MA C105 Accessibility & Usability

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course examines Web usability and accessibility and provides students with the skills to analyze and critique Web content for those issues. Students will learn the critical service that the internet provides in the lives of disabled individuals, they will learn how these individuals access and navigate Web content, and they will learn how to design Web sites that accommodate them. No prior knowledge of HTML or Web design is required.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Explain how readers access and comprehend information chronologically on a Web page.
2. Identify and analyze the obstacles to accessibility, usability, and readability in Web design.
3. Demonstrate a willingness to view circumstances from another person’s point of view.
4. Articulate multicultural considerations for designing Web sites to be viewed internationally.
5. Identify the challenges faced by a disadvantaged or under-represented group of people.
6. Implement behavioral changes that are a result of the willingness to view circumstances from another person’s point of view.
7. Articulate the societal contributions that disadvantaged or under-represented people provide.
8. Establish goals for correcting obstacles that disadvantaged or under-represented people are faced with.
9. Identify the technological solutions for making web sites usable and accessible.
10. Demonstrate leadership and effective communication skills with peers through collaborative projects.
11. Identify the laws that benefit disabled individuals and articulate what their rights are.

DETAILED TOPICAL OUTLINE

1. The User Perspective
   1. Pathology of Bad Design (B)
   2. Brief History of the Web (B)
      
2. Page Design
   1. Screen Real Estate (A, B, J)
   2. Meaning versus Presentation (A, B, H, I, J)
   3. Technology (B)
      
3. Verbal Content
   1. Guidelines for Writing and Editing (A, B, H, I, J)
   2. Legibility (A, B, H, I, J)
   3. Page Titles (A, B, H, I, J)
   4. Headings and Subheadings (A, B, H, I, J)
      
4. Media Design
   1. Response Time (A, B, J)
   2. Optimizing Media (A, B, J)
      
5. Site Design
   1. Content Organization (A, B, H, I, J)
   2. Navigational Structure (A, B, H, I, J)
   3. File Structure (A, B, H, I, J)
      
6. User Interface and Navigation
   1. 3 Functions of Interface (A, B, H, I, J)
   2. Feedback (A, B, H, I, J)
   3. Conceptual Models (A, B, H, I, J)
   4. Hyperlinks (A, B, H, I, J)
      
7. Home Page Design
   1. Identity (A, B, H, I, J)
   2. Tagline (A, B, H, I, J)
   3. Ratio of content to navigation (A, B, H, I, J)
   4. Layout (A, B, H, I, J)
      
8. Intranet Design
   1. Intranets/Extranets (A, B, H, I, J)
   2. Usability Components (A, B, H, I, J)
   3. Productivity Tools (H, I, J)
      
9. International Usability
   1. Internationalization (D)
   2. Localization (D)
      
10. Visual Disabilities
    1. Color Blindness (C, E, G,)
    2. Low Vision (C, E, G,)
    3. Blindness (C, E, G,)
    4. Accommodations (C, F, H, I, J)
       
11. Aural Disabilities
    1. The Deaf Community (C, E, G,)
    2. Accommodations (C, F, H, I, J)
       
12. Motor Disabilities
    1. Types and Causes (C, E, G,)
    2. Accommodations (C, F, H, I, J)
       
13. Cognitive Disabilities
    1. Types and Causes (C, E, G,)
    2. Accommodations (C, F, H, I, J)
       
14. Disability Law
    1. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (K)
    2. Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act (K)
    3. Americans with Disabilities Act (K)
    4. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (K)
       
15. Site Testing
    1. Using Human Testers (B, H, I,)
    2. Testing Software (B, H, I,)
    3. What to Test (B, H, I,)
    4. Test Summaries (B, H, I,)

METHODS OF PRESENTATION

Course instructional methods may include but are not limited to

1. Lectures
   Example: A lecture explains the types and causes of low vision, presents simulations of the visual effects of different low vision diseases, explains how these individuals access Web content, and identifies design solutions to accommodate them.
2. Discussion
   Example: Guidance is provided by the instructor in a discussion about a study showing children’s responses to different web page download times.
3. Critique and Feedback
   Example: Feedback is provided when individual assignments are graded and submitted back to the student.

ASSIGNMENTS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION

Assessment of student performance may include but is not limited to

1. Discussion Assignments (A, B, D, H, I, J)
   Example:
   • Students select and critique a Web site for the principles discussed in the current week’s lecture.
2. Collaborative Assignments (A, B, D, C, E, F, H, I, J)
   Example
   • Students within an assigned small group collectively select a Web site that demonstrates specified Web usability principles.
3. Individual Assignments: (A, B, D, C, E, F, H, I, J)
   Examples:
   • Students conduct usability testing on a site by recruiting a friend or family member to navigate a new site, documenting problem areas of the site, and writing a report of the findings.
   • Students use JAWS to navigate a web site with their monitor turned off. They are tasked to locate specific information. They document their experience and findings in a written report.
   • Students edit text derived from print publications for Web readability.
4. Term Paper or Design Project (A, B, C, E, F, H, I, J)
   Examples: Students may choose 1 of the following:
   • They may write research paper on usability issues for a specific Web audience (i.e. children, investors, e-shoppers)
   • They may participate in an annual 3-week online Web Accessibility Conference. They write a report to be presented to the rest of the class about what they learned in the conference.
   • Students with web design experience may redesign a web site, implementing usability and accessibility principles.
5. Final Exam (A, B, D, E, G, I, K)
   50 questions, multiple choice and short answer.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Reading assignments are required and may include but are not limited to

1. Designing Web Usability, Jakob Nielsen, New Riders Publishing, ©2000
2. Don’t Make Me Think – A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, by Steve Krug, New Riders Publishing, ©2000

2.10.2004

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