[Athen] Accessibility question, Blackboard Vs. DESIRE2LEARN?

[Harris,John Paul]

Hi,

I tested the newest Bb,  version 9.1, with JAWS and found that the virtual classroom collaboration tool is not accessible.  There is a link to open an accessible version of the virtual classroom tool, however, the accessible version is not accessible with JAWS.   I wrote up the attached Word doc with screenshots and I thought I would share.  I am going to send to Blackboard and request that they address this issue.  I did not fully test all the JAVA applications/tools in Blackboard 9.1, so there could be other accessibility concerns I do not know of.

Blackboard suggests installing the JAVA access Bridge to allow a screen reader to interact with the accessible virtual classroom tool.  I installed the JAVA Access Bridge to test these JAVA applications, but it did not help.

When I install the JAVA Access Bridge I follow the instructions exactly, but I never have any success with increased functionality.  If you have any suggestions on how to install or use, please let me know.


John Paul Harris
Assistive Tech IT Coordinator
Assistive Technology Resource Center (ATRC)
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO


From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Ken Petri
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 8:23 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: Re: [Athen] Accessibility question, Blackboard Vs. DESIRE2LEARN?

Hi Al,

Hadi Rangin, Marc Thompson, Brian Richwine, and I are working on a redo of our LMS comparison for Midwest Educause in March. We compare Bb, Moodle, Sakai, and D2L. Last year's version, presented at CSUN, is here:

http://presentations.cita.illinois.edu/2011-03-csun-lms/


ken
--
Ken Petri
Program Director, OSU Web Accessibility Center
102D Pomerene Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio  43210
Office: 614.292.1760 | Mobile: 614.218.1499 | Fax: 614.292.4190
http://wac.osu.edu | petri.1 at osu.edu<mailto:petri.1 at osu.edu>


On Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 9:18 AM, Al Puzzuoli <alpuzz at msu.edu<mailto:alpuzz at msu.edu>> wrote:
Hello everyone,
MSU is currently considering both aforementioned options for our next learning Management System. I have not had personal experience with either  of these, but I understand Blackboard has made significant strides in terms of accessibility in its most recent versions. Can anyone comment as to how these two  compare from an accessibility standpoint?
Thanks,

Al Puzzuoli
Michigan State University
Information Technologist                                       http://www.rcpd.msu.edu
Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities  517-884-1915<tel:517-884-1915> 120 Bessey Hall East Lansing, MI  48824-1033
















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