Educational Web Sites Accessibility Design Model Jatinder Singh Manhas Department of Computer Science & IT (BC) University of Jammu, India +91-9419173793
[email protected] ABSTRACT Web sites accessibility is a basic requirement to protect everyone’s equal right of accessing the information in information society. These days it becomes mandatory that all kinds of vulnerable groups should be able to access information and acquire services from web sites. In the design process, enough attention has not been given to educational websites accessibility. After explaining the need of web engineering in websites design, the relation and the importance of web accessibility are studied and different kinds of vulnerable groups are identified. This paper introduces status of educational web accessibility and put forward the concept of educational web accessibility design. Firstly, role of web engineering in web accessibility is discussed; secondly, proposes five fundamental principals as different types of online learners and their relations with educational websites accessibility; thirdly, Function, design concept and seven principals of universal design are related with educational websites accessibility; fourthly, Design model of educational web accessibility is studied; lastly, it gives out basic design steps in designing accessible educational websites or in the end authors integrates the web accessibility into design process by using top down approach. Through these efforts of web engineering, design concept, principles and model of educational web accessibility, the levels of educational web accessibility will be improved.
Developing accessible websites utilizes multiple disciplines, such as animation, communication design, corporate identity, graphic design, human-computer interaction, information architecture, interaction design, marketing, photography, search engine optimization and typography. Web design is the skill of creating presentations of content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that is delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, by way of a Web browser or other Web-enabled software like Internet television clients, micro blogging clients and RSS readers. Releasing and running of educational web sites don’t automatically ensure that their information and services can be accessed by all learners. Thereby, some learners are marginalized or ignored intentionally or unintentionally, such as disabilities, elderly population, learners holding non-mainstream network equipment, group with low level internet skills and novice, learners with diverse languages etc. When they access educational web sites, they will encounter some kinds of barriers of web accessibility [2, 3].
1.1 Web Engineering role in Educational Website Accessibility
Moreover developing any web based system is a multidisciplinary field, with encompassing inputs from diverse areas such as human-computer interaction, user interface, systems analysis and Categories and Subject Descriptors design, software engineering, requirements engineering, hypermedia engineering, information structures, testing, modeling K.6 [Management of Computing and Information Systems]: and simulation and project management, as well as social K.6.1 [Project and People Management]: Strategic Information sciences, arts and graphic design. So the designer, developers and Systems Planning managers should be equipped with the knowledge of all the multiple discipline to produce an effective web based system as General Terms shown in figure 1[4]. If all the above mentioned fields are used in Design, Management a right manner while developing websites, accessibility of a website can be increased to a greater extent to fulfill the needs of Keywords Web engineering, accessibility, universal design website wide variety of user’s category. development model, website design process, educational web sites.
1. INTRODUCTION Educational web sites are one of the most important platforms for public to access information and obtain services in information society. Traditionally, designers and developers don’t attach more importance to individual information requirements of learners because of the stress of programming and building of information resources in the complex process of designing web sites. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee.
Figure 1. Web development – A multidisciplinary field
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discussed earlier. In most web design process, web accessibility is marginalized, even neglected. As a learner of educational web site, the most concerned is whether the information and services it is providing are accessed universally or not. Therefore, the first 2.1 Disabilities function to realize is website’s accessibility; information In this paper, the disabilities mainly are those people who are management and artistic presentation takes the second position as restricted in controlling computers and the peripheral equipments described in Figure 2. attached to it, they can be divided into four groups: learners with visual impairments, deaf learners, learners with mobility and intellective impairments [8]. Learners with visual impairments, they have typical difficulties to access the information of graphics, photos, flashes, and videos. Deaf learners, they have difficulties to access the information of music, voice, and any type of sound in videos, if transcripts or captioning is not present in them. Learners with mobility, especially those with arm impairments, they have difficulties to control keyboard and mouse. Learners with intellective impairments, they have difficulties to understand the meaning of web content.
2. ONLINE LEARNER’S RELATIONS WITH EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES
2.2Learners with non-mainstreaming Network Equipment Today with rapid development in information technology, there are great changes in people’s ways of connecting Internet which includes hardware as well as software. Mobile phone, PDA (personal digital assistant), and other mobile terminals are Figure 2. Functions of educational web design common network equipments helps in accessing internet; wide variety of browsers (such as Firefox, Lynx, MyIE, etc.) have been the tools of browsing web for learners. But many educational web 3.2 Design concept of educational web site sites don’t support the diversity of these hardware and software, The designers, developers and managers of educational web sites so this is another important aspect in educational web conceptualize the target group i.e. it decides the target users of the information and service. The relation between them can be seen in accessibility. Figure 3.
2.3 Learners with low level Internet Skills and Novice
Among different users of educational web sites, there are many learners with low level Internet skills and novice. On the one hand, they should enhance their basic computer skills, on the other hand, they are to be trained how to access and interact with web content because they are not familiar with educational web sites’ information structure. So they depend on the navigation and supportive help in web environment during Internet surfing. They will encounter the problems of navigation and interaction in web accessibility.
2.4 Elderly Population Because of their age, their body and mind are degenerating, and they can also encounter the same online barriers of web accessibility like other disabilities.
Figure 3. Relation of design concept and target users
At present, the main problem is the design orientation of designers, developers and managers; they often image educational As India is a country of diverse cultures and languages, more than web sites’ user as a person of holding mainstream network half of Indian people do not like reading English when on the net. equipments, with high-level computer techniques, normal body Only 41% prefer to read English [1], so the web content should and mind, exclude some vulnerable group’s discussed earlier. include multiple languages with respect to learners, and provides 3.2.1 Design concept of educational web sites’ essential and abundant helpful information to learners.
2.5 Learners with Diverse Languages
accessibility
3. Function, Design Concept And Principles of Educational Websites’ Accessibility 3.1 The function of an accessible educational web site Most designers, developers and managers attach more importance to the function such as information management and artistic presenting of educational web sites. So the main design aptitude of educational websites put more focus on realizing its function and design art. But it is always neglected that the most basic function of an educational web site is to provide information and services for all learners including all the vulnerable groups
In order to advance the accessibility level of educational web sites, it must transform design concept of web designers, developers and managers. They should hold the concept of universal design during the web design process. The concept of universal design was put forward by Ronald L. Mace. In Assistive Technology Act of America (1988), the term `universal design' means a concept or philosophy for designing and delivering products and services that are usable by people with the widest possible range of functional capabilities, which include products and services that are directly usable (without requiring assistive technologies) and products and services that are made usable with assistive technologies [5].
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3.3 Design Principles of Educational Website Seven principles of universal design, which are regarded as the most prevailing principles reflecting its core concept [6]. Combining these principles with the practice of educational web design: 3.3.1 Equitable use: The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities. This principle asks that educational web design should adapt to learners with different abilities and can provide the same learning content to everyone. This principle should make educational web design attractive to all learners. 3.3.2 Flexibility in use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. This principle requires that educational web design should accommodate the body and mind of different individual to providing multiple choices to access learning resources. Educational web sites should meet their different learning preferences and fit different learners’ browsing habits. 3.3.3 Simple and intuitive: Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level. This principle asks the navigation mechanism should be clear and easy to understand. At the same time, educational web design should reduce unnecessary complexity. This principle asks that web content should include multiple languages with respect to learners, and provides essential and abundant helpful information to learners. 3.3.4 Perceptible information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of existing conditions or the user's sensory abilities. The information of educational web sites can be apperceived and understood by all learners. Using multiple mode, such as graphics, sound and touch, provides necessary information. The Signal-toNoise ratio between instructional content and non correlative information of learning should be high, for example the color of foreground and background. At the same time, educational web sites can support assistive technology and multiple browsing agents so that more people can access its content. 3.3.5 Tolerance for error: The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions. Many learners of educational web sites are novices and disabilities with limb. When they access educational web sites, they could cause too many incorrect manipulations because of their low skill or arm’s limited flexibility. So educational web design should decrease the negative influence, and permit them “back to original status” or give them some hint to the next operation. 3.3.6 Low physical effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue. Educational web design should improve learners’ efficiency, ease, consistency and simplicity of access as much as possible. It also helps learner’s accuracy and clarity to access educational web sites. For example, the hyperlinks should be designed according to the Fitts' law.
4. DESIGN MODEL AND METHODS OF EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES 4.1 Design model of educational web sites Accessibility design is an integrated part of the educational web design; it is not a single design process. Accessibility design embodies in each phase of educational web design. Generally, educational web design involves two bodies: one is designer, developer and manager, the other is the learners. To learners, they concern the technologies and the content of media presenting, and to the designer, developer and manager, they pay more attentions to the functionality, the richness, and the safety of educational web sites. In order to balance their concern, the authors put forward a model combining with web accessibility as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Design model of educational web site From the Figure 4 the targets of educational web design and learners’ accessibility needs are unified. An accessible educational web site is more conform to educational web standards, more beneficial to index by search engine, and more beneficial to reduce developing cost. The most important benefit is to improve learners’ performances of web-based learning.
4.2 Design Methods of Educational Websites An educational web site is a platform of delivering information, and it is also a software system. So during the life cycle of educational web site’ development, it should follow the flow of software design. In general, educational web sites can be developed by taking the method of “from top to down”. Moreover, web accessibility should be integrated into this process. As shown in Figure 5.
3.3.7 Size and space for approach and use: Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, regardless of user's body size, posture, or mobility. On the one hand, the system of computer hardware can adjust to learners’ physical ability; on the other hand, web-based educational environment can also push and deliver information and resources according to learners’ preferences and special needs.
Figure 5. Integrating web accessibility into design process
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In the first phase of defining problem and exploring concept, and [8] Zhenxiang Sun, Jianian Zhang. (2006). A Review of Studies the phase of needs analyzing, we should know the nature of on Web Accessibility Abroad. Chinese Journal of Special educational web sites. The target users of educational web and the Education. (4), 87-91. preference or special needs of learners should be understood by analyzing environment. Those can help us to clarify the relation of educational web sites’ aim and web accessibility. The result of these two phases is a report of accessibility needs. This report is also a standard to guide educational web sites’ development and evaluate the final product’s accessibility. Secondly, in the phase of prototype design and the phase of units of realizing and testing, the functions of educational web sites are developed according to the web sites’ aims and learners’ preferences. Thirdly, in the phase of system integration and testing, the system integration is to realize educational web sites’ prospective objects. There are two ways to test the system whether it is accessible, one is that the system should be checked by the related accessibility tools; the other is that the system should be tested and revised according to the accessibility report and all sorts of real learners’ access. Finally, if the development of an educational web site passed the fifth phase, it can be released and run. After those, it doesn’t mean there is no problem in web accessibility; the problems of web accessibility will constantly be found in running web. So the web manager will continuously repair web accessibility according to learners’ feedback and make web site useable for all.
5. CONCLUSION In India, number of learners is there with different types of disabilities as discussed earlier and the status of web accessibility is also very poor. So enhancing the level of educational web sites’ accessibility is an urgency to pay more attention to these vulnerable groups. Educational web accessibility is a part of digital divide and it is also very important for constructing harmonious society in India. The Authors in this paper discuss website design with the help of web engineering and tries to transform people’s concept of web accessibility by introducing the model of educational web sites’ accessibility. It also provides methods to improve web accessibility in the process of educational websites development. Just as Tim Berners-Lee (2000) pointed out that: The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect. It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities [7].
6. REFERENCES [1] Indian Internet Usage: Interesting statistics and analysis by Arun Prabhudesai [2] Jody Condit Fagan, Bryan Fagan. An accessibility study of state legislative Web sites. Government Information Quarterly, 2004(21):65-85. [3] Michael F. Chiang, etc. Computer and World Wide Web Accessibility by Visually Disabled Patients: Problems and Solutions. Survey of Ophthalmolody, 2005(4): 394-405. [4] San Murugesan, Yogesh Deshpande, Steve Hansen and Athula Ginige. Web Engineering: A New Discipline for Development of Web-based Systems WebISM (Web-based Information Systems and Methodologies) Research Group Dept of Computing and Information Systems University of Western Sydney Macarthur Campbelltown NSW 2560, Australia [5] Section 508.gov. Assistive Technology Act of 1998. available at: http://www.section508.gov/docs/AT1998.html, 2005-4-22 [6] Sheryl Burgstahler. Universal Design in Education: Principles and Applications. available at: http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/ud_e d u.html, 2005-8-22 [7] W3C. Web Accessibility Initiative. available at: http://www.w3.org/WAI, 2006-5-8.
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