[Athen] athen-list Digest, Vol 132, Issue 7

[Tristen Breitenfeldt]

Hello Krista et al,
As an experienced screen reader user and graduate who previously relied on
Alternative Formats for textbooks and class materials (when I was a
student), I would like to provide a small note of feedback that may improve
the usability of workbook-style files for screen reader users.
Krista said "...*        Include blank spaces
o   Enter BLANK in capital letters in the sentence
o   Enter blank space modifiers (i.e., numbered or lettered blanks) before
the word BLANK (e.g., 1 BLANK, 2 BLANK, etc.)..."
I suggest that you also put brackets [] around the word blank as brackets
help to break up the flow of text-- indicating to a screen reader user that
something has changed in the text (i.e. user input is required.).
To illustrate this point, read the following two sentences aloud and
identify which is easier to understand:
In our house, the cat, dog, and blank live inside.
In our house, the cat, dog, and [blank] live inside.

The above may visually be a small change, but to a screen reader user, it is
important to receive this level of auditory feedback.
(Note, you could replace the brackets with double hyphens  (--) if you
prefer, but the use of brackets is a bit more standardized.)

Tristen Breitenfeldt
tristenbreitenfeldt at gmail.com
www.tristenb.com


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Subject: athen-list Digest, Vol 132, Issue 7

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Today's Topics:

   1. Alt format for "Ethnomedicine" (Corrine Schoeb)
   2. Making ESL materials accessible for blind students (Pfau, Jillian)
   3. Re: Making ESL materials accessible for blind students
      (KRISTA L. GREEAR)


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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2017 11:03:33 -0500
From: Corrine Schoeb <kschoeb1 at swarthmore.edu>
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Athen] Alt format for "Ethnomedicine"
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Hi - I'm hoping someone might have this book in electronic format and be
willing to share:

"Ethnomedicine" by Pamela I Erickson, University of Connecticut

10 digit ISBN 1-57766-521-X

13 digit ISBN 978-1-57766-521-2

-- 

Corrine Schoeb
Technology Accessibility Coordinator, ITS
610-957-6208

*** Swarthmore College ITS will never ask you for your password, including
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2017 19:45:49 +0000
From: "Pfau, Jillian" <Jillian.Pfau at montgomerycollege.edu>
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
	<athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Athen] Making ESL materials accessible for blind students
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Greetings colleagues,
And happy new year to you all!  I'm reaching out for some suggestions on how
to make ESL textbooks and workbooks accessible with JAWS for a completely
blind user.  These books contain very little text and are comprised mainly
of images that are used to depict scenarios the student must describe in
English... similar to any other foreign language textbooks.
There is no audio version of these books, so I am starting from scratch with
.pdfs.  However, any alt text that I might use for the images would
essentially give the student the answer to the questions.
If anyone has any experience with remediating materials like this, I would
love to hear your suggestions on how to proceed in making these accessible.
Thanks and best regards,
Jillian
Assistive Technology Coordinator
Disability Support Services
Montgomery College
51 Mannakee St., CB116
Rockville, MD 20850

Tel. 240-567-5224
Fax. 240-567-5097

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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2017 19:52:15 +0000
From: "KRISTA L. GREEAR" <greeark at uw.edu>
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
	<athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Making ESL materials accessible for blind
	students
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We converted about 12 books for 2 different ESL students into braille.

Biggest takeaway - heavily involve the instructor to (a) identify which
images will be used and (b) how to describe the images so the answer is not
contained in the alt text.

We also had to come up with some formatting standards for these ESL books.
We needed to connect with the student and all those involved in production.
Here is what we wrote down inour "manual":

Labeling
*        book title, chapter and page range should be at the top of ever
file your team creates
Images
*        Check if the image is decorative or informative
*        If it is decorative, do not include in any form
*        Only include informative images that offer additional information
and do not reiterate the main text
o   Include the actual image and include alt text in the description field
of the picture properties
o   Enter the image's alt text in the main body of the text, add "Image of"
text in front of alt text
Reader's Notes
*        Include in double brackets: [[...]]
*        Can be used to explain or clarify instructions or tables
Formatting
*        Aim for consistency at all times
*        Include page numbers at top of page as usual
*        Include all numbered lines or numbered spaces
o   Numbered lines appear as individual lines in the Word doc (press Enter)
*        Fonts remain consistent: bold stays bold, italics stay italics,
etc.
*        In the table of contents, do not include the word "Page"
*        Include blank spaces
o   Enter BLANK in capital letters in the sentence
o   Enter blank space modifiers (i.e., numbered or lettered blanks) before
the word BLANK (e.g., 1 BLANK, 2 BLANK, etc.)
Tables
*        Tables should be entered as linear text whenever possible
*        Include reader's notes to help clarify if necessary
*        Tables in table format will work if there is no other choice
Flow Charts
*        Simple - do not include image, just describe in linear format
*        Complex - Report to Program Manager. Will need (a)
instructor/department's direction about if it's important to include then
(b) talk with Dan about how to include it.

Krista


KRISTA GREEAR
Assistant Director
Disability Resources for Students

011 Mary Gates Hall
Box 352808
Seattle, WA 98195-2808
Direct: 206.221.4136 / Main: 206.543.8924
greeark at uw.edu<mailto:greeark at uw.edu>/
http://disability.uw.edu<http://disability.uw.edu/>
[cid:image001.gif at 01D26CCA.195462C0]

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Pfau, Jillian
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2017 11:46 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Athen] Making ESL materials accessible for blind students

Greetings colleagues,
And happy new year to you all!  I'm reaching out for some suggestions on how
to make ESL textbooks and workbooks accessible with JAWS for a completely
blind user.  These books contain very little text and are comprised mainly
of images that are used to depict scenarios the student must describe in
English... similar to any other foreign language textbooks.
There is no audio version of these books, so I am starting from scratch with
.pdfs.  However, any alt text that I might use for the images would
essentially give the student the answer to the questions.
If anyone has any experience with remediating materials like this, I would
love to hear your suggestions on how to proceed in making these accessible.
Thanks and best regards,
Jillian
Assistive Technology Coordinator
Disability Support Services
Montgomery College
51 Mannakee St., CB116
Rockville, MD 20850

Tel. 240-567-5224
Fax. 240-567-5097

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