Christie Mason

Thank you Sylvia for doing that.

I've often wondered why course/learner management systems often break  standards, compliance has many definitions, and are not accessible.  It seems like the most popular systems tend to have the most problems and I wonder why people buy into them.

Perhaps it's because accessiblity is not a priority with those that are responsible for selecting these systems?  Or, maybe it's because those people don't know how to judge the reality of vendor claims?  What other factors cause people to select systems that have significant problems in these areas?

I've often yearned for some type of review site for these systems where people could share their experiences with different systems that could be used to verify, or dispute, vendor's generic claims of accessibility.

Does anyone know of any sites that offer the opportunity for that type of input?

Christie Mason

I've never had a very positive impression of WebCT's accessibility or usability, but I haven't seen it lately so I Googled and found

http://www.evc.edu/ada/modules/WebCT/index.htm

I wish, wish, wish people would put dates on their articles but I didn't see any within that link so I don't know if the info in the link is current.

Christie Mason

(Speaking of Googling, I couldn't find this site by Googling (SCoPE is a frequently used acronym) and it was only after I Googled for my name and "Scope" that I was able to refind it - odd)

That sounds like the same problems their site has, except I dont' see any frames.  Plus, there's content in animated gifs, and content in navigation images w/o an alt attribute.  Their header image occupies around 25% of the valuable "above the fold" area.  In total 50% of the above the fold space is occupied by inaccessible graphics.

I'm wondering if anyone knows WHY these types of programs still use frames.  Is it a holdover from SCORM implementation kludges?  CBT thinking? I can't think of any other type of application that is still using frames, just these.

On a different note, I wish there was some way to move this thread to "Current Challenges".  That may not be an accessability issue, but it's a usability issue. What would be really nice would be the ability to cross tag topics and replies within  multiple areas.

Christie Mason

That sounds like the same problems their site has, except I dont' see any frames.  Plus, there's content in animated gifs, and content in navigation images w/o an alt attribute.  Their header image occupies around 25% of the valuable "above the fold" area.  In total 50% of the above the fold space is occupied by inaccessible graphics.

I'm wondering if anyone knows WHY these types of programs still use frames.  Is it a holdover from SCORM implementation kludges?  CBT thinking? I can't think of any other type of application that is still using frames, just these.

On a different note, I wish there was some way to move this thread to "Current Challenges".  That may not be an accessability issue, but it's a usability issue. What would be really nice would be the ability to cross tag topics and replies within  multiple areas.

Christie Mason

I've never had a very positive impression of WebCT's accessibility or usability, but I haven't seen it lately so I Googled and found

http://www.evc.edu/ada/modules/WebCT/index.htm

I wish, wish, wish people would put dates on their articles but I didn't see any within that link so I don't know if the info in the link is current.

Christie Mason

(Speaking of Googling, I couldn't find this site by Googling (SCoPE is a frequently used acronym) and it was only after I Googled for my name and "Scope" that I was able to refind it - odd)