Presentation at COLTT, Aug. 8, 2017

1. Teaching Accessibility and Universal
Design in Higher Education
Curriculum: Benefits, Approaches
and Resources
Howard Kramer
University of Colorado-Boulder
hkramer@colorado.edu, 303-492-8672
COLTT 2017

2. Presentation posted at
slideshare
http://slideshare.net/hkramer99/
https://goo.gl/AFjnts
UD-in-Curriculum-COLTT-
2017.pptx

3. Introduction
 Conference:
 Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web &
Technology
 Class:
 Universal Design for Digital Media - 14 week class
 Grant Project:
 Promoting the Integration of Universal Design in University
Curriculum (UDUC)
 Member of EOWG of WAI
Howard Kramer
University of Colorado-Boulder
hkramer@colorado.edu, 303-492-8672

4. Today’s Outline
 What do we mean by Universal Design?
 Importance is teaching about UD and
accessibility
 Examples & models for including UD content in
curriculum
 Resources for teaching about UD/accessibility
 Resources & future plans of UDUC project
 Round Table - your input & feedback

5. Today’s Objective(s)
 Acquire a sampling of examples of UD in
curriculum that you may replicate or build upon
 Provide you with ideas for promoting UD
curriculum at your own institutions
 Inspire you to become involved with this project
by using our resources, recommending
resources or collaboration

6. Universal Design – What do we
mean?
 Universal Design (Defined/Origins)

7. Universal Design – What do we
mean?
 Universal Design (Defined/Origins)
 Universal Design is the design of products and
environments to be usable by all people, to
the greatest extent possible, without the need
for adaptation or specialized design – Ron
Mace, Architect

8. UD Defined – variations on a theme
 …[T]he practice of designing products or
environments that can be effectively and efficiently
used by people with a wide range of abilities
operating in a wide range of situations
(Vanderheiden, 1997, p. 2014).
 …[B]uilding products that are robust and
accommodating. Universal designs take account of
differences in sight, hearing, mobility, speech, and
cognition. Universal design helps not only people
with disabilities, but also any of us when we’re
tired, busy, or juggling many tasks (Francik, 1996).

9.  “Universal design implies a process that
goes beyond minimum access codes and
standards, to design environments that
are comfortably usable by people from
childhood into their oldest years.”
- Nasar & Evans-Cowley, eds. 2007. Universal
Design & Visitability.

10. Definition of Accessibility

11. Definition of Accessibility
 Accessibility refers to the design of products,
devices, services, or environments for people
who experience disabilities. [1]
 Includes both "direct access" (i.e. unassisted)
and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with
a person's assistive technology.

12. Vs. Usability
• What about accessibility? How is it
different from usability?

13. Vs. Usability
• What about accessibility? Isn’t that
a part of usability?
• And they’re right of course. Unless
you’re going to make a blanket
statement that people with disability
are not apart of your audience, you
really can’t say your site is usable
unless it’s accessible.
- Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

14. Universal Design vs.
Accessibility

15. Assistive Technology or Special
Adaptation
Universal Design
After the fact Before the fact
Individual adjusts to unaltered
environment
Alters environment and information
Burden on the user Burden on the designer
Consumable, with limited use Used by many in various circumstances
High cost Lower cost
Juli Albiero-Walton, Incorporating UDL into Online Curriculum [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved July 28,
2014 from
http://s3.goeshow.com/atia/orlando/2014/profile.cfm?profile_name=download&Handout_key=53163
B6C-B7CB-4346-B171-D6A1FE5709A6&xtemplate=1

16. Accessibility vs. UD
Skating Ring - Ottawa, Ontario
Shanghai, China

17. Accessibility vs. UD
Graham Park
BART – San Francisco

19. Importance of Teaching UD
Social Case
 It’s the right thing to do.
 Aging population.
 World is increasingly globalized.
The power of the web is in its universality.
Access by everyone regardless of disability is
an essential aspect.
Tim Berners-Lee

20. Importance of Teaching UD
Business Case
 Teach Access Survey
 Tech company language on hiring
folks with disabilities
 Accessibility consultant shortage
 ATLAS class survey

21. NPR Story
“Harvard Business School Moves
To Study More Diverse Cases”
Importance of diversity in
business case studies
How does it relate to UD and
Accessibility?
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/02/526514154/harvard-
business-school-moves-to-study-more-diverse-cases

22. Campus & Faculty Conceptions of
Universal Design
 “[F]ew postsecondary administrators, faculty, and staff
are even marginally acquainted with Universal Design or
Universal Instructional Design” (Higbee & Goff, eds.
2008)
 Faculty at CU – may not have the definitive definition or
understanding of UD
 Confusion on the distinction of “UD content”.

23. EXAMPLE COURSES

24. Universal Design for
Digital Media
Course Outline
(text version on next
slide)

25.  Week 1 (Introduction to
Universal Design: for whom
are we designing and why?)
 Week 2 (Learning the
language of design...)
 Week 3 (General design
principles, introduction to
web design)
 Week 4 (Interaction Design
& Information architecture)
 Week 5 (The Case for Web
Standards)
 Week 6 (Structure &
Semantics: Document
Object Model )-
 Week 7 (Structure,
xhtml...)
 Week 8 (Presentation w a
dash of Behavior, CSS)
 Week 9 (Presentation
continued…, behavior)
 Week 10 (Accessibility)
 Week 11 - Break
 Week 12 (The Mobile Web
& Accessibility)
 Week 13 (Rich Internet
Applications)
 Week 14 (HTML 5)
Course Outline

26. Web Standards
our strategy for UD for the Web

27. Web Standards
 Using Web Standards as a Universal
Design foundation
 Web Standards –
 semantic HTML markup
 CSS layout, the separating of content from layout
& formatting
 Standard coding

29. Universal Design – pyramid comprised of Web Standards
Foundation, followed above with Usability / Design Best
Practices with Accessibility at the top of the pyramid
Universal Design Accessibility Keyboard Access
Alternate Text
Usability / Design Best
Practices
Consistent & Clear
Navigation
Visibility
Feedback
Visual Alignment
Typography
User control
Web
Standards
Semantic Markup
Separation of style from
content
Standard coding

30. Books & Curriculum Material
 A Web for Everyone: Designing
Accessible User Experiences
 Norman, David A. The Design
of Everyday Things (2002).
 Cooper, Alan; Reimann Robert
M. About Face 2.0: The
Essentials of Interaction
Design (2003)
 InterACT with Web Standards:
A holistic approach to web
design, Anderson, et. al.

31. A Web For Everyone
Personas
Excerpts
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-for-everyone/#excerpts

32. No Book Version
 WAI – How people with
disabilities use the web
https://www.w3.org/WAI/i
ntro/people-use-web/
 Universal Design for
Digital Media (eBook)
http://www.uduc.org/res
ources.php

33. Aspects of Course that particularly
effective at promoting UD
 Emphasis on multi-faceted benefits –
mobile, SEO, etc.
 AT User Interview
 Use of screen reader and other
evaluation tools
 Opportunity for them to redesign a site
of their choice

34. Intro to HCI:
Teaching Accessibility & Universal Design
Concepts Through the Use of Public Policy
Projects
 Jonathan Lazar, Universal Usability
Laboratory, Towson University
Other Courses

35. Intro to Human Computer Interaction
Students Learn:
 Range of user abilities / disabilities
 International guidelines related to web a11y –
WCAG 2.0
 Assistive Technology
 Specific details of federal & state laws related to
accessibility
 Accessibility Testing
Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects.

36. Accessibility Testing
 Screenreader
 Written set of instructions for
absolute minimal accessibility
inspection (amai)
 Manual testing – avoids
automated tools
 After training on testing, students then perform
series of tests on websites required under law to be
accessible.
 Reports sent to government agencies
Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects.

37. Sites to Test
 Starts with university home
page, then department pages,
then local pages students are
familiar with.
 Course content & student
administrative sites – school
application, registration,
parking, etc.
Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects.
 Local government and commercial sites that
are legally required to be accessible.

38. Student & Pedagogical Benefits
 Students learn technological
skills to determine a11y
 Develop empathy
 Promote advocacy
 The intersection (and
limitations) of public policy
and accessibility
Teaching a11y & UD concepts through the use of Public Policy Projects.

39. Teach Access
 Originated at Yahoo!
 Collaboration between tech companies, faculty
and accessibility specialists
 Goal
 Increase accessibility knowledge and skills among
tech and design professionals
Other Resources / Projects

40. Teach Access - Initiatives
 Include accessibility in tech job requirements
 Conduct faculty training
 Provide guest speakers from tech companies
for the classroom
 Develop training tutorials on accessibility
Other Resources / Projects

41. Promoting the Integration of UD Content
into University Curriculum (UDUC)
 Increasing the amount of classes that address UD
(content) in post-secondary
 Determining resource needs for teaching UD
 Developing resources for teaching UD – syllabi,
curriculum, teaching resources, etc.
 Sampling familiarity of students taking design/tech
classes
 Surveying benefit of UD and accessibility skills in
obtaining employment
Other Resources / Projects

42. Promoting the Integration of UD Content
into University Curriculum (UDUC)
Other Resources / Projects

43. Promoting the Integration of UD Content
into University Curriculum (UDUC)
 Increasing the amount of classes that address UD
(content) in post-secondary
 Determining resource needs for teaching UD
 Developing resources for teaching UD – syllabi,
curriculum, teaching resources, etc.
 Sampling familiarity of students taking design/tech
classes
 Surveying benefit of UD and accessibility skills in
obtaining employment
Other Resources / Projects

44. W3C WAI Resources
 Before and After Demonstration (BAD)
 Web Accessibility Tutorials
 Developing Presentations and Training
 Future Resources
Other Resources / Projects

45. Opportunities for Collaboration
 Sharing of Resources
 E-text book
 Joining UDUC network/mailing list
 Distributing surveys – initial knowledge
of UD/a11y and follow-up

46. Other Curriculum Resources
 A List Apart - Link-Rodrigue, The Inclusion
Principle,
 http://www.alistapart.com/articles/the-inclusion-
principle/
 W3C Web Standards Curriculum
 https://www.w3.org/community/webed/wiki/Main_
Page
 Usability.gov
 http://usability.gov/methods/test_refine/heuristic.h
tml
 Sitepoint.com
 http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/information-
architecture

47. Other Curriculum Resources
 First Principles of Interaction Design”
 (http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html
);
 “Personas”
 http://wiki.fluidproject.org/display/fluid/Personas

48. Accessing Higher Ground
Conference
Accessible Media, Web & Technology
 November 13 – 19, 2017
 Westin Hotel - between Boulder & Denver
 Faculty boot camp – collaboration with Teach
Access
 Still accepting proposals until end of May
 http://accessinghigherground.org