Blog
January 5, 2009
BarrierBreak launches “BCAT” – A tool to create Accessible Flash based Elearning course
Filed under: Assistive Technologies, Authoring Technologies, Developing Technologies, Elderly, Flash, Hearing, Learning, Mobility, Visual — Shilpi Kapoor @ 9:49 pmRight to education is universal. Education has evolved from blackboard to keyboard. Elearning has broken the geographical barriers and made it possible for people to access knowledge with ease and convenience.
Despite the benefits offered by Elearning, it is not possible for students with special needs to access Elearning courses. Students using assistive technologies can with little ease access HTML based elearning but are deprived of the rich learning experience provided by technologies such as Flash. The common myth that prevails is that ‘Flash cannot be made accessible’ Its time that we over come this myth and change the mind set to ‘Flash can be made Accessible’
Net Systems Informatics & BarrierBreak Technologies have taken the initiative to break this myth and have launched the Beta version of “BarrierBreak Course Authoring Tool (BCAT)”. BCAT is designed and developed to assist teachers/authors in creating accessible Flash based Elearning courses. BCAT is an easy to use tool with in-built keyboard and screen reader support enabling students with disabilities to experience the power of Elearning!
BCAT comprises of two main components, Course Authoring Tool based on Moodle Learning Management System and Flash Architecture to access the course contents. In addition, the teacher/author can add various accessibility options to the course such as: Alternate Text, Captions, and Transcripts.
Once the course is published, the contents are generated in to XML and users can access the course using a Flash player. The Flash course thus created provides users with an “Accessibility Panel” to meet their needs:
- Show/Hide Captions
- Audio Transcript
- Change Themes
- Small/Large Icons
- Show/Hide Labels
- Text Size
We invite users with disabilities, teachers/authors, accessibility community at large to access BCAT and provide their valuable feedback and suggestions to make BCAT a tool for inclusive education.
To access Beta version of BCAT, visit: http://www.n-syst.com/lms/login/signup.php
Once you sign up, you will receive an email including further instructions. Along with the email, you will receive a ReadMe file, documentation for creating a course, documentation for using the course and bug report file.
The Beta Test Run is open until 20th January 2009. All suggestions are highly appreciated and will help us to make BCAT more user-friendly and accessible for all.
peace, veiky
No CommentsSeptember 25, 2008
Adhering to Web Standards important to meet Accessibility – Opera’s Web Standard Curriculum
Filed under: Authoring Technologies, General — Shilpi Kapoor @ 12:38 pmI’ve been conducting accessibility training in India for the last 4 years. One of the first questions i ask participants is “does your document have a doctype?” At most times the answer i get is “What is a doctype?”
I think the first step is to explain to the developers the need to adher to web standards. Opera’s Web Standard released in association with the Yahoo! Developers Network is a complete course to teach you standard based web development including HTML, CSS, Javascript.
I hope people make good use of this curricilum. So head over to http://www.opera.com/wsc
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