Reference material about the accessibility of WebCT

1 press release 25/6/01

"WebCT is committed to making certain that online courses are open and accessible to people with disabilities. As a result, the Company has released WebCT 3.6, which complies with Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act of 1973, enabling people with disabilities and using assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to fully use the software. WebCT has worked with the Adaptive Technology (ATRC) at the University of Toronto on Section 508 compliance requirements. WebCT 3.6 enables faculty or course designers with disabilities to use assistive technologies with WebCT in their course creation and delivery. In addition, WebCT 3.6 makes it easier for faculty and course designers to create courses that are compliant with Section 508."

See http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/010625/02028631.html

2 Excellent set of pointers for designers using earlier versions of webCT - see local version

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/ltu/accessibility/webct.htm

3 Interesting examples set up in WebCT

go to http://chumley.cabrillo.cc.ca.us:8900/public/access/ and use login and password -

4 Georgia State Uni - good techniques for WebCT

See http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwdls/webCT/topics_&_tools/how_to/webct_accessibility.htmlguestaccess/guestaccess

5 Conference papers - WebCT conf June 23-7 2001

using WebCT accessibly - paper (local)

See for details of the Observer Recording Sheet for WebCT at http://snow.utoronto.ca/initiatives/access_study/obs_protocol/record_sheet_Webct.rtf and a summary of problems at http://snow.utoronto.ca/initiatives/access_study/sources.html

See paper from UNSW - http://webct.bu.edu/web-ct/help/access/accessibility.html#design_access (local)

6 techniques for webct

See

• http://www.rehab.uiuc.edu/infotechaccess/edtech/course_tools/webct.html (local)
• http://webct.bu.edu/web-ct/help/access/accessibility.html#design_access
• http://library.ucok.edu:10020/IT1/designguides.htm (local)
• watch http://www.wac.ohio-state.edu/ for accessible multimedia tips ...

7 Notes about WebCT

"Disadvantages
* Web CT presently does not meet Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines.
* Because WebCT is a data base, it requires uploading all material into the File Manager, one at a time. Simple changes require a significant number of "clicks." (For example, it takes 9 clicks to change a single background color vs. 3 clicks using a web editor such as Claris Home Page or Macromedia Dreamweaver.)
* Speed - Users encounter slow performance when accessing pages.
* Caution: This is not "easier". Using WebCT requires learning the program's data entry system (which is not always as intuitive as the creators would like it to be). An instructor will still need to know how to create HTML pages (either by writing code or using a web page editor.) WebCT representatives admit that their product is not best suited to creating web pages, and suggest that pages be "created outside and brought into WebCT," or be linked from WebCT.

 CTL Recommends that before adopting WebCT, carefully consider its advantages and disadvantages. Considering the learning styles of our students, we feel WebCT does not conveniently support dynamic web page design or interactivity that will actively engage students' imagination. The kind of things that engage our learners such as sounds, movies and interactivity will need to be created independent of WebCT."

Last updated: 8 March 2002