ADA/Section 508eLearning Compliance

The Coming ADA Lawsuit Wave(and how to avoid it)

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About Us

• Provide e-Learning software and professional services° More than just LCMS software, an Authoring platform° Course analysis and LMS software° Legacy course conversion, course development, e-Learning strategy services

• Philosophy° One course usable by everyone

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Agenda

• ADA/Section 508 Requirement Review° ADA purpose, applicability to facilities, programs. services° Costs of non-compliance

• Three States of Compliance° Non-accessible, “Accessible”, Usable° eLearning examples

• Common Misunderstandings & Approaches° eLearning Misunderstandings° Common Approaches in eLearning Development

• Listen to an example • or PDF = compliance

• Case Study° Compliance Problems° Compliance Solutions

• About this session° Assumes you have limited knowledge of ADA and/or Section 508

compliance requirements

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ADA/Section 508 Requirements Review

• How many of you work in a wheelchair accessible building?

• How many of you work in a building with wheelchair accessible (wide doors, wide stalls, etc.) restroom facilities?

• These are two examples of ADA equal access requirements

• How many of you work for an organization that provides online training/eLearning courses?

• Are the courses accessible—and useable—by those with a disability: ° impaired vision (blind, color blind, contrast, etc.) ° impaired mobility (can’t use a mouse or keyboard) ° impaired hearing (hearing loss, deafness)

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POLL

• 1968 Architectural Barriers Act: facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with funds supplied by the United States Federal Government must be accessible to the public.

• 1973 Rehabilitation Act (Section 504):

“Facilities” updated to include: “…any program or activity“° No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States

shall, solely by reason of his disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive Agency.”

• 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)° Not just applicable to the federal government...”business servicing the public”6

Accessibility History

• Essentially civil rights legislation to protect people with disabilities

• “Accessible” and “person with a disability” established

• “Accessible” refers to facilities, parking spaces, programs and services, including activities within and outside those buildings, etc.

• Applies to Federal, State and local government services, public transportation, public accommodations including businesses open to public.

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ADA/Section 508: Key Points

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ADA/Section 508: Common (& Costly) Misunderstandings

• “My employees are not blind” = compliance° People with disabilities include impaired vision, hearing and mobility° Not limited to employees

• A Web page = compliance° A Web page may or may not be accessible° But a technically accessible Web page may be unusable

• A PDF = compliance° A technically accessible PDF will not match the richer user experience of a course

• A VPAT = compliance° A VPAT is simply a form° May actually exclude some or all accessibility

• A misunderstanding will not prevent a lawsuit. If you are required to comply, you’ve lost the case. And, still required to fix your products.

• It is increasingly more difficult to get away with non-compliance

• The Cost of Non-Compliance: Lawsuits, Payouts, RemediationExamples

• Target $6 million website lawsuit

• Arizona State University Kindle reader lawsuit

• Law School Admission Council LSAT website and prep material lawsuit

• Massachusetts Apple iTunes lawsuit

• Small Business Administration (SBA) lawsuit

• Social Security Administration (SSA) lawsuit

• US Department of Education “U.S.A. Learns” lawsuit

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ADA/Section 508: Non-Compliance Costs

• Your “digital” facilities and programs° Website° eLearning courses

• eLearning represents a unique challenge° Beyond simple “pushing content” – learning is a two-way conversation

• Remember: ADA and Section 508 have same goals: ° Enable equal access for all

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ADA/Section 508: What Will the Wave Hit Next?

• Are your training courses accessible? ° Those with a disability° Impaired vision (blind, color blind, contrast, etc.) ° Impaired mobility (can’t use a mouse or keyboard) ° Impaired hearing (hearing loss, deafness)

• More importantly, are they usable by those with a disability?° A course can be technically accessible but not practically usable

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ADA/Section 508 and You

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Three States of Compliance

“Accessible”

Non-accessible

Usable !

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Three States of Compliance: Stairway Illustration

“Accessible”

Non-accessible

Usable

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eLearning: Non-Accessible

• Traditional eLearning tools: ° PowerPoint “Save As”° Desktop authoring tools

° Complex LCMS’s

• No 508 consideration° = Non accessible ° = Non compliant ° = Civil rights violation $$$

Course #1

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eLearning: Non-Accessible or Accessible?

• Traditional eLearning tools achieve compliance…how?

a) “Developer Dependent”

b) Alternative version Flash, PDF, HTML

c) Or, they don’t

Course #2 PDF or HTML

Course #2

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eLearning: Accessible & Useable

• Solution with Built-In Compliance° Design accessibility, usability

and compliance into core eLearning technology

° Compliance and usability built into eLearning output

° All aspects of eLearning: navigation, assessments, glossary terms, video, audio, focus, etc.

° Creates one course for everyone° Case Study will demonstrate…

Course #3

One Course forEveryone!

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REVIEW

• Explain the difference between non-accessible, accessible, usable ° NA- not available to handicapped° Accessible-Technically available to handicapped° Useable-Accessible in practice and easy to use.

• What’s the goal of ADA Section 508?° Enable equal access for all audiences

• What are some disadvantages of individual 508 requirement interpretations?° Developer Dependent, Inconsistency, Non-compliance

• What is the consequence of being non-accessible?° Civil rights violation, legal bills, negative PR

• What are some advantages of solutions with built-in compliance?° Consistency, less dependence on developers

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eLearning Section 508 Compliance: 4 Common Approaches

1) Desktop tool “Make Accessible” checkbox = alt text, image title• Note: not “Make 508 Compliant” or “Make Usable”

2) .PPT “Save As” Flash• Not compliant without additional complex Flash programming and

development• Updates and maintenance?

3) Code HTML/programming Web Pages • Navigation, Usability, and Developer dependency issues• Updates and maintenance?

4) “Save As” PDF• Lacks rich course experience• Updates and maintenance?

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eLearning Section 508 Compliance: Make Accessible

Desktop tool “Make Accessible” checkbox • = image alt text, link titles only• False sense of security• Does not say “Make Section 508 Compliant” or “Make Usable” !!!• Uh, what’s that sound behind you?

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eLearning Section 508 Compliance: Save As Flash

Typical Scenario• “Have .PPT, need Section 508 compliant course…”

° Buy, download, install PPT -> Flash tool° Add audio, quiz, press a button – “poof”, a course...

• Oh but wait, what about Section 508 compliance?° Edit and program in Flash? ° Start over, Save As HTML and program? ° Ongoing updates and maintenance?

• But I am not a developer!° Very painful.° What’s that sound behind you?

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eLearning Section 508 Compliance: Code HTML

PowerPoint “Save As”, or custom HTML programming scenario

• HTML + hand coding = “accessible”

• A Section 508 compliance shortcut?° Technical compliance vs. Usable ?° HTML programming skills?° Requires coding the complex interactions between web browsers,

screen readers and other adaptive technology, course content, and a Learning Management System (LMS)

° Can be costly, challenging

• Next: A Web course deemed “accessible” to blind…but not usable:

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eLearning Section 508 Compliance: HTML Issues

1) Are long lists of web page links “equal access”?• Shortcuts may increase your exposure. Ask BP.

• Technical accessibility may not be practically usable

2) Are multiple popup Web pages “equal access”?• Difficult navigation with screen readers and other assistive technology

• May not be practically usable

3) Is HTML coding a real solution?• Not for a broad range of course developers

• Coding the complexity between web browsers, adaptive technology, screen readers, course content, and a Learning Management System (LMS) in HTML can be costly, challenging

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Summary: eLearning Section 508 Compliance

The Legal Lawsuit Wave is coming:

1) Web pages and eLearning are next

2) Accessibility & Usability (equal access) are not the same

3) “Make Accessible” check box is not “Make 508 Compliant”!

4) PowerPoint published to Flash…how is that made accessible?

5) HTML and PDF’s have “equal access” usability issues

Let’s look a VA case study…

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Case Study: Veterans Affairs eLearning - Before

Goal: Section 508 Accessible and Useable eLearning course

• 12 Weeks Development° High level team of programmers

• 9 weeks Testing° Sr. Management involvement. ° Resource intensive° 4x -5x development cost

• Section 508 Compliance Result° Fail

• And these folks were TRYING HARD

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Case Study: Veterans Affairs eLearning - After

What happens if you start with an eLearning authoring platform designed to produce Section 508 compliant and usable courses?

• 33% Less Development Time° 8 weeks vs. 12 ° High level programmers not needed

• 91% Less Testing° 4 days vs 3 months° 89% Less Expensive

• Section 508 Compliance Result° Passed

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Case Study: Veterans Affairs eLearning – Why the gain?

• An Authoring Platform with New Approach° Built-in Section 508 compliance for course access and usability° New course development or legacy PowerPoint conversion° Easily edit content (No html or Flash needed)° Publish > Web, CD, DVD, LMS

• Let’s take a look at the result• One course, accessible to everyone

° Eliminates maintenance, support, updates of multiple course versions° SCORM and AICC conformant° Works with any LMS that is SCORM and AICC conformant

Future proofed XML open standard

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SUMMARY: Solution to Coming Legal Lawsuit Wave

• CourseAvenue is focused on providing the most advanced and usable eLearning on the market.

• Only eLearning product with ADA Section 508 compliance and usability built into the course ° Faster eLearning course production° With less risk° With better quality° Independently certified for 508 Accessibility and Usability° Simpler - and more powerful

• In short, what wave?