Vetting for Accessibility
(View Complete Item Description)A set of questions that can be used to evaluate the accessibility of materials considered for procurement.
Material Type: Reading
A set of questions that can be used to evaluate the accessibility of materials considered for procurement.
Material Type: Reading
Information and video tutorials to help teachers create closed captioned videos.
Material Type: Module
Resources to help educators enhance and enrich their teaching with accessible videos that include captions and/or audio description.
Material Type: Module
Acquiring the accessible formats a learner needs is part of a multi-step decision-making process. By prioritizing accessibility, access barriers for learners with disabilities will be minimized when materials are acquired. In cases where inaccessible materials have been selected, alternative forms - accessible formats - of those materials will have to be acquired for learners who need them. Examples of accessible formats include audio, braille, large print, tactile graphics, and digital text conforming with accessibility standards. Accessible formats of materials can be acquired from: Accessible Media Producers (AMPs) Publishers Local Conversion
Material Type: Primary Source
The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) is a technical standard publishers can use to produce source files (in XML) that may be used to develop multiple accessible formats (such as Braille or audiobooks). In addition to the technical specification, our NIMAS Exemplars provide NIMAS-conformant filesets you can inspect to learn more about best practices based on the technical specification and the DAISY Structure Guidelines. MathML is the recommended way to represent mathematical notation in NIMAS. For more information, visit MathML in NIMAS. Visit Resources for Publishers and Conversion Houses on the NIMAC website for additional resources related to the production of NIMAS files.
Material Type: Primary Source
This guidebook was created by ISKME, in partnership with the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College. The document provides a practical reference for curators and authors of STEM OER, and contains 23 accessibility criteria, or elements, to reference as they curate, design and adapt materials to be accessible for STEM learners. The primary audience of this resource is STEM postsecondary faculty, instructional designers, and others responsible for course design and pedagogy who seek to: - Expand their knowledge about accessibility and ways to integrate it into their STEM curriculum and instruction - Design openly licensed STEM courses and course materials that support both access and use by learners - Curate existing STEM content that expands upon traditional textbooks and courseware to address variability in learning - Identify and add meaningful keywords, or tags, to the STEM OER they create, so that their OER can be more easily discovered across platforms Professional learning teams on campus are also encouraged to use this framework as part of training to facilitate integration of accessibility concepts into STEM course design and pedagogy. The framework and guide development was supported by a mini-grant program facilitated by Bates College and the SCORE-UBE Network (Sustainability Challenges for Open Resources to promote an Equitable Undergraduate Biology Education), with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The framework and guide were developed by ISKME and SERC with input from 21 STEM faculty members from across the United States, and in collaboration with the project’s Working Group of accessibility experts: Andrew Hasley and Hayley Orndorf, both with BioQUEST’s UDL Initiative and the Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) Project; Hannah Davidson, Plymouth State University; and Cynthia Curry, National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)/CAST.
Material Type: Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy
An explanation of what it means to say educational materials are "accessible" and why accessibility is important.
Material Type: Reading
NSCC EDITION Short Description: The NSCC Edition is a revised version of the BC Campus Accessibility Toolkit - 2nd Edition. The goal of this book is to provide resources for each content creator, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create a truly open textbook—one that is free and accessible for all students. Word Count: 13596 ISBN: 978-1-77420-030-8 (Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)
Material Type: Textbook
The focus of many open education projects is to provide access to education. But what does access mean? If the materials are not accessible for each and every student, do they fulfill the mandate to deliver fully open education? The open education movement has helped people in different parts of the world access content that they would otherwise not be able to view or interact with. Open education resources reduce costs for students and allow for greater flexibility for instructors. Accessibility can help push the movement even further forward. The goal of the OER Accessibility Toolkit is to provide the needed resources needed to each content creator, instructor, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create a truly open and accessible educational resource — one that is accessible for all students.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
About the AEM Center The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning at CAST provides technical assistance, coaching, and resources to increase the availability and use of accessible educational materials and technologies for learners with disabilities across the lifespan.
Material Type: Primary Source
Understanding accessible formats requires some background knowledge of the barriers many learners with disabilities experience when reading or accessing information in print-based and certain digital-based materials. "Text-based" refers to materials with static or fixed text and images, such as textbooks and supplemental text materials. Both print and digital materials can be text-based. For example, an electronic textbook that replicates a standard print textbook is considered a text-based material. Books in standard print are common examples of text-based materials. To successfully use print, learners need functional skills related to sensory, physical, and cognitive abilities. Some learners may have visual disabilities that make it difficult to see the text and images on the page. Other learners may be unable to hold printed materials because of a physical disability. Still others may be unable to read or derive meaning from the printed text because of a learning disability. Certain digital materials also have text and images. Specifically, text-based digital materials are not consistently designed for use with assistive technology (AT). Some learners use AT to read and navigate text and images in digital materials. Screen readers, text to speech, and switches are a few examples of AT devices and software that learners with a wide range of disabilities use. To prevent barriers for learners who use AT, see Vetting for Accessibility. Because of the frequent barriers presented by text-based materials, some learners with disabilities need alternative forms, known as accessible formats. Examples of accessible formats include audio, braille, large print, tactile graphics, and digital text conforming with accessibility standards. The term accessible format is defined in section 121 of the Copyright Act, known as the Chafee Amendment:
Material Type: Primary Source
This website provide a list of all the AEM State Contacts in the United States.
Material Type: Primary Source
Practical tips for implementing the four principles of accessibility that are the foundation for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Material Type: Module
The Need for a National Center for Systemic Improvement State education agencies play a key role in policy development and implementation, striving to support the field in meeting the needs of students with disabilities and their families. To succeed, they turn to trusted partners to strengthen capacity to lead systems change that improves both learning conditions and outcomes. NCSI is a critical partner to states in these pursuits, assisting them to both learn about and understand seminal research, as well as translate that research into practice. Paying attention to the systemic functions of data literacy, evidence-based practices, stakeholder engagement, and systems coherence, NCSI helps SEAs to cultivate knowledge and skills that enable them to achieve lasting impact for students.
Material Type: Primary Source
Introduction Most of us can hardly conceive of life without the internet. Some have argued that no other single invention has been more revolutionary since Gutenberg's printing press in the 1400s. The world can be “at your fingertips” at the click of a mouse—if you can use a mouse... and see the screen... and hear the audio.
Material Type: Primary Source
Some educational materials can create barriers for some students when they are not designed with accessibility in mind. Some students with disabilities may h...
Material Type: Primary Source
This resource contains all of links and materials for the Accessibility in OER Webinar Four that is co-facilitated by CAST and ISKME.
Material Type: Lecture Notes
This resource contains all of links and materials for the Accessibility in OER Webinar Six that is co-facilitated by CAST and ISKME.
Material Type: Lecture Notes
This resource contains all of links and materials for the Accessibility in OER Webinar Five that is co-facilitated by CAST and ISKME.
Material Type: Lecture Notes
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.
Material Type: Primary Source