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Comment by Mechelle De Craene on April 18, 2007 at 7:47pm

Thank you both Professor Johnson and Professor Lowell for all your insightful comments. As a teacher, it is tricky to try new media because there are so many laws that govern education. For K-12 teachers to be innovative with technology we must consider all view points. Thank you gentlemen for sharing your expertise so that we may have a clearer picture of how we can overcome the challenges that face us, to help diversify our learning landscape, and forge ahead despite the challenges.

Comment by nlowell on April 18, 2007 at 12:46pm

I'm happy to take the video down if that fact that it is not captioned offends this audience.

Not at all! There's nothing wrong with this video. It works very well for its intended audience. It doesn't overstate (too much) and gives a fair representation of the community.

I agree that there are huge benefits from technology that people with disabilities cannot use. There are no drivers who are blind (some days I wonder about that) but I wouldn't advocate banning autos.

The point is that -- as educators -- these environments are *research* environments, not practical practice for teaching the general public. The reason -- beyond the ethical one -- is that US schools that take Federal funds are subject to accessibility regulations. All too often these kinds of technologies get adopted without consideration of the implication of disability access.

[W]hile it is easy to write off new technologies because they do not serve the blind ignores their value in helping with other forms of disability.

The issue isn't whether or not a particular tool helps or hinders a particular segment of the population. The issue is where and how the technologies are being deployed and under what auspices.

Please don't construe my comments as a general dismissal of the technologies. They serve some segments of the population very effectively. I'm a SL member myself and enjoy it very much.

But the title of this group is "Learning and Physical Challenges Educational Program." I was invited to bring my special expertise on accessibility in online environments to the group. If we can't have a frank discussion about the liabilities and limitations of these tools here, then maybe I've misunderstood the point of the group.

Comment by Larry Johnson on April 18, 2007 at 2:17am

SL has many excellent educational potentials, but it would be among my last choices as a platform for the blind, since, like a Monet painting, it is an experience unquely designed to be experienced with sight, and sadly, someone that has significant visual problems will not be able to have the same experience. Does the fact that some are blind mean we should not have visual art? No. We do want to do all we can to help all to experience the fullness of life, but there are limits. A paragraph describing the content of the Monet is not the Monet.

Since virtually all the dialog and interaction in Second Life is in text, however, it is ideally suited for the deaf.

And while it is easy to write off new technologies because they do not serve the blind ignores their value in helping with other forms of disability. I was in San Francisco giving a speech to the Ed Tech Summit sponsored by the SIIA today, and highlighted the amazing work taking place in SL with autistic chiildren. The things happening with those kids is nothing short of miraculous.

Other work I cited was in the area of brain damaged patients, who find many ways to express themselves in the environment of Second Life, and that ability adds much depth and richness to their lives.

For mobility-imparied people, Second Life is hugely liberating, as it allows them not only to move freely like anyone else, but even to fly. I have a close personal friend who is paraplegic, and she tells me Second Life has given her a joy that she thought she would never know again.

I'm happy to take the video down if that fact that it is not captioned offends this audience. It was made for an audience of educators likely to want to experiment with Second Life, and for funders of our project.

The content of the video is licensed with Creative Commons, which means that anyone interested may download the source and add captions if they'd rather make a difference than make a point.

Comment by nlowell on April 17, 2007 at 1:26pm

it's not just virtual worlds

• it's every flash that requires the user to click
• it's every picture that doesn't have an alt-text or D-link
• it's every audio that doesn't have a transcript
• it's every vidio that lacks captioning and video descriptors
• it's every instance of Elluminate associated tools
• it's every single web page that uses graphical links without appropriate navigational support
• it's every radio button that has the "click" before the "label"
• it's every site that follows the W3C recommendation for a "separate but equal" text only implementation but fails to update the text everytime they update the site
• it's every PDF that's a picture of a page of text

The problems with accessibility and the web are not new. They've been around for as long as there has been a web. There are solutions to many of the problems, but too few people understand a) why it's a problem and b) how to deal with it.

Comment by Mechelle De Craene on April 17, 2007 at 11:43am

I've emailed Josh at SL to invite him to join in our conversation.

Comment by Mechelle De Craene on April 17, 2007 at 9:49am

Hmmm...Professor Lowell, that is an interesting point that I had not thought about before. Teaching at the K-12 level most of us haven't been able to teach with SL yet due to filters.

Therefore, I hadn't thought about 504 and 508 with regard to virtual worlds.

For international readers here's a link that explains what 504 and 508 are:

http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=15

With that, what are some things that educators can do to help with accessibility issues with regard to virtual worlds?

Thank you kindly for your time.

Kind Regards,
Mechelle : )

Comment by nlowell on April 16, 2007 at 8:34pm

Ok, now I like Second Life as well (if not more than) the next guy and this video is certainly well produced.

But here's my problem

How many people who are deaf are going to get anything from that vid?

And how many people who are blind can even GET to SecondLife? Let alone do anything there?

I'm not saying SL isn't an interesting environment nor am I suggesting we shouldn't be investigating it, BUT

If you start using it to teach classes and your institution is subject to 504 or 508, you're looking for trouble.

'M jes' sayin'

Comment by Mechelle De Craene on April 15, 2007 at 12:45pm

Thank you Professor Johnson for joining and the wonderful post. I love the video! Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.

Cheers,
Mechelle : )