually beneficial to students with low vision as well as all
students, including those without disabilities.
Caution must be used when designing modifications of interactive
animation and simulations to ensure that the result does in fact
provide the same quality of information to the student who is blind as
it does to other students. In the example of the piston engine, the
purpose of the program was to teach a child a specific concept. Even
with the adaptations, the student who is blind would not have
sufficient access to the information on the screen to learn that
concept.
Other programs could be modified successfully. For example, a program
might provide an animated story which periodically stops until the
child responds to specific directions or answers questions by using
the mouse or touchscreen. If there were a verbal (sound or tactual)
narration of the story, and the student responses could be provided
through the keyboard, then the child who is blind would have adequate
accessibility to the content and could achieve the same results as
other students.
Another opportunity for successful adaptation is the example where
simulations allow students to carry out chemistry experiments. The
beakers, flasks, burners, and other apparatuses are manipulated on
screen and the chemical reactions (e.g., color changes, heating, and
explosions) occur on screen as they would if the real items had been
manipulated. If the interaction of the chemistry equipment can be
manipulated through the keyboard, and the results of the manipulations
are manifested by appropriate sound and descriptive narrative, the
student would have information similar to that which is available in
the chemistry lab.
Video Conferencing
Video conferencing is again inherently no less accessible than
face-to-face communication. It is up to the individual communicating
with the individual who is blind or who has low vision to make sure
that information is not presented visually as a part of their
interaction.
Where white boards or shared areas of the screen are used for drawing,
writing, or otherwise working together, it is important that the white
board area be implemented in such a way that it has either built-in
voicing or works in conjunction with the screen reader for textual
information. It should also be possible to print out the contents of
the white board so that it could be converted into a raised line
drawing using special adaptive equipment.
Controls for the video conference should be completely operable
without vision. Providing keyboard access to all of the video
conferencing controls is the easiest and most reliable way to achieve
this.
Virtual Reality Environments
Virtual reality environments can be divided into two general
categories as follows:
The first is where the individual is experiencing a visual immersion.
One example is a virtual reality environment that is used to allow an
individual to walk through an art gallery. The second is the use of
virtual reality as a metaphor for something which is not inherently
visual. For example, there are a number of virtual reality tools being
used to navigate databases and knowledge bases.
In the first case, the virtual reality simply represents another way
of presenting information to which the individual who is blind did not
previously have access. By making it electronic, it is possible that
some additional access may be provided through the use of techniques
and technologies for image enhancement and edge identification. These
could be used in conjunction with tactile printers (e.g., braille
printers) and raised-line drawings.
In the second case, it is important for any visualization tools which
are created to navigate around in information space to be constructed
in such a way that the nonvisual (e.g., verbal/textual) interface is
preserved for those individuals who cannot use the visualization
interface.
Media-specific Strategies
Videotapes
The most common form of classroom videotape is 1/2" VHS. For
classrooms that include students who are blind or visually impaired,
videotapes with verbal descriptions of the visual information are
needed. Since there currently is no technical way to hide or embed
these verbal descriptions in the videotape and turn them on when
needed, as is possible with captions, the verbal descriptions would
need to be a part of the standard audio track on the tape. These
verbal descriptions take the form of narration which is added between
the normal audio information on the videotape. These added narrations
describe what is occurring visually on the screen.
One approach for providing verbal descriptions on a videotape would be
to have two versions of the tape; one with the verbal descriptions and
one without the verbal descriptions.
A second strategy would be to record descriptive video and sound
information on one track and sound information only on the second
track. Users could then select either the left or right channel to get
the material with or without the verbal descriptions. Individuals
would be able to turn the audio descriptions on or off as desired.
Neither of these techniques is optimal, but both do work within the
constraints of current videotape technology.
Videodiscs
When produced in a non-interactive manner, videodiscs can be treated
much the same as videotapes, with one important difference. Videodiscs
have the capacity to include an additional sound track for
descriptions. As a result, both stereo channels can be used for the
regular audio, with the verbal descriptions on yet another channel
which can be turned on and off as needed by the students.
For disks that are produced with a higher degree of interactivity, and
which may be attached to and controlled by a computer, not only do the
moving images on the disk need to be described, but the visuals and
text on the computer screen need description and translation into
digitized speech, braille display, or enlarged type. Although this may
sound very difficult, when taken one element at a time, access to many
types of interactive videodiscs is possible. The guidance for such
access can be taken from the means for making standard linear video
accessible and for making multimedia software accessible. In general,
this type of accessibility also has benefits for individuals without
visual impairments.
Multimedia Software
The same principles which apply to videotapes and videodiscs apply to
multimedia software. By its very nature, multimedia software allows
even more flexibility than videodiscs in terms of the opportunity for
multiple channels of video and audio information, all of which can be
turned on and off at the user's discretion. In most cases, however,
accessibility to multimedia software must be built in. The capability
of external agents such as screen readers to track and interpret what
is happening in a multimedia environment is very limited. Both
digitized audio, digitally recorded human voice, or synthesized audio
computer-generated voices, can be used to describe essential visual
elements to students who are blind or visually impaired. As discussed
previously, the ability to access and use the system without eye-hand
coordination is very important. Keyboard control of the program is an
excellent strategy here. In addition, the use of supplemental
materials such as braille, raised line drawings, or audio information
can be very effective.
On-line Services And The Internet
It is becoming increasingly clear that in the near future, classroom
instruction may be enhanced through the Internet, in particular
through educational World Wide Web sites. There are form and content
challenges inherent in such delivery. Fundamentally, however, the
Internet simply represents a different way of delivering information
and programs into the hands of the student and teacher. It allows for
collaboration among parties who are widely dispersed. All of the same
issues and all of the same solution strategies that were discussed for
multimedia software apply here.
Today, the Internet uses very nicely structured Hypertext Mark-up
Language (HTML) files which provide fairly accessible and structured
information formats. However, current trends are moving away from this
type of structured information and back into the wide variety of
formats which exist in printed documents and complex multimedia video
productions.
Costs
Some media accessibility experts estimate that publisher investment
required to develop and market accessible electronic textbooks could
result in the unit prices of initially adopted accessible electronic
textbooks being 25 to 35% higher than the unit prices of currently
adopted electronic textbooks. However, after publishers have learned
how to develop accessible electronic textbooks, the costs of
individual units are estimated to be only 3 to 5% higher than the
costs of electronic textbooks which are not accessible.
It should be emphasized that these are estimates only and that costs
of producing and using electronic textbooks are factors to be studied
and analyzed further.
Conclusions
Much of the knowledge and technology needed to expand the
accessibility of electronic textbooks for students who are blind or
visually impaired exists already. For example, speech input/output and
tactile input/output devices as well as special software which can
enhance the accessibility of electronic textbooks are commercially
available today even though they are often very costly. However,
ensuring that most currently-adopted electronic textbooks and those
likely to be adopted in the future are made accessible to students in
the most logical and cost-effective manner will require further
detailed analysis and planning. Perhaps most importantly, it will
require collaboration among several communities including textbook
publishers, media accessibility researchers, software and hardware
developers, teachers of the visually impaired, consumer advocates,
Internet and on-line service providers and state government. Only with
this level of collaboration can accessibility be provided in the most
logical and cost-effective manner.
Future efforts to expand accessibility must address the need for
standards and development guidelines that facilitate access in newly
developed electronic textbooks. Specifications for new programs must
also include features that allow for redundancy in the presentation of
their materials.
Providing accessible electronic textbooks to schools could have
benefits for students with other disabilities as well as for students
with no obvious disabilities. For example, electronic textbooks could
be designed in a flexible manner to accommodate the varied learning
needs of students who are blind and hearing impaired.
* On-screen text that is spoken not only helps visually impaired,
reading disabled, dyslexic, and other students with disabilities,
but also students who learn better by receiving multimodal input
rather than by relying on one sense.
* Printed text that is spoken impacts two sensesûauditory and
visual. Many studies have shown that multisensory impact enhances
comprehension for all students.
* Visually presented materials that are closed-captioned or which
have descriptive audio tracks also provide multisensory input,
enhancing comprehension. Captioning also provides students with
the ability to search and find audio text with a computerized
search engine.
When that flexibility is designed into the textbook itself, learning
activities can be customizedùnot just for students with disabilities,
but for all students. Thus, the learning benefits accrue not just to
those who most urgently need these accommodations but to mainstream
learners as well.
Recommendations
I. The Legislature should authorize the agency to establish up to
three demonstration projects to investigate the feasibility and
cost-effectiveness of developing accessible electronic textbooks in
the priority shown:
A. First Priority:
1. A directly accessible CD-ROM textbook which could be used without
assistive technology by students who are blind or who have visual or
other disabilities.
2. Educational materials on the World Wide Web, the Internet, or other
on-line services which are fully accessible to students who are blind
or who have visual or other disabilities.
B. Second Priority: A CD-ROM textbook which could be used along with
assistive technology to provide important information to students who
are blind or who have visual or other disabilities.
II. The Legislature should authorize the agency to establish a
consortium of textbook publishers, media accessibility researchers,
consumer advocates, software and hardware developers, Internet and
on-line service providers, educators, community members and
representatives of the Texas Education Agency to:
A. Review the progress of the demonstration projects and provide
feedback to the Agency. Upon completion of the demonstration projects,
the consortium would make recommendations to the Agency on how to
expand the availability of accessible electronic textbooks in future
textbook adoptions.
B. Study the need for standards for the selection, modification and
development of electronic textbooks to make them accessible to
students with visual impairment or blindness.
C. Make specific recommendations on standards if needed.
Demonstration projects would enable the Agency to document, monitor,
and analyze the various stages of production prior to making
recommendations for publisher, agency or legislative action. Several
variables and unknowns exist, including the time frame needed to
provide the redundancy and accessibility features described in this
report and the development and production costs required to develop
these features. A study of the extent to which accessible electronic
textbooks would actually be used could be part of a cost benefit
analysis.
Demonstration projects could provide the agency with an assessment of
procedures, adaptations, costs, and benefits associated with producing
electronic textbooks accessible to students with visual impairment or
blindness.
Appendix A: Texas Task Force on Electronic Textbook Accessibility
Joanne Miller Rodriguez
Task Force Chairperson
President, Pinnacle Education Associates, Inc.
Grapevine, Texas
Gregg C. Vanderheiden, Ph.D.
Director, Trace Research and Development Center, and Professor, Human
Factors, Industrial Engineering
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
James W. Thatcher, Ph.D., Manager, Interaction Technology
IBM Research
Austin, Texas
Christy Shepard
Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Houston, Texas
Anne Schreiber, Director of Technology for the Reading/Language Arts
Group
Scholastic Publishing, Inc.
New York, New York
Anne Meyer, Ph.D., Co-Executive Director
Center for Applied Special Technology
Peabody, Massachusetts
Richard Leffingwell, Group Vice-President of Program Development
Optical Data Corporation,
Warren, New Jersey
Larry Goldberg, Director
National Center for Accessible Media
Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Public Broadcaster WGBH
Boston, Massachusetts
George Kerscher, Research Fellow
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
Missoula, Montana
Deborah Kaplan, Vice-President of West Coast Operations
Issue Dynamics, Inc.
San Francisco, California
Nolan Crabb, Consumer Advocate
American Council of the Blind
Washington, DC
Curtis Chong, Consumer Advocate
National Federation of the Blind
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Karen Billings, Ph.D., K-12 Marketing Manager
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, Washington
James Allan, Ph.D., Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Austin, Texas
Agency Textbook Accessibility Project Managers:
Robert Leos, Ph.D., Senior Director
Textbook Administration Division
Charles E. Mayo, Director
Textbooks for the Visually Impaired Program
Appendix B: Additional Guidelines for Making Electronic Textbooks Accessible to
Individuals with a Wide Range of Disabilities
1. All important information which is presented auditorially should
also be available in visual form.
2. All speech output should be presented redundantly as text or in the
form of captions.
3. Important emphasis delivered auditorially must be captured and
presented either as a part of the text caption or through visual
presentation.
4. All other auditory signals, including natural sounds from the
electronic textbook which are important to its operation, must be
provided in a visual form.
5. Electronic textbooks should have the capability for increasing or
reducing the speed of presentation, or pausing the presentation, to
allow for different levels of comprehension.
6. For movies, a transcript of spoken information and an indication of
environmental sounds should be provided.
7. Additionally, movies should contain a sign language track which
could be implemented through modern electronic movie formats such as
QuickTime, which feature multiple video tracks.
Source: Texas Task Force on Electronic Textbook Accessibility
Appendix C: Resources
Vanderheiden, Gregg (1992). Making software more accessible for people
with disabilities: A white paper on the design of software application
programs to increase their accessibility for people with disabilities.
Trace Research and Development Center
University of Wisconsin
Waisman Center
1500 Highland Avenue
Madison, Wisconsin 53705-2280
608-262-6996
Mazaik, Cheryl (1993). Guidelines for Producing Accessible Multimedia
for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students.
WGBH Educational Foundation
124 Western Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02134
617-492-9258
For general information on the federal regulations regarding computer
accessibility, contact:
Clearinghouse On Computer Accommodation (COCA)
General Services Administration
18th and F Streets NW, Room 2022, KGDO
Washington, DC 20405
For information on efforts of other applications software companies
working on accessibility issues, contact:
Information Technology Foundation
(formerly ADAPSO)
1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300
Arlington, Virginia 22209-9998
703-522-5055 (voice)
703-525-2279 (fax)
For assistance in translating and formatting documentation into
accessible ASCII text files, contact:
George Kerscher, Director
R&D Division
Recording for the Blind
PO Box 7068
Missoula, Montana 59802
For information on "Bobby," CAST's free web disability access test
page, contact:
Chuck Hitchcock
Director, Universal Design Lab
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
39 Cross Street
Peabody, Massachusetts 01960
508-531-8555 (voice)
508-531-0192 (fax)
508-538-3310 (TTY)
http://www.cast.org
For information on resource centers for special needs students and
teachers, contact:
Alliance for Technology Access
Jackie Brand
2175 E. Francisco Blvd., Suite L
San Rafael, California 94901
415-455-4575
415-455-0654
For information regarding AccessDos and Access Pack for Microsoft
Windows, call:
Microsoft Product Support 206-637-7098 (voice),
206-635-4948 (TDD), or download from gEnie,
CompuServe, Microsoft Online, other bulletin boards, and the Internet
For additional information on accessibility issues, contact:
Television Station WGBH
Descriptive Video Service
http://www.boston.com/wgbh/pages/dvs/dvshome.html
Caption Center
http://www.boston.com/wgbh/pages/captioncenter/captioncenterhome.html
The CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media
http://www.boston.com/wgbh/pages/ncam/ncamhome.html
Trace Research and Development Center
Designing an Accessible World
http://www.trace.wisc.edu/world/world.html
Universal DesignùPrincipals and Guidelines
http://www.trace.wisc.edu/world/gen_ud.html
Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Accessibility Information
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enable/
Microsoft Support of Increased Accessibility White Paper, August 1995
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enable/accbkg.htm
Glossary
Applications Program: Any computer program that enables the user to
accomplish some task, but not a task relevant only to the
computer's operation. For instance, a word processing program
would be an applications program because it enables the user to
create, edit and print text.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): A
standardized system which assigns letters, numbers, and various other
characters each their own code. This allows information to be
transferred successfully from one computer to another via various
interfaces.
Assistive Technology Device: Any item, piece of equipment, or product
system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or
customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional
capabilities of individuals with disabilities.
Bit Map: A set of numerical values specifying the colors of pixels on
an output device.
Braille: A system of writing and reading used by individuals who are
blind. This system is based on characters made up of raised dots.
Browser: Also called a Web Browser. A program that enables you to
explore the World Wide Web.
CD-ROM (Compact Disk--Read Only Memory): A form of storage like a
floppy disk except that it is usually permanent (read only) and has a
high storage capacity (typically 650 megabytes). A CD-ROM disk looks
like an ordinary stereo CD, however, a CD-ROM is used to store
computer data rather than music.
Device: Any identifiable subsystem of a computer. Identifiable to the
computer. Drives, video circuitry, printers, the keyboard, the mouse,
and ports are devices.
Digital: Operating in discrete units or steps. Not continuous. Since
microcomputers operate using discrete voltages and timing pulses, they
are said to be digital. Usually contrasted with analog.
DVD (Digital Videodisc): A hardware technology designed to replace
audio and information CDs, laserdiscs, and even videotapes. Each DVD
can hold the equivalent of seven times a regular CD (more than 120
minutes of video).
Dynamic Braille Display: A computerized electro-mechanical device
which displays braille using pins or other means that permit the
braille to be changed as each line is read. An electronic code sent to
the system raises and lowers the pins to form braille characters which
the user can sense by placing the fingers on top of the display. When
the display is full, the first cell recomposes itself and the display
fills up again.
Electronic Mail (E-Mail): A system whereby a computer user can
exchange messages with other computer users (or groups of users) via a
communications network. Electronic mail is one of the most popular
features of the Internet.
Electronic Text: Textual information stored in a digital form that can
be presented on a computer screen. Normally this can also be presented
in braille or as enlarged characters on a computer screen.
GUI (Graphical User Interface): A way for humans to communicate with a
computer that typically uses graphics mode instead of character mode.
Usually involves the use of a mouse.
Hardware: Any component of an electronic system which is tangible
(e.g., a computer, a monitor, a disk drive, or a printer). This
category contrasts with software, which describes those components
which consist only of electronic signals (e.g., programs, text files,
and other quantities of information that can be stored on a disk or in
a computer's memory).
Homepage: The first page you see when you activate a Web browser.
Hypertext: A collection of graphical and textual data organized in
such a way as to facilitate easy access to all of the information it
contains. Hypertext may be thought of as a precursor to multimedia, or
simply as an extension of it.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML): The language used to create pages
for the World Wide Web. Computer commands enable users to specify
different fonts, graphics, hypertext links and more.
Internet: The name given to a large network of computers that are
connected by high-speed information or data lines. The Internet also
refers to the different services you can use on the Internet. Some of
these activities include electronic mail and the World Wide Web.
Java: Java is a computer programming language. It has gained a lot of
popularity because of its cross-computer support. That is, Java
programs written for one computer operating system will also work on
other computer operating systems, which saves the programmer from
having to re-write the program to get it to work on several types of
computers.
Modem: Short for modulator-demodulator. A device that enables a
computer to communicate with other computers over telephone lines.
Multimedia: Combining static media (such as text and pictures) with
dynamic media (such as sound, video, and animation) on the same
system.
Object-Oriented: Generally used to describe an illustration or font
file as being created by mathematical equations.
On-Line Service: A commercial service that provides capabilities such
as e-mail, discussion forums, technical support, software libraries,
news, weather reports, stock prices, plane reservations or electronic
shopping malls. To access one, you need a modem.
Operating System: The program that allows the various parts of a
computer system to "talk" to each other. The operating system is
usually the first thing "loaded" after a computer is turned on, as
most other programs require it in order to run.
Optical Character Reader (OCR): A device which can optically analyze a
printed text, recognize the letters or other characters, and store
this information as a computer text file. OCRs are usually limited to
recognizing the styles and sizes of type for which they are
programmed.
Platform: Specific computer hardware, as in the phrase
"platform-independent."
PostScript: A computer language for describing a printed page commonly
used to drive office printers. Many fonts, graphics programs, screen
drivers, and printer drivers use PostScript.
QuickTime (QTM): A method of storing audio and motion picture video
information on an Apple Macintosh computer. It is used to record and
play back multimedia information and store the data on magnetic or
optical media. QuickTime is also a collection of tools which allows
movies to be modified (edit, cut, copy, and paste) just as a word
processor is capable of modifying ordinary text.
Screen Reader: A program which speaks the contents of the computer's
screen via a speech synthesizer. Such a program is usually also
equipped with a system that allows the user to "navigate," or find his
or her way around the screen, without the necessity of seeing the
screen.
Search Engine: A program on a remote machine that allows keyword
searches on the Internet.
Software: The part of a computer system which is not tangible; that
is, the programs of information that are processed by a computer or
stored in memory. Commercially available software is usually sold in
the form of a program or programs stored on a disk.
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML): A system for describing
structural divisions in text (i.e., title-page, chapter, scene, and
stanza), typographical elements (changes in typeface, and special
characters), and other textual features (grammatical structure,
location of illustrations, and variant forms).
Tags: Formatting codes used in the Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML)
documents. These tags indicate how the parts of a document will appear
when displayed by a Web client program.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator): A code which provides the exact
location of a resource on the internet, and describes the type of
resource.
User Interface: The aspects of a computer system or program which can
be seen (or heard or otherwise perceived) by the human user.
VHS: Video recording format and medium in wide use in conjunction with
television technology, offering horizontal resolution of 240 lines.
Not considered broadcast quality.
Web Browser: A program which enables an individual to explore the
World Wide Web.
Word Processor: A type of applications software that is used to enter,
edit, manipulate, and format text. In order to be considered a word
processing program rather than a simple text entry and editing
program, a program should have fairly sophisticated capabilities.
World Wide Web (WWW) or W3: A graphics-rich hypermedia document
presentation system that can be accessed over the Internet using
software called a Web browser.
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