[Athen] FW: WebAssign info needed

[Greg Kraus]

Here is what I know about WebAssign and accessibility.

1. In the past they have had a different interface for screen reader
users, but this interface has to be requested through a help call.
(Yeah, I know. I'm just reporting the facts here.) They basically have
to rebuild the course using an older, more accessible interface. It is
a lot of work on their part, but they have seemed willing to do it in
the past. Note, this workflow might have changed - see #3.

2. In some of their question banks they have an accessibility flag set
so instructors can only choose from questions that are accessible.

3. The company has had a complete change of management within the past
18 months, so things that may have been true in the past may not be
true any more.

4. I have met with them a couple of times, both before and after the
management change, to discuss how to make modern Web applications
accessible. (They are located on our campus but they have not been
affiliated with the university for a long time.) They have seemed very
receptive to suggestions but I do not know if those suggested changes
have made their way into their latest products.

5. As part of their management change they actually restructured
themselves corporately so one of their guiding principals is to work
for the benefit of the community, not just to make profit. It's called
a 'Benefit Corporation'. So when I say they were receptive in #4, I
genuinely feel they wanted to do the right thing. I just don't know if
they have fully executed it yet.

6. Of course then you have the usual problems inherent to some STEM
content and accessibility. They are aware of these problems but I
don't know how they have decided to handle it.

I hope this helps.

Greg
--
Greg Kraus
University IT Accessibility Coordinator
NC State University
919.513.4087
gdkraus at ncsu.edu
http://go.ncsu.edu/itaccess

On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 7:41 PM, Dan Comden <danc at uw.edu> wrote:

> Wink, can they give you example content so you can verify?

>

> I know it's not what you asked for, however this might be useful as a flag

> for others communicating with vendors.

> My opinion: a vendor that claims screen reader accessibility without

> mentioning anything else (like WCAG 2.0) has at best an incomplete grasp of

> accessible design...

>

> Just my experience but it's been pretty consistent over the last few years.

> It's definitely a sign for me that a closer look will be required.

>

> -*- Dan

>

> On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 4:30 PM, Wink Harner <foreigntype at gmail.com> wrote:

>>

>> Clarifying: WebAssign website “claims” screen reader accessibility in

>> their online books. I need to know if any of you have hands-on experience

>> with this site and know how much, if any accessibility there is with screen

>> readers, and more specifically if any of you have tested it for

>> accessibility recently.

>>

>>

>>

>> Thanks in advance.

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Wink Harner

>>

>> winkharner1113 at gmail.com

>>

>> foreigntype at gmail.com

>>

>>

>>

>> (Disclaimer: this email was dictated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please

>> forgive any quirks, mis-recognitions, or omissions.)

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> From: Wink Harner [mailto:foreigntype at gmail.com]

>> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2015 4:07 PM

>> To: Access Technology Higher Education Network

>> Subject: WebAssign info needed

>>

>>

>>

>> Hi All ATHEN-ites,

>>

>>

>>

>> Do any of you know/have any direct knowledge of whether WebAssign is

>> screen reader compatible with JAWS or NVDA? We have a blind student

>> potentially coming on board for spring term and while their website *claims*

>> accessibility, I wanted to know from a more hands-on source whether in fact

>> it is.

>>

>>

>>

>> Thanks in advance.

>>

>> Wink Harner

>>

>> winkharner1113 at gmail.com

>>

>> foreigntype at gmail.com

>>

>>

>>

>> (Disclaimer: this email was dictated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please

>> forgive any quirks, mis-recognitions, or omissions.)

>>

>>

>>

>>

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>>

>

>

>

> --

> -*- Dan Comden                       danc at uw.edu

>     Access Technology Center   www.uw.edu/itconnect/accessibility/atl/

>     University of Washington      UW Information Technology

>

>

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