[Athen] Box cloud file sharing accessibility

[Susie Dunn]

Last week Gabe posted the following query.

My institution is considering Box<https://www.box.com/home>, cloud based file sharing and storage, as another option for all community members. I've been asked to review and provide comments on accessibility. I've taken a cursory look and they have an Accessible Version and a Standard Version, which doesn't thrill me. I'm wondering if any of you have reviewed this product, or use it on your campuses - and what your impressions are.

I just recently participated in a weekly webinar hosted by the state library commission.  The topic was "Clouding Up: How to Use Cloud Storage"  Afterwards, I emailed the presenter, who happens to be a Commission staffer.  He was kind enough to reply and share some resources. Please see an edited version of our exchange. Perhaps these items will be of some interest

Susie

Craig,

I enjoyed your presentation yesterday.   Accessibility hasn't really been a topic NCompass Live has touched on much but I'd be curious, if in your work, you have run across any information on the accessibility of the products he discussed. In an unrelated thread in the DSSHE-L listserv today, there have been several posts indicating that Google has made significant strides in making things accessible so I know work is being done.

Hi, Susie,

Thanks very much for your email!  I found a few links that might be helpful.  The MAA paper is a few years old, but it's cited everywhere, so I'm assuming that it's probably still the most recent analysis of accessibility features in cloud storage.  If I run across anything else, I will pass it along to you.

http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/sites/default/files/files/MAA_Cloud_computing_whitepaper_accessiblePDF_FINAL.pdf - I'm not sure that the entire document would be helpful, but the appendix contains a comparison of cloud services.

http://news.psu.edu/story/328104/2014/09/29/academics/box-penn-state-delivers-accessible-e-textbooks-students - Box's program for Penn State is focused on textbook accessibility.

https://blogs.dropbox.com/dropbox/2015/07/teaching-accessibility/ - This mentions Dropbox's updated iOS app, with changes aimed at visually impaired users.

https://www.google.com/accessibility/products-features.html - A list of Google's accessibility features.  There's a section that covers Drive in general, but also sections for the individual platforms within Drive, such as Docs and Sheets.

https://community.box.com/t5/Account-Information/Using-A-Box-Com-For-Accessibility/ta-p/2781
- Box's accessibility features

Best regards,
Craig






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