Technical Guidelines for Digital Learning Content

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Technical Guidelines for Digital Learning Content
SREB Educational Technology Cooperative Informatio
n Technology Task Group February 16, 2005
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Technical Guidelines for Digital Learning Content
Myk Garn Senior Advisor for Distance
Education Kentucky Council on Postsecondary
Education
SREB Educational Technology Cooperative Informatio
n Technology Task Group February 16, 2005
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Technical Guidelines for Digital Learning Content

• Kentucky Virtual University
• Virginia Department of Education
• Daytona Beach Community College
• Broward Community College
• Georgia Department of Education
• Florida Distance Learning Consortium

• University of West Florida
• Georgia Virtual Technical College
• Florida Virtual School
• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
• Academic ADL CoLab
• Georgia Board of Regents
• Louisiana Board of Regents
• Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education

got usability?
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.WAV
JPEG
SCOs
FLASH
digitallearningcontent?
PDF
HTML
QuickTime
XML
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Digital Learning Content

• Publisher eContent (ePacks, eCartridges) for
  Course management Systems
• eTextbooks
• Faculty/Institutionally developed Content

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Techno-Conundrum

• Every time you turn around theres another new
  technology and another access issue.

Cyndi Rowland Center for Persons with
Disabilities, Utah State University Distance
Education Report, January 2004
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got accessibility?

• 95 of 2 4-year institutions offering distance
  education courses in 20002001 used websites for
  their distance learning.

• 18 followed established accessibility guidelines
  or recommendations to a major extent
• 28 followed the guidelines to a moderate extent
• 18 followed the guidelines to a minor extent
• 3 did not follow the guidelines at all
• 33 did not know if the websites followed
  accessibility guidelines

Distance Education at Degree-Granting
Postsecondary Institutions 20002001, National
Center of Education Statistics
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Accessibility Driver

• Governments are increasingly treating Web
  accessibility as a fundamental right.

Gartner Creating an Accessible Government Web
site May 28, 2003
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Regulating Accessibility

• Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act amended in
  1998

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Accessibility Barrier

• The magnitude of the problem is partially hidden
  by its definitionand partially by denial.

Gartner Prepare for the Aging of the
Boomers September 26, 2002
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Understanding Accessibility

• Regulationsoften force everybody simply into a
  compliance anddrive the market to a lower common
  denominatorrather than encouraging innovation
  and quality.

Mark Schneiderman Director of Education
Policy Software Information Industry
Association
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Defining Accessibility

• W3C Guidelines (e.g. HTML 4.01 transitional)
• Section 508
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 1.0
  2.0

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Turning Policy into Practice

• Instruction without accessibility is
  malpractice.

JoEllen Killion National Staff Development
Council SREB Educational Technology Cooperative,
July 2004
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Understanding Usability

• Functionality
• Multiple authentication
• Disables host application features
• Fit variable bandwidths
• User privacy security
• Portability
• Reorganize
• Move between applications
• Repurpose Reuse
• Operate with standard tools
• Instructionally integrated

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Usability Standards

• IMS Learning Resource Meta-data
• Sharable Content Object Reference Model, (SCORM
  )
• National Instructional Materials Accessibility
  Standard (NIMAS)

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SREB Digital Learning Content Initiative
Establish a development, evaluation, selection,
and acquisition framework of current guidelines,
regulations, and desirable functionalities for
digital learning content

• Providers
• Developers
• Distributors
• Procurement officials
• Users

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Digital Learning Content Initiative
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Technical Guidelines for Digital Learning Content
got usability?
http//www.evalutech.sreb.org/digitalcontent/PDC.a
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