Elaborating on Online Accessibility - Inside Higher Ed

Elaborating on Online Accessibility - Inside Higher Ed

Listen up, onliners! The Department of Education is rapidly clearing up any misunderstandings that accessibility laws apply to non-public, online institutions. The sticking point in the latest proclamation, however, is whether universities can pursue technological innovations without worrying about being penalized if the new technology is non-compliant. Unfortunately, new technology is often not accessiblity compliant when first introduced, and the only effective way to make it accessible is to implement it and work with it.

I am a huge advocate of accessible digital content, but would hope that we can pursue a balance that would continue to encourage and promote innovation.

Company Review: Common Craft

Thanks to a colleague, I stumbled across Common Craft, a company that produces short, animated videos that provide simple explanations to common, but advanced, topics. Check out a few of their titles. I liked the "Social Media and the Workplace" title. The videos are short (a VERY good thing!) and engaging with a whimsical approach to delivery. Even I enjoyed watching, and I have a hard time focusing on audio-visual presentations.

Common Craft offers several different licensing options that are quite affordable. The only complaint I have is that I did not see an accessibility option. The videos are almost entirely visual, so without a script or captioning they would be of little value to someone who is hearing-impaired.