This curriculum will allow educators to assist their students in creating and using websites that are accessible to handicapped populations. This project will provide the guidelines for producing a simple website that is accessible to visually impaired and blind and other print-impaired users. More technical information can be easily be found on the web by locating the websites cited in the reference section.
The Internet provides an opportunity for blind and visually impaired users to get information on an equal footing with that of sighted peers. This project will allow my students to gain an understanding of the accessible websites to individuals with print impairments. This curriculum focuses on the problems that this population encounters when they attempt to use websites. By investigating problems students will be able to understand the needs of this population as they develop their own websites.
In addition, this curriculum will give students an opportunity to construct an accessible website that will provide useful information on the services provided by the New Haven Public School Low Vision Department with links to helpful websites about low vision issues.
NOTE: This curriculum was written to assist blind and visually impaired students. However, the techniques used will benefit a wider audience of handicapped individuals that might be described as "print impaired". Print-impaired persons include the blind and low vision users. However, the term is not limited to individuals who experience sensory loss in their eyes. For instance, print-impaired people also include those who have limited or no use of their hands or fingers in order to turn pages of a book or to access a keyboard or mouse interface for electronic documents. People with cognitive disabilities (for example, dyslexia) are sometimes included within the print-impaired category. It's important to keep in mind the broader category of the print-impaired. By doing so, a wider population will be served by this curriculum.