Week 11 Activity 2.1 - Evaluation Methods

From your reading of the set book and the introduction to this section, consider which approach or approaches you might take to evaluate the accessibility of the online learning resource that you created in Week 10.

When evaluating online content for accessibility I would always use guidelines and checklists as my starting point. Awareness of them during the building process means they can be applied during development and prevent issues occurring at a later stage. I would test for compliant code using a validator at intervals throughout the development process as it is easier to resolve issues at earlier stages in development than when the resource is complete.

I would also test their compatibility with assistive technologies by trialling them myself. This is unlikely to produce the same results as testing with disabled users but it may highlight issues that were not made apparent from using accessibility checklist and validation tools.

It is unlikely in my role that we would test with disabled users or accessibility experts. As a mainstream secondary school we have very few disabled students, however there may be occasions when we test resources for use with a specific student if it has been designed with their assistance in mind.

If we felt testing with disable users or accessibility experts was necessary for a particular project I would like to make every attempt to produce a resource that was accessible to the best of my knowledge before testing took place. Hopefully this would reduce the requirement for redevelopment and further testing and keep costs to a minimum.