writing accessible content pages in course management systems

Hi all

This is my first post to this group, please be gentle :)  I have skimmed
the last 9 months' worth of archives, and didn't see anything relating
to my question.  This could mean that I'm posting to the wrong group, or
some such mismatch.  Forgive the crossposting.

I'm in the process of writing a guidebook for university instructors on
how to create accessible web pages for use in course management systems,
specifically eCollege and WebCT.  Many of our departments/instructors
don't choose to use eCollege's option of "Course Development", where
eCollege staff takes care of accessibility issues. 

I considered providing instructions for writing accessible content pages
using  Frontpage, but I gave the draft to a member of my target
audience, and she said that the stuff  re: Frontpage was "gibberish", as
she didn't know FP.  So now I'm considering providing instructions on
how to produce "accessible" pages using MS Word.  

Most of my target audience paste Word docs into the course management
system's editor window.  Some upload their Word docs and use them as
content pages. Some type directly into the editor. And I am sure, some
do a combination of all those.

Since I'm doing this guidebook as part of a grant project, buying
something like Accessible Web Publishing Wizard for Microsoft (r) Office
isn't possible, because it's not in the scope of the grant. (Although it
might be that departments may fit it into their budgets?? Don't know.)

Any suggestions, comments, or advice will be extremely appreciated!

Janet Perkins Corbett
Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities
http://wind.uwyo.edu/  
(307)766-2506
perky@uwyo.edu

Received on Wednesday, 20 October 2004 01:42:14 UTC