Accessibility in the Digital Age

Spring, 2002 Syllabus

The Evergreen State College

Part-Time Studies

Faculty: Randy Groves (randy@scn.org; 425.868.6014)
Divisional Emphasis: Scientific Inquiry and Social Science
Level: Upper Division
Credits: 8
Class Size Limit: 25
Program Meeting Times: Wednesday evenings, 6 to 10 PM; five 8 hour Saturday sessions.
Program e-mail list: acc2002@scn.org

Accessibility 2002 Schedule | Accessibility 2002 Resources

Program Description

E-mail, the Web and e-commerce have become significant forces in communications and society. The most common vehicle for delivery is the Web page. But how usable are the graphics-heavy Web pages that dominate the scene? How accessible are they to people who in the material world would be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act? Or to people who don't speak English or speak it as a second language? And what resources are available to assist those who would like to make their pages accessible to the widest possible range of abilities?

Accessibility in the Digital Age is a one - quarter part - time program investigating the topic of accessibility and usability as it applies to the World Wide Web. Students will learn some of the theory behind creating usable and accessible Web pages, learn to use the resources that are available to assist in the process of creating such pages, critique some of the prominent sites, and learn about current laws, standards and guidelines. Technologies to be discussed and used include HTML, XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets, XML, and XMLST. It is expected that the students will work in small groups on a web site, in collaboration on group work and individually on their own set of pages. In addition, students will experience firsthand what it is like to navigate the Web with different levels of ability.

Students will also hear presentations from speakers representing academia, industry, and the disabled community.

HTML experience is desirable, but not required.

Credit will most likely be awarded in computer science, Web programming, and community development.

Learning Objectives

• To understand the rationale and motivation for creating accessible web sites.
• To become familiar with the available tools and current languages used in the creation of accessible web sites.
• To be able to work effectively in groups.
• To become aware of some of the issues surrounding accessibility.
• To be able to analyze web sites for accessibility.

Meeting Times

Readings

The primary resources for the class will be "Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities" by Michael Paciello, and "Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Use for Users with Disabilities" by Kara Pernice Coyne and Jakob Nielsen. Additional resources include "Designing Web Usability" by Jakob Nielsen and "Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed" by Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir. I have purchased program copies of this book for the class to share. We will also make extensive use of resources on the Web.

Note: There is an additional charge for the "Beyond ALT" report. It was not possible to include this in the bookstore price (which is just for the copying of the report). I am paying for a portion of the report out of program funds, but it will be necessary to collect $5 from each student. What you need to do is pay the Cashier's Office, either in person or by mail. You will need to identify the class Accessibility in the Digital Age", the account number 218122 and the sub-code 0140. You can mail the check to Evergreen, attention the Cashier's Office. There is also a night drop on the right side of the door to the registration area.

Seminars

Seminars are an important part of the Evergreen educational philosophy. Everybody neeeds to be an active participant in seminars and people need also to take care to let everybody speak. It is critical for everybody to read all the readings that are expected by the time of the seminar. Beyond this, it is important to actively read the readings. This means having a dialogue with the material as you go along. Don't accept what you're reading blindly! Ask questions of the material. Mark it up. There will be a journal question (see the online schedule) that you will need to discuss in writing for each seminar. This short essay (1 - 2pages) will be turned in at the end of each of the four seminar sessions. It must be typed.