EDU 558 Journal - Class #5 - Accessibility

Accessibility Assignment:

·         Read the article at http://www.webaim.org/intro/  . You don’t have to follow all of the links (unless, of course, you want to), but explore the article and any concepts that you need to learn more about. Watch the two videos.

·         Read the article at http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/2-universal-usability/index.html  (read the entire chapter).

·         Go to http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/peach/edu558/accessibility/accessibility-bad-example-1.htm and complete the activity. Be sure to check the site with the two web accessibility tools at the bottom of the page. Comment about what you found in your journal.

In your journal, answer the following questions...

o   How does this page violate the Perceivable category? How do you know?

The website violates the Perceivable category of guidelines for accessibility in several ways.  The color scheme (text color and background color) make it hard for any viewer to read.   There are several ways the site does not offer viewers with disabilities such as providing transcripts and a screen reader for those who are hearing/seeing impaired.  The site also offers many links to search, however those must be clicked on by using a mouse (although it allows you to tab through the links) and would not be accessible for those who have motor disabilities. 

o   How does this page violate the Operable category? How do you know?

The website violates the Operable category of guidelines for accessibility by offering many links to search, however those must be clicked on by using a mouse (although it allows you to tab through the links) and would not be accessible for those who have motor disabilities. 

o   How does this page violate the Understandable category? How do you know?

The website violates the Understandable category of guidelines for accessibility because it is very unorganized.  The layout of the entire page has no flow with the placement of the scrolling text, video, and text.

o   How does this page violate the Robust category? How do you know?

The website violates the Robust category of guidelines for accessibility because it looks like it as done when the Internet was first made.  There looks like there has not been an update since it was first made, other than the video.  Overall, the site is not very attractive to today's Internet users.

                               Now, go back to your journal and add to your answers any information that you found through these websites. Did these sites find all of the problems?

Finally, right-click on this webpage and choose View Source. Using your html knowledge (or, go to http://w3schools.com/ if you need more help), see if you can find obvious html coding problems that are causing some of the accessibility problems (hint: look in the image tags). In your journal, copy the tags that should be fixed and add the code that you would need to make the code more accessible. (BTW, you will see a MARQUEE element - look it up to see what it does!)

After using the WAVE evaluation tool,  additional accessibility issues and structural were found: the site is missing a heading,  multiple embedded objects are not identified with text, including You Tube video and "word art", and marquee text is not supported by all browsers.

To view a list of Code Errors and their Fixes, please click here to view the .pdf file.
 

·         Check the home page for your school with one of the web accessibility sites described in the site above and with the 4 guidelines from W3C and see how accessible it is. Then, check with your website administrator at your school or district and see if there are accessibility guidelines that they follow. Comment about what you found in your journal.

Using the Wave evaluation tool, my district web site contains 35 accessibility errors.  For a full report, click here. Many of the errors are the same, mostly being the images not having a text included.  I sent the information, along with the Wave evaluation too, to our site coordinator for reference and she was grateful for the information. 

·         Review your current plan for your website and see if you can pre-identify any obvious accessibility problems. Comment in your journal what steps you will take to make sure your site is accessible to all of your users. Refer to the readings when appropriate.

After learning about accessibility and watching the videos, it has helped me look at my website through different eyes.  The purpose of my site is a communication resource for students, parents and the community.  I will be sure to keep all learners, especially those with disabilities, in mind when putting together my site.  Applying the Wave evaluation tool will also help me overcome any accessibility errors my site has.  I also want to follow the accessibility guidelines discussed earlier.  Simple thing such as text font and color against different backgrounds can be crucial for your viewers.  I also want to make sure my site is maintained and updated to meet today's standards for technology.  This will help my audience keep coming back to my site instead of being forgotten about.

·         In the objectives for this class, I list that we will be talking about ‘equity, ethics, legal, and human issues’ dealing with websites. How will you make sure your website meets these issues, especially based on the accessibility issues that you have learned about this week? Discuss this in your journal.

See previous response. 

EDU 558 Journal - Class #4

Learn about Designing your Content for your Web Resources

You should now have collected data about your web project and should have a general idea of what content you will be using. Now, let’s learn about different ways of organizing and using the content in your website. Once you know more about the best organizational strategies for your content, you will be able to make a better decision about which web tool to choose.

·    From Digital Directions, read http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2009/01/21/03website.h02.html. Then, visit your school district’s website. In your journal, briefly comment about whether or not the website meets most of the suggestions from the article.

Education Week: Digital Directions offers many suggestions that school districts can use to build better web sites.  After visiting the Grant County School District web site and comparing it to these suggestions, I believe my district has done a good job of being a “gateway” for parents, teachers, and students.  This site is maintained and updated on a consistent basis.  The main page provides recent news throughout the district and provides important information that is needed.  There is a ton of information provided but it is broken up by different areas and schools.  This allows the entire district site to have clear navigation.  The site also has a consistent look throughout all of the pages included.

·    From the Yale Web Style Guide, read the Information Architecture chapter: http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/3-information-architecture/index.html Refer to the first two articles as well as the following sections of the Yale Web Style Guide, to answer the following questions:

o   Thinking about the Five Hat Racks (http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/3-information-architecture/2-organizing-information.html), how do you anticipate that you will organize the content for your website?

The content for my website will be organized mostly by categories.   I will also try and have the most essential elements placed together for users to gain access to on a regular basis.

o   What underlying paradigms for site organization do you anticipate you will choose?

I am not sure I have a specific paradigm in mind for my site because there are several that I think are useful for my audience.  I want my audience to be informed on important news and information that is taking place within my classroom (novelty).  I also want to provide them with useful links that can help them with current or future projects that take place in my classes (navigation).

o   On page http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/3-information-architecture/3-site-structure.html, what site structure do you anticipate choosing?

The structure of my site will be sequenced-based because it deals with what is going on within my classroom as it happens or about to happen.

o   On the page http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/3-information-architecture/4-presenting-information.html, it talks about creating a site design. Choose how you will do this. For example, will you simply draw this on paper or will you try something like using a visual software tool (like using the shapes or smart art on Word, a software tool like Visio or Inspiration, or an online visual mapping tool. For example, there is a site called Cacoo (http://cacoo.com/) that is cool. Or, you can use Google Draw, which is a part of Google Docs (http://docs.google.com).

It is important to know how to design the structure of your site.  You want to have a good design in mind before you start placing in your content because it can become scattered and unorganized.  I have research several sites to look at their site structure to see what works the best and what doesn’t work.  I have even sketched out ideas on paper to see how I would like the content placed out.  There are also several tools available to help map out your design.  I thought Cacoo can be a very useful resource, especially for those who are visual like me.  I want to keep my design simple and basic for my audience because I know that not everyone will have the same experiences with technology as others so I want to keep it accessible for everyone.

IN YOUR JOURNAL – briefly describe the web tool you have preliminarily decided to use and why you ultimately chose the tool. Be sure to discuss how you based your decision on your data and your information design and why this particular tool will be the best choice for your particular situation.

There have been many steps I have taken for designing my site.  I started out designing my site based off of other sites I have visited.  I wanted to use elements that worked for them.  I then sketched out ideas of my site and placed those ideas into a web design tool, Cacoo.  Ultimately, I have decided to use a weebly as my design tool for my web site.  It is very user friendly and you have a ton of options to choose from when it comes to layouts, photo/video displays, etc.  I also chose this design because I think it will be great to teach my students how to create their own weebly site.  They can take my site and use it as a resource when designing their own.  It is also helpful that it is a free site to use and you can upgrade to a paid membership for more elements to choose from.  My weebly site will also allow access to my blog which can include announcements or special events to inform my students and parents.

EDU 558 Journal - Class #3

The following are my answers to questions about my website project:

What is the mission of your school /classroom/ organization?

VISION:   To advance knowledge and activate momentum.

MISSION:  The mission of Grant County Schools is to ensure success for all students by establishing high expectations and providing high-quality instruction through excellent teachers, support staff and leadership embraced by supportive parents and an engaged community.

GOALS:

Goal 1:  Focus on culture to build internal and external trust that ensures safe, positive experiences for all students, parents, staff and community.

Goal 2:  Foster a district-wide commitment to learning for all – whatever it takes – in an effort to assure that students, administration and staff reach their greatest potential.

Goal 3:  Prepare students for successful transition to post secondary education and/or work-force training.

How will creating a Web site support your mission?

Creating a website will help promote the educational process that is designed in my classroom.  It will be a valuable resource for my students and their parents who are seeking to be involved in their child’s learning.  My website will also be a resource for students who are seeking for opportunities for life after high school, either post-secondary of the work force.

What are your two or three most important goals for the site?

Provide students with the resources to be successful in my classes (content, upcoming projects, assignments, tests, etc.)

Provide students a place to showcase their art and skills.

Provide better communication with students and parents through uses of blogs/announcements.

Who is the primary audience for the Web site?

The primary audience of this website is my students.  I will also encourage parents to take part in using the site.

What do you want the audience to think or do after having visited your site?

My goal for my site is to provide the audience with the information they may need in order to be successful in my classes.  I also want my site to provide content that is valuable and entertaining (links to other web sources that pertain to my content) that may not be able available in the classroom.

What Web-related strategies will you use to achieve those goals?

Offering other web-related resources will help my audience use all the tools available from my site.  I can provide sites for specific projects to help my students gain more knowledge.

How will you measure the success of your site?

Through discussions with students and parents and including a page counter, I can keep check on how often my site is being visited.  A survey will also help understand how my site is being used and give my audience a place to voice their opinions or concerns. 

How will you adequately maintain the finished site?

Once completed, the site will need to be maintained on a regular basis.  Information will need to be refreshed, once a week or once a new project/lesson is started.  If not maintained, my site could fade away and die like so many other sites before.

What type of web site are you considering?

My web site will be based on a static type of page.  These are easily maintained and still secure.  I also plan on incorporating a blog with the site to add class information/discussions.  Dynamic pages seem too advanced and will have to be constantly maintained.

How many “pages” (entries) will the site contain? What is the maximum acceptable count under this budget (note: your ‘budget’ should include the time that you will spend building your site)?   

The site will contain several pages including: a home page, a blog, a photo gallery, student/class information, a class forum, and a place where students can upload artowkr or pictures related to the content. 

What special technical or functional requirements are needed?

The site will be created to appeal to audiences with basic knowledge of web browsing.  I want my site to be accessible and provide specific content knowledge for my students.  Everything needed will be just a click away.

Where will you host your site? For example, is there school or district webspace or will you use a commercial site?

Although my district offers teachers webspace to create pages, the features are very limited to other options.  One option I will consider is creating a basic site that it located on this webspace that will offer my site as a link.

Will your site be open ‘to the world’ or only to a select audience (i.e., your class, your school)?

This site will be open to the world but will be focused toward students in my classroom.  If I just wanted to grant only my students access, I could create a password-protected site instead.

How will you develop your content inventory? Where will you store it before you put it on the webpage?

Through research and development, I will create a content inventory based on what is needed to meet my goals for my web site.  Everything that will be used can be stored on either my home computer or external hard drive as backup. 

What type of web access does your audience have (i.e., do they have broadband (cable modems, DSL, etc.) or dial-up? Do they have home access or only school-based access?

Through a survey, I will discover what type of web access my audience (students) has.  Through previous discussions, a majority for my students have Internet access at home.  For those students who do not, the school provides several computer labs to use when needed.

What is the budget for the site (note: your ‘budget’ should include the time that you will spend building your site (figure out, approximately, how much you would want to get paid if you were doing this for money, any software that you needed to purchase, etc.)?

Budget for my site will take in consideration time spent to maintain the site (at least once a week/ a couple of hours) and software/hardware needed to provide content to the audience.  Since this site will be maintained part time, I believe $500 a month would be acceptable compared to $20-50,00 larger sites need.

What is the production schedule for the site, including intermediate milestones and dates?

A production schedule needs to include the initial planning and developing of the site, content gathering, launch of the site, and maintaining of the site.