[Athen] RE: athen-list Digest, Vol 73, Issue 3

[Bill Grubaugh]

Thank you for the LMS systems review. 
Below is one that didn't make the list that may be worth looking into. 
It came in out of the blue via an ACM News posting and also a note to the CSU CAT's listserve.
What sparked my curiosity was that it was listed it as one of the top 10 Open Source developments of 2011 via something called "Black Duck Software" [URLhttp://www.blackducksoftware.com/ ] . 

I looked at Instructure's Canvas VPAT looks pretty darn good. Supported and where supported with exception it leads us to how we may plan and apply the equally effective access piece of our puzzle. On top of that, the companies forefront statements regarding accessibility and backing from the NFB [URL NFB Letter on Canvas] are impressive.

In short:
Having Access commitments like this at the front end is a beneficial resource savings, if only in not having to seek, facilitate, and nurse a company along a 508 development path. 
Meaning, if these folks are here now and another company is six to twelve months away - this company may be six to twelve months further along when the latter catches up.

As mentioned this is out of the blue - no ties, no commitments other than a curiosity - and possible inclusion in the LMS review list.

Bill Grubaugh MS HF/E
Disability Access Compliance Analyst (DACA)
Disability Programs & Resource Center
San Francisco State University
Phone 415-405-4132
 Note: Comments within the is communication are viewpoints of the sender and may not express the viewpoints of the SF State

Below is a message from their West Coast Rep. Directors Ron Gerling (415-374-7558 email ron at instructure.com - more details below). Website URLhttp://www.instructure.com/
IT Systems
http://www.instructure.com/technology

 

>From Mr. Gerling

Ensuring an accessible and pleasant experience to all users, regardless of disability is a key focus of Canvas.  The system was built using the most modern HTML and CSS technologies and conforms with the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WAI WCAG) 2.0 AA and Section 508 guidelines. 
 
By utilizing the WAI-ARIA guidelines, we ensure that even our most interactive, dynamic widgets are easy to use with assistive technology (such as JAWS or NVDA) as well.  Canvas received the highest award given, "Gold" certification, from the National Federation of the Blind this summer, becoming the fastest LMS to ever do so. 
 
Canvas is built on new technology. It utilizes the best web 2.0 technologies and latest standards and does not rely on any proprietary or outdated legacy technologies such as Java or framesets. Because the entire application was written with modern, semantic markup and accessibility techniques in mind, Canvas goes beyond just "stamp-of-approval" compliance and certification, and truly is easy and enjoyable to use for persons with disabilities.
 
Canvas is CERTIFIED for both: STUDENT interface and PROFESSOR/CONTENT creating interface.
 
Some of the measures that we take to ensure the highest level of compliance are:
 
- We work with each client institution on branding to maintain Canvas' compliance with contrast ratios, styles, color schemes
- "Alt" tags in images
- Automatic for images in content pane
- Ask for alt text when embedding external images
- Rich Content Editor only provides styles when formatting text
 
So thanks for asking about Canvas, happy to do a demo for you sometime.
Cheers,
Ron
CANVAS
Get to know Canvas in 1 minute 34 seconds: http://video.instructure.com/ 

Compare Canvas to other LMS
http://www.instructure.com/compare-canvas
Analytics Coming to Canvas!
http://www.instructure.com/analytics
Mobility: Canvas for iOS
http://www.instructure.com/blog/2011/12/08/canvas-for-ios/
FREE: Try Canvas for free
http://www.instructure.com/

-----Original Message-----
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Today's Topics:

   1. RE: LMS Evalutation (Rangin, Hadi Bargi)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 09:29:02 -0600
From: "Rangin, Hadi Bargi" <hadi at illinois.edu>
Subject: [Athen] RE: LMS Evalutation
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
	<athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Message-ID:
	<E64D96424F4E554C841B19F26A9E288E3F3153E0F3 at DSMAILBOX2.ad.uiuc.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

We have evaluated 4 LMS last year. You can find the result at:
http://presentations.cita.illinois.edu/2011-03-csun-lms/

We are in the process of revising our evaluation and will publish the result at the Midwest Educause on March 26 this year.

Hadi


________________________________
From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Chaves, Derek
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 8:38 AM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Athen] LMS Evalutation

My group is currently evaluating numerous LMS solutions. There are other groups in the organization that are pushing for Blackboard Vista 9.1. I do not feel comfortable endorsing this product since there have been major accessibility problems with blackboard in the past. Has anyone performed accessibility testing on Vista 9.1? Can anyone provide me with details on accessibility problems they have encountered with this product? Thanks.

Sincerely,

Derek Chaves
Technical Project Manager
NE INDEX/Shriver Center/UMASS Medical School
200 Trapelo Road
Waltham, MA 02452
781-642-0288 - Office
www.disabilityinfo.org<http://www.disabilityinfo.org/>

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