GED-i
GED-i Accessibility
The GED-i project has a solid commitment to provide accessible content to students, instructors and administrators. In Illinois, we recently have been charged with meeting specific accessibility guidelines as part of the Internet Technology Accessibility Act. The GED-i project currently has, and has had in its yearly scope-of-work, specific tasks related to raising the level of accessibility access across the entire project.
At this point in our deployment, it is our expectation that the navigation functions throughout the Student Center are enabled to work with screen readers and other assistive technologies. We have made it easier for the student user to navigate through the content.
In FY08 we spent the year evaluating GED-i and its accessibility level and issues. Part of our evaluation included having a visually impaired person navigate the site and complete activities with JAWS, a screen reader technology. The information gained from this portion of our evaluation was invaluable. We went through the Program Center, Teacher Center, and Student Center and the Learning Modules, evaluating every section and piece of content for valid html that resulted in a comprehensive accessibility improvement list. Our approach has been to strategically move the GED-i toward complete accessibility compliance and we have made tremendous progress toward this goal.
To date, the following accessibility initiatives have been successfully completed.
- All Student Center content and navigation, beyond the flash animated pieces, are more accessible for all users, and flow in a logical order that is educationally appropriate and consistent.
- There is one universal table layout that enables users with screen readers or motor impairments to navigate the content in a logical order with ease of navigation.
- All content-relevant graphics and images have alternate text that fully describes the image or refers the student to the instructor for assistance.
- Form fields are properly labeled, allowing for more student accuracy when answering activity submission.
As the GED-i team continually seeks innovative means to provide engaging instruction, the accessibility initiatives are consistently a top priority. A strategic multi-year improvement plan is in place for continued accessibility design. This timeline may be accelerated as budget and time permits. The scope of the strategic plan includes:
- Update the navigation functions in both the Teacher and Program Centers. (In our FY 10 scope-of-work, beginning July 1, 2009).
- Extended session time for users that would alleviate the potential loss of student submissions.
- Researching MathML which will allow us to code math equations in a more easily understood format.
- Improving our instruction so that the Flash animated content are either fully accessible or an alternative quality learning activity is provided.
The goal of the GED-i team is to make all of the content accessible across the entire curriculum, but with over 200 lessons to review and revise, this is a large task that cannot be completed quickly. Because of the nature of some of the animation technology that is used throughout the curriculum, there are activities in the GED-i lessons that will not work well with screen readers or other assistive technologies. In some cases, no tweaking of the technology used will provide for specific content to be accessible. We are aware of this concern and are taking proactive action steps towards our commitment in providing accessible content. Such steps include providing IT, web developers, instructional designers and graphics team member’s professional development opportunities, such as WebAim Training, in order to help create an appropriate plan for accessibility development strategies.
We are working to ensure that current curricular and system enhancements meet both Illinois' IITAA, and national/international standards.
In the interim, it is our suggestion that those individuals needing assistance in the use of GED-i, for reasons of accessibility access, seek guidance from their instructor, just as would happen in the physical classroom. We understand that this is not an ideal situation, and please note that we are aware of the issue and are working to remedy this situation as fast as we are able.
Submitted by Crystal Hack, Center for the Application of Information Technologies, August 2009