Assistive Technology and Alternative Media

We can be better prepared to meet the standards set by the CVC Course Design Rubric if we understand the constraints faced by our students. Curb cuts are the design element that enables users in wheelchairs to easily access city streets. The wheelchairs, however, are a specialized technology that allows people with limited mobility to be mobile. Wheelchairs are an assistive technology. Curb cuts work because the design functions seamlessly with the assistive technology.

Assistive Technologies

In order to design well in our online courses, we need to understand the assistive technology our students may be using. Assistive technology (AT) refers to a broad spectrum of devices and software that can be helpful to people with disabilities. In online learning, AT typically refers to a range of technology used for verbal and nonverbal communication. Like wheelchairs, these technologies help your students.

The following is a list of common categories of AT. It is important to recognize that this list is just a starting point, as the ultimate range of assistive technologies is as varied as the range of disabilities.

Screen Readers: These read not only the text, but all features of menu items on a computer to the user.
Text to Speech Readers: These simply read text aloud.
Screen Magnifiers: These magnify text on a computer.
Speech Recognition: This software transcribes speech to text.
Closed Captioning Decoders: Circuitry or software built into televisions and video playback channels (like YouTube) that allow users to view closed captions.
Alternative Keyboard Access: Software and/or hardware that allows the users to enter information with a modified keyboard or through other means.
Refresh-able Braille Displays: Technology that turns text into Braille.

Alternate Media

Alternate Media

Just as wheelchair users benefit from curb cuts, your students who use AT will benefit from design that functions seamlessly with their AT. Since most AT in your online courses will focus on visual and oral communication channels (like text, images, video, and audio), you can help your students' AT work best if you provide visual and oral material in formats that integrate with the AT being used. These formats are called alternate media.

So, for instance, if a student is visually impaired, the AT s/he may use is a screen reader, like Jaws or Nvidia. In order for these technologies to function well, the student will need textual material to be carefully formatted to work with the AT. If the student has a learning disability, the AT s/he may use is text-to-speech software, like Kurzweil or TextHelp. In order for this AT to work well, the student will need material that is text, not graphics or screen shots.

Alternate Media and Assistive Technologies by Disability Type

Our students have a range of differences, there are many options in AT, and technology is a dynamic field! For online instructors, this can lead to some confusion about which types of alternate media are necessary. To help you sort this out, here are some common disability types with corresponding examples of common AT and alternate media:

Alternate Media & Assistive Technologies by Disability Type
Disability	Assistive Technology	Inaccessible Material	Alternate Media
Mobility Impairment	Wheelchair	Curb	Curb Cut
Blindness	Screen Reader	Unformatted Text	Formatted Text
Blindness	Refreshable Braille Display	Unformatted Text	Formatted Text
Blindness	DAISY Reader	Unformatted Text	DAISY Books
Blindness	CD or Tape player	Printed Material	Books on tape and Audio CDs
Blindness	Computer	Printed Material	Audio CDs, MP3s
Low-Vision	Screen Reader	Unformatted Text	Formatted Text
Low-Vision	Screen Magnifier	Unformatted Text	Formatted Text
Deafness	Computer	Uncaptioned Video	Closed Captioned Video
Deafness	Computer	Audio file	Transcripts
Deafness	Video Conference	Audio file	Live Captioning, Sign Language Interpreter
Low-Mobility	Speech Recognition Software	Poorly designed documents or websites	Well-designed websites
Low-Mobility	Specialized Keyboards	Poorly designed websites or applications that don't allow keyboard control	Well-designed websites
Learning Disabilities	Computer	Poorly designed websites	Multi-modality to provide audio and visual reinforcement

Additional Resources

Disabled World - Assistive Computer Devices and Software
Assistive Technology Products
American Federation for the Blind - Refreshable Braille Displays