Accessibility 101: Contrast and Readability

By Nicholas Janes On July 15, 2015 · 2 Comments · In Blog

On February 26, 2015, an image of a black and blue dress went viral and took over the world. Social media outlets lit up in a fierce debate, disputing over whether the dress pictures was blue and black or white and gold. For days, debate raged on in what some called Dressgate. In the end, it was revealed to be a washed out image of a blue and black dress. This image and the ensuing buzz shows how sensitive our eyes really are and how complex even simple images can be.
For many of us, a slight change in color or visual contrast is no big deal. We may look at the image for a second, take in the information, and move on before we realize what we have done.  But for some, this task could prove troublesome. Visually impaired students don’t have the luxury of gathering information by simply scanning. For them, taking in what little they can see is an arduous task. What may take a sighted person a few seconds of their time may take a visually impaired student a couple of minutes.
Creating a successful online course is difficult. Creating an accessible course can seem challenging, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Whether you are an experienced online instructor or you’re creating your first course, anyone can create an accessible course by following a few simple guidelines.

Contrasting Conflict

It’s difficult to imagine a person suffering from low vision. We see the world around us and probably never think twice  about it. But to a person suffering from a visual impairment, seeing the world is a challenge. To understand some of the challenges a low-vision student may experience, try placing a piece of tracing paper over the following image. If you do not have a piece of tracing paper, try using a piece of Kleenex. You can also try turning up your monitor’s contrast levels to see an even more dramatic effect.
By looking through a piece of tracing paper, or Kleenex, you’ll notice the text and background become completely washed out and almost entirely unreadable. Even with the image in full screen, you’ll notice the word ‘orange’ is fairly difficult to read. The results are even more dramatic when the contrast levels are turned up. While it’s difficult to accurately portray how a visually impaired student will see, these simple tests will give you a general idea of what to expect.

PowerPoint Beware!

PowerPoint slides are generally one of the primary forms of communication in MOOC courses. However, poor contrast and design is one of the biggest contributors to accessibility issues in online courses. Consider the image on the left, which illustrates a few problems that arise when making presentations.
Using gradients are a common way to give a presentation some pizzazz and visual depth, but be careful not to choose a text color that may cause your text to be perfectly readable in one section and difficult to read in another, as seen from the images on the left. Although this could be problematic for sighted students to view, it is far worse, if not impossible, for low-vision students. When choosing a complimenting font color, be sure to choose a color that will stand out. If you use a light background, use a dark text. If you must use a template that has a dark background, say for instances your school colors, use a light colored font – white, cream, or light grey.
If you are uncertain whether or not your PowerPoint presentation has enough contrast, try using this free Contrast Color Calculator. By using the RGB values of the colors you are thinking about using, this calculator can help you determine if your PowerPoint presentation will be clearly readable.
Over the next few weeks we will discuss more problems visually impaired students face and effective steps to help make your course more accessible. In the meantime, if you have any questions about accessibility, CIT can help. Our CIT staff will welcome the opportunity to meet with instructors to share ideas. Please contact CIT if you would like to learn more at cit@duke.edu

ART of the MOOC: Merging Public Art & Experimental Education

Free classes begin October 19, 2015

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ShareCan a MOOC be a work of art? Creative Time and Duke University believe

Join thousands of students and participants from around the world in ART of the MOOC—a Massive Open Online Course that is an educational artwork designed by artist and Duke professor Pedro Laschand co-taught with Creative Time chief curator Nato Thompson. This free course will be taught with traditional classroom practices, along with new technology and aesthetic experimentation. While learning about socially-engaged practices, students will engage in stimulating discussions, collective art projects, and other creative assignments. Through this hands-on, participatory approach, ART of the MOOC welcomes students as collaborators in an unprecedented expression of public art and education. Our free MOOC features presentations from an impressive array of prominent artists, curators, critics, and activists.

Guest presenters include Tania Bruguera, Sean Dockray, Claire Doherty, Tom Finkelpearl, Future Farmers, Mariam Ghani, Rebecca Gomperts, Chido Govera, Gulf Labor, Hans Haacke, Sharon Hayes, Fran Ilich, Shannon Jackson, Suzanne Lacy, Rick Lowe, Leonidas Martin, Naeem Mohaiemen, Mujeres Creando, Wanda Nanibush, Not an Alternative (represented by Beka Economopoulos), Enrique Peñalosa, Cesare Pietroiusti, Jolene Rickard, Chemi Rosado-Seijo, Ruangrupa, Abigail Satinsky, Gregory Sholette, Joshua Wong, and Caroline Woolard.

Oh, and did we mention it’s free?! Registration is now open, and easy to do. Sign up today onCoursera. You may sign up any time after October 19, but be sure to enroll as early as possible—you don’t want to miss any of the engaging videos or materials! The project runs from October 19 through December 6.

Students seek MOOCs as course add-ons

Researchers at Duke University have found that students are using MOOCs to explore new subject areas and complement traditional learning.

Duke University. Photo: Nan-Cheng Tsai.

About Beckie Smith Beckie graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in Japanese, during which she lived in Kyoto for a year. She loves travelling to report on different areas of the world as it enables her to fulfil both her childhood dreams of being either an explorer or a writer. Beckie can be engaged in discussion about feminism, politics and the media and is very fond of brunch food.   

Many of the enrolees under the age of 18 reported taking MOOCs to learn about topics not taught at their school and to explore different subjects
 

A study entitled Fulfilling the promise: do MOOCs reach the educationally underserved? found that Duke’s 13 MOOCs on the Coursera platform provide students with access to content they might not encounter on their formal course of study, thus complementing existing courses.

The study analysed qualitative data from pre-course surveys issued to all of the MOOCs’ 9,000 enrolees in the autumn 2014 semester to identify the core demographics taking the courses and deepen understanding of their motivations for study.

“Coursera classes were supplementing or enhancing their education that they were getting from other either K-12 or higher education formal courses”

“The theme that was most pronounced was that Coursera classes were supplementing or enhancing their education that they were getting from other either K-12 or higher education formal courses,” commented lead researcher Lorrie Schmid.

The 13 MOOCs were particularly popular among non-traditional student groups. The study identifies three groups that make up the core demographic of the courses: under-18s, over-65s and people without access to higher education.

Although some students felt that limited mobility and finances dictated that MOOCs were their only option for continuing study, many gave other reasons as their primary motivation for pursuing a course.

Many of the enrolees under the age of 18 reported taking MOOCs to learn about topics not taught at their school and to explore different subjects, offering them insight into options for their future academic or career paths.

Meanwhile, those over 65 said their aim was to pursue lifelong learning and keep their minds active. Some adults in this category also said they would like to mentor younger students in their professional field.

The study says that, contrary to what was envisioned when MOOCs first began being developed, “MOOC students are not underserved in terms of educational opportunities; the typical MOOC learner already has a college degree”.

However, it contends that “this does not mean that MOOCs are failing to fulfil the promise of democratisation”.

“The idea was trying to get a better handle on individuals who were underserved, because so much of the popular press has focused on highly-educated, white (for the most part), upper middle class folks taking Coursera courses,” Schmid said.