Posted by Katherine
Friday, November 19, 2010 5:46:00 PM
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For this entry, I give our very own Ann Seavey credit. As the Academic Support Center Director at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, she made a very good suggestion to me in terms of universal design when it comes to accessibility for blind users. There are various situations where this concept could work very well, but the two most notable are the fact that Java on the Windows platform is an integral part of the Gordon College network; being used for their support ticket request and tracking system. This has rendered lots of issues for a few of the blind students who have done their best to work the front desk there. Most of the time it involves those using the JAWS for Windows or Window-Eyes screen readers. Ann and I talked about some potential ideas for trying to help solve this problem.
Another very prominent place where universal design would work great in the Gordon community is in terms of trying to tone down the constant Mac Vs. PC war that never seems to end. Issues can arise in terms of compatibility, range of support for both opperating systems, as well as accesssibility. Most of the time professors are trying to work with PC users when they use a Mac, which makes it hard on the user if adequate support is not able to be provided due to the professor's comfort level. Ann and i also believe that something needs to be done with this. We have proposed the idea of a system where everyone knows a bit of both to at least help mitigate the support issues. I'll keep you updated as more comes up on this situation.