I'm wondering about how everyone's institutions deal with 508 compliance. It's part of the ADA and requires that media be accessible for all. Our college is very proactive about this.
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=11
For example, if I were to produce a video to use in my class, it must be captioned. Or, I would have to provide a transcript. Any text has to be readable by a screen reader, so I have to Alt tag any images with a short text description. California higher ed schools are not allowed to adopt textbooks whose online resources are not 508 compliant. So, while I can explore tools and figure out lessons, etc. I have to also ensure that they are compliant. What experiences have the rest of you had with this?
I can honestly say that I've heard of it, but it has never been actually addressed with regard to how we disperse content. While I understand the intention of initiative such as this, I wonder: to what extent does it hamper the pursuit of education when educators simply avoid the exasperation by not playing the game.
ReplyDeleteI know, luckily we do have some folks on campus to help us. But there is some--well forget it then, I just won't try. Proponents however say that the honest effort at compliance is what is required, and what can be better than allowing access for all. They would ask, how would we hamper the pursuit of education by not doing it?
ReplyDeleteWow, sounds like a headache and time killer. I am happy to say I have not heard of this.
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