Teachers | accessibility

Resources for Teachers

Created to share specific product accessibility information with educators and others seeking to acquire accessible materials
- Section 508 requires that devices and software provide a functional alternative for product use for the following capabilities—vision, hearing, speech, motor control, and simultaneous action
Four goals of VPAT
- Identify the ways in which a device can be used by individuals with hearing impairments, visual impairments, or who have limited mobility
- Help users understand important accessibility information that is not immediately apparent from typical product use
- Provide a predictable and detailed product overview & make product comparisons easier
- Outline the developer’s impressions of the product’s access features—may or may not have been tested by persons with disabilities
  - Products are displayed in a table format and categorized by the extent to which accessibility information is discoverable in their product information or on their websites

A web-based tool to evaluate websites’ accessibility strengths and weaknesses
- Copy and paste a website into the search box, and it searches for accessibility features
- Provides a color-coded summary of the site’s accessibility features
  - An overlay appears on the site with red, yellow, and green icons to allow users to see the functionality of the site
Three features of the WAVE tool for educators—provide a snapshot of accessibility
- Selectable text—can the text be identified and read by a screen reader?
- Logical navigation order—how are items ordered for reading by a screen reader?
- Text equivalents for images—what alternate text descriptions are provided for non-text items

Focuses on reinforcing the importance of selecting and acquiring only materials, systems, and devices that are accessible
PALM web pages—provide handouts, PowerPoints, guidance documents for different audiences
- Pages provide guidance on purchasing curriculum materials, too