Accessibility and Usability more than an impairment

Module 2 had a focus on accessibility and usability. When I hear the term accessibility, I always think about accessibility for those with a disability and other impairments. As I stated in a previous post, an accessible website/document/eLearning module is a usable website/document/eLearning module and vice versa. Understanding this will enable most to create these items looking at all aspects of accessibility from those with more severe physical disabilities to those whose speakers aren’t functioning when viewing a video.

Standards on accessibility are there and should be followed for a reason. I’m still in shock that a plane crash occurred because there was a font size under the organization’s standard requirements. I think that every employee, in every industry should be required to watch that video. I had no idea this occurred, however, it made me think long and hard about any standards I may have brushed off in the past.

I know that New York state has taken laws such as WCAG 2.0 and modified them to include some stricter standards that all public entities need to follow in addition to anyone who is providing services to NYS.

I have to keep in mind that accessibility can literally mean access to the internet and other digital based tools as well. The Pew report on Digital Differences states, “differences in internet access still exist among different demographic groups, especially when it comes to access to high-speed broadband at home” (Kathryn Zickuhr & Aaron Smith, 2012). Zickuhr and Smith further state, that more adults are getting online than before “but about one third of these adults do not have a traditional high-speed broadband connection at home. For them, their smartphone is a way for them to access the online world”(Kathryn Zickuhr & Aaron Smith, 2012). Although this report is from 2012, I stand by the fact that this statement is probably more true today than when it was written. I know my parents both access the internet solely through their smartphone.  As do most of the people I encounter regularly.  So we need to ensure that the internet has responded with responsive sites. A quick google search shows that as a nation, we have taken more strides to provide internet access to low-income areas such as the ConnectHome (Office of the Press Secretary, 2015) program and have subsidized programs providing digital devices for children and families who may otherwise not be able to afford them. We have, as a nation, been working towards making areas not easily connected due to the infrastructure, such as the Adirondacks, connected while trying to maintain the areas charm and beauty.

Kathryn Zickuhr, & Aaron Smith. (2012). Digital differences | Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/04/13/digital-differences/

Office of the Press Secretary. (2015, July 15). FACT SHEET: ConnectHome: Coming Together to Ensure Digital Opportunity for All Americans | whitehouse.gov. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/15/fact-sheet-connecthome-coming-together-ensure-digital-opportunity-all

William Lidwell, & Jill Butler. (2016). Universal Principles of Design: Legibility. Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Higher-Education-tutorials/Universal-Principles-Design/193717-2.html?org=esc.edu