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Published on 1 Comment on Bb Accessibility Tip: Text Formatting

by Janice Florent

The second tip in my series of accessibility related blog posts will focus on text formatting. Here are a few suggestions for making text legible for persons with a visual impairment and that work for nearly everyone.

Contrast – Use the highest possible contrast for text image showing contrasting text that is effective and text that is not effective
Point Size – The relationship between readability and point size differs somewhat among typefaces. image showing font point size that is effective and point size that is not effective
Leading – Spacing between lines of text, should be at least 25 to 30 percent of the point size. image showing leading that is effective and leading that is not effective
Font Family – Avoid complicated, decorative or cursive fonts. When they must be used, reserve them for emphasis only. image showing leading that is effective and leading that is not effective
Sans-serif or standard serif fonts with familiar, easily recognizable characters are best. image showing difference between serif and san-serif fonts
Font Style – Roman typeface, using upper and lower cases, is more readable than italics, oblique or condensed. image showing font style that is effective and font style that is not effective

Some additional points to consider:

  • Color should not be the only method used to convey information
  • Avoid red or green text or text decoration, such as Word Art, Shadows, 3D, etc.
  • Use bold or italic to display emphasis
  • Do not underline text (screen readers interpret underlines as links)
  • Avoid writing whole sentences in capital letters
  • Avoid moving or blinking text
  • Keep the number of fonts used to a minimum
  • The reading order should be the same as the visual order

You will remove significant barriers for the visually impaired if you take these suggestions into consideration when creating course content. An added bonus is that there will be students without disabilities, as well as those who have chosen not to disclose their disability to you, who will find your use of these tips helpful as well.

If you are interested in getting more information about text formatting refer to "Making Text Legible" at Light House International.

Published on Leave a comment on NEWCITY: Data Projects

We are passing along this opportunity, which presents interesting possibilities for Xavier faculty who may be interested in working with these data sets for research and/or student learning projects.

data.path Ryoji.Ikeda - 3

Since 2008, NEWCITY has worked to collect extensive Community Impact Measurement (CIM) parcel and resident survey data in historic Treme/Lafitte, Tulane/Gravier and 7th Ward neighborhoods. Currently, NEWCITY is working to collect the 2015 data, and previously has collected 2008, 2011, and 2013 parcel survey data and 2013 resident survey data.

This data is available to NEWCITY members and working groups in raw or analyzed form. We would like to encourage members to submit data projects that will assist them in grant writing and informed decision making. Examples of how the data has previously been used to create maps can be found at newcitynola.org/data/.  Inputs that can be analyzed include occupancy, building use, property condition, residential satisfaction and opinions on the area, and more.  Additional analysis will also be offered for data points that address quality of life, public safety, transportation and public health.

If you have a data project that you would like to submit to NEWCITY please contact the NEWCITY Neighborhood Partnership Coordinator Ciara Stein at cstein@providencech.org or (504) 821 7236.

Image credit: data.path Ryoji.Ikeda - 3 by r2hox | CC BY-SA 2.0

Published on Leave a comment on Suggested Feedback for Underperforming Students

by Karen Nichols

As a followup to my previous post on discussion boards, I thought I would outline some best practices for responding to underperforming students.  All too soon, we'll begin a new academic year and it's so important to stay on top of our students' status and provide help to them, especially if they are struggling.  In a recent issue of Faculty Focus, Dr. Maryellen Weimer offers suggestions for feedback based on why a student is not doing well.

For the student who just isn't trying, she recommends offering alternate assignments and trying to find ways to engage that student.  When I'm teaching French online, I do tell my students to make suggested alternatives or I may give more than one choice for an assignment, but that is still not enough motivation sometimes.  When a subject is required and a student has no interest in it at all, what feedback do you give to help them?

For the student who lacks self-confidence, Dr. Weimer recommends focused feedback.  Be descriptive and specific--not evaluative.  Focus on each individual task that the student must complete and celebrate the progress with that student.  Learning a new language can be quite overwhelming for many students and getting them focused on completing the task at hand can be tricky.  When a student tries to read a paragraph in French and only understands 20% of it, s/he must be shown skills to apply to figuring out the other 80%.

There are other reasons for underperformance such as not possessing the requisite skills to be taking the class (you're trying to take French 1020 without 1010 because you had French in kindergarten?) or a student just can't grasp a certain concept (verb conjugation--what's that?).  In all of these cases, Dr. Weimer's article gives good tips on how to work with your students to help them improve their performance and hopefully succeed.

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Published on 3 Comments on Bb Accessibility Tip: Headings

by Janice Florent

This is the first in a series of blog posts that is a follow-up to my recent Accessibility in Education post where I wrote,

Even though you may not have a student with a disability currently enrolled in your course, there are a few things you can do when creating content that will save you time later when you do have a student with a disability. This is not wasted time as you will find some students without disabilities will take advantage of accessible content as well.

This post will focus on "Headings." A good heading structure is an important accessibility consideration. Headings should be used to indicate main points and sub-points on a page. Like an outline, heading levels should appear in logical and consistent order.

Headings allow screen reader users to easily navigate through the page and can make the page more usable for everyone.

When creating documents, many people do not use true "heading styles." For example, when creating a heading, they simply change the font type, enlarge the font size, change the color, make it bold, etc. When this is done, the document has no real structure that can be detected by a screen reader program. While visual learners can scan the page for text that stands out from the rest, users who rely on a screen reader are not able to "see" these elements.

The correct way to provide structure for accessibility purposes is to use heading styles. Listed below are instructions on applying heading styles in MS Word, PowerPoint, and the Content Editor.

Add heading styles in MS Word document:

  1. Click on the Home tab.
  2. Highlight the text.
  3. Click on the appropriate heading selector in the styles panel (e.g. Heading 1 for top-level heading).
image of MS Word ribbon showing headings

Add heading styles in PowerPoint:

Using slide layouts will ensure that files have correctly structured headings and lists, and proper reading order.

To assign a Slide Layout:

  1. Click on the Home tab.
  2. Click on New Slide.
  3. Choose the desired layout from the slide options menu.
image of PowerPoint ribbon showing slide layouts

Add heading styles in the Content Editor:

  1. Highlight the text.
  2. Select the proper heading level from the style selector (e.g. Heading for top-level heading; Sub Heading 1 for a subheading of the top-level heading, etc.).
image of Content Editor showing style selector

Note: When creating heading styles always use the proper heading level. Create uniform headings so that a screen reader can navigate the content and can understand how it is structured.

Additionally, you can customize styles.
Learn how to change styles in MS Word 2013
Learn how to change a style set in MS Word 2010
Learn more about PowerPoint 2013 slide layouts
Learn more about PowerPoint 2010 slide layouts

The National Center on Disability and Access to Education developed Accessibility Cheatsheets to assist anyone who is creating accessible content. These free resources are catered to less-technical individuals.

Published on Leave a comment on Civil Rights leader DeRay McKesson to keynote Rising Tide X conference

For Immediate Release August 4, 2015:

The organizers of Rising Tide, the premier annual new media conference in the GulfSouth, are proud to announce that civil rights activist DeRay McKesson (@deray) will deliver the keynote speech at Rising Tide X (#RTX), Aug. 29 at Xavier University.

Since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, McKesson has used social media to amplify protest and advocacy against oppressive systems. In the past year he has become one of the most widely-recognized civil rights leaders of his generation. His keynote, scheduled for 2pm, will highlight a full day of multi-track content at Rising Tide X.

Rising Tide organizer Mark Moseley said, "Part of Rising Tide's mission is to use technology to transform advocacy into action. No one has done that better over the past year than DeRay McKesson. He is at the forefront of an innovative digital movement to expose and resist systems of racial oppression. We thank him for accepting our invitation and look forward to his speech and presence in New Orleans on August 29."

Fortune magazine rated McKesson #11 on its list of “World’s Greatest Leaders.” The Los Angeles Times hailed McKesson as one of the “new civil rights leaders,” and New York Magazine profiled him in May and said he helped build the "nation’s first 21st-century civil rights movement."

For more on @DeRay, see his bio page.

Rising Tide X will be free admission. Organizers aim to have free lunch for attendees, as well, but this will be contingent on the amount of donations received on the RTX Go Fund Me page.

The 10th annual Rising Tide New Media Conference will be held from 9am-5pm at the University Center at Xavier University of Louisiana, 1 Drexel Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana 70125 on August 29, 2015.

Contact:

Mark Moseley
RTX organizer
oystersliq@gmail.com
504-481-5407

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Published on Leave a comment on Expanding Our Scope

by Bart Everson

Spirostar I

Xavier faculty certainly do a lot to advance the University's mission.

That's why here at CAT we are excited to be expanding the scope of our support for Xavier's faculty. Our newly revised mission is focused on "the development of faculty across all career stages and areas of professional responsibility."

Read our complete statement of Mission, Vision & Values.

Photo credit: "Spirostar I" by Heartlover1717

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Published on 3 Comments on Accessibility in Education

by Janice Florent

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This law was enacted to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

It is extremely important for students with disabilities to have access to accessible course content. Statistics show that 12.9% of students have a disability. One in twenty-five incoming freshmen have some form of cognitive disability. These students have neurological challenges processing information. *

Forty to sixty percent of undergrads and nine percent of graduate students choose not to report their disability and will just struggle through their courses.*

Chances are you will have a student enrolled in one of your courses that has a disability and has chosen not to disclose that information to you.

The Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) was designed with accessibility in mind. While Blackboard is accessible to persons with disabilities, uploaded content may not be.

Instructors should make a conscious effort to make sure content is accessible. Even though you may not have a student with a disability currently enrolled in your course, there are a few things you can do when creating content that will save you time later when you do have a student with a disability. This is not wasted time as you will find some students without disabilities will take advantage of accessible content as well. Additionally, if you usually copy content from one course to another you will be one step ahead because your copied course content will already be accessible.

Also for cognitive disabilities it’s important to build flexibility into your courses. This is done by using many modes of information and creating a clutter-free learning environment.

In an upcoming series of blog posts I will provide information on things you can routinely do when you create content and setup your courses to make it accessible.

*Source: https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Accessibility/Accessibility_in_Education

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Published on 1 Comment on The Ultimate Guide to Discussion Boards!

by Karen Nichols
I know that a few of us in CAT have already posted suggestions and hints for success in using discussion boards. But I just have to share this guide with you from the Teaching Effectiveness Program produced by the Center on Teaching and Learning at the University of Oregon. Licensed to share through Creative Commons Generating and Facilitating Engaging and Effective Online Discussions (choose the discussionboard.pdf) is an 11 page how-to document that is chock-full of information, resources, research and examples. It is the best attempt I've seen yet that successfully pulls together the myriad pieces of what makes discussion boards work. A bit overwhelmed when I saw "11 pages," I soon discovered that it's actually an easy read. I would love some feedback from you to see if you find this resource as wonderful as I do.

is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike3.0Unported License.

Published on Leave a comment on Mix It Up: Strategies for Blended Learning

by Janice Florent

blended learning infographic

Blended courses (also known as hybrid courses) are courses where a portion of the traditional face-to-face instruction is replaced by web-based online learning. For blended learning to work well it entails more than simply replacing class time with online course elements.

In a Faculty Focus article, Rob Kelly writes,

When the online and face-to-face components complement each other as integrated activities in each setting, there is a clear purpose and students understand the relevance of both modes.

In the article, Rob goes on to give the following recommendations for how to successfully integrate the online and face-to-face modes of a blended course:

  • Start with the learning goals. Is there something that's going to support the learning outcome particularly well face-to-face or online or by using some combination of the two?
  • Make careful modality decisions. Select the right mix of modalities (online vs face-to-face). Consider the affordances of each modality and the workload/logistics.
  • Be deliberate in providing opportunities for interaction. Just because a communication tool or technique is available does not mean that you have to use it.
  • Reinforce one modality in the other. Be explicit in making the connections between the two modalities by acknowledging and extending the interaction in each.

Creating a blended learning course may not be appropriate for all courses or all instructors. The biggest benefit to a well-designed blended course could be a much improved teaching and learning experience.

You can read more about blended learning strategies in "Blended Learning: Integrating Online and Face-to-Face Courses" and "Strategies for Teaching Blended Learning Courses, Maybe You (and Your Students) Can Have It All" articles.

Image credit: "blended learning graphic overview" by jodieinblack licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0