Practicum: Day Two
After talking to Tracy about what I was going to do for the day, I did more work which required typing. Since I don’t mind typing at all, I was fine with it and kind of enjoyed it since I got to look at a bit of class work as well since some of what I did required some accessibility testing.
First, I worked on a new form which is being created for the Program for Students with Disabilities. It is an intake form that incoming, current and transfer students will fill out to receive services from the Program for Students with Disabilities. There were two ways to fill this form out: one without a box being checked saying the student used a screen reader, and one that appeared somewhat different with that box checked. I was supposed to go through the form using both methods to see what was accessible, what needed improvement, and most of all, to see if there was a need for a separate form for those who use screen readers. What I discovered was that the main form was fairly accessible. There were a few glitches with things not being properly labeled so that JAWS could detect them when in forms mode, but when I turned it off, I was able to read those questions without a problem. The other issue I encountered was that JAWS did not recognize the process application thing as a button. First, it didn’t see any buttons on the page, but when I played with some settings, it finally chose to inform me that there was a button there.
When I went to the beginning of the form and checked the box that asked if I was using a screen reader, things began to appear a bit differently. When I had completed the form the first time, there was a drop-down box listing all of the university’s majors. Completing the form this way, however, requires a student to know the code of his or her major and to enter it into a box. I tried putting RSED into the box using all upper case and then again in all lower case letters, and the form refused to accept it. It would not allow me to move onto the next page without that field being filled out, so unfortunately, I had to stop at that point since it was being uncooperative.
That left me with two more tasks: first, to test some table accessibility features, and then to write down improvements that could be made on the campus. The table testing did not take long at all. I looked at a few basic table layouts to see if JAWS would read them properly which would insure that they had been created in an accessible manner, and it did without any problems. The campus improvements, on the other hand, took a little more time since I was looking at them from a blind person’s perspective.
I discussed locating buildings on campus. The Tiger Transit supervisors seem to be the most knowledgeable about where things are. However, they often have trouble describing that to me in a lot of detail. A braille map would be too big and cumbersome, but written directions might work as might having some kind of talking campus GPS. Virtually everything, at least where I come from, starts at Haley, so having directions from that building would work nicely. If a GPS was available, then crosswalks could be indicated as well. Some are not at lights, so it might be difficult for a visually impaired person to know they are there.
Navigating areas where food is served is another issue. I suggested that perhaps lines could be roped off like they are at the bank. It is usually so crowded in the student center, and because of this challenge, I prefer to go eat with someone rather than going by myself since I would hate to cut in front of someone. I also suggested that vending machines could be labeled in braille. There’s nothing like getting a Diet coke surprise when you are expecting vitamin water! I laugh at it now, but when that happened to me last semester because I misjudged which machine I was at, it was not so funny. Any other soft drink I could have dealt with, but not Diet Coke. At least I could tell from the shape of the bottle that I was about to drink something that would not even be remotely similar to vitamin water, but that was really a shock.
I also suggested that talking elevators could be implemented into more campus buildings. Haley is rather old, and it has them. Yet the student center does not have them and was built last year. I realize that this may not be necessary since there is another method of determining which floor a person is on, but it sure does make life much easier to have an elevator tell you where it is at.
The final two things I was supposed to write on were classroom and transportation changes. I did not come up with anything for these categories other than that it would be nice to receive PowerPoint presentations ahead of time. Sometimes this is possible, but at others, it isn’t. As for transportation, there were no issues. The route I ride typically has very nice and helpful drivers.
First, I worked on a new form which is being created for the Program for Students with Disabilities. It is an intake form that incoming, current and transfer students will fill out to receive services from the Program for Students with Disabilities. There were two ways to fill this form out: one without a box being checked saying the student used a screen reader, and one that appeared somewhat different with that box checked. I was supposed to go through the form using both methods to see what was accessible, what needed improvement, and most of all, to see if there was a need for a separate form for those who use screen readers. What I discovered was that the main form was fairly accessible. There were a few glitches with things not being properly labeled so that JAWS could detect them when in forms mode, but when I turned it off, I was able to read those questions without a problem. The other issue I encountered was that JAWS did not recognize the process application thing as a button. First, it didn’t see any buttons on the page, but when I played with some settings, it finally chose to inform me that there was a button there.
When I went to the beginning of the form and checked the box that asked if I was using a screen reader, things began to appear a bit differently. When I had completed the form the first time, there was a drop-down box listing all of the university’s majors. Completing the form this way, however, requires a student to know the code of his or her major and to enter it into a box. I tried putting RSED into the box using all upper case and then again in all lower case letters, and the form refused to accept it. It would not allow me to move onto the next page without that field being filled out, so unfortunately, I had to stop at that point since it was being uncooperative.
That left me with two more tasks: first, to test some table accessibility features, and then to write down improvements that could be made on the campus. The table testing did not take long at all. I looked at a few basic table layouts to see if JAWS would read them properly which would insure that they had been created in an accessible manner, and it did without any problems. The campus improvements, on the other hand, took a little more time since I was looking at them from a blind person’s perspective.
I discussed locating buildings on campus. The Tiger Transit supervisors seem to be the most knowledgeable about where things are. However, they often have trouble describing that to me in a lot of detail. A braille map would be too big and cumbersome, but written directions might work as might having some kind of talking campus GPS. Virtually everything, at least where I come from, starts at Haley, so having directions from that building would work nicely. If a GPS was available, then crosswalks could be indicated as well. Some are not at lights, so it might be difficult for a visually impaired person to know they are there.
Navigating areas where food is served is another issue. I suggested that perhaps lines could be roped off like they are at the bank. It is usually so crowded in the student center, and because of this challenge, I prefer to go eat with someone rather than going by myself since I would hate to cut in front of someone. I also suggested that vending machines could be labeled in braille. There’s nothing like getting a Diet coke surprise when you are expecting vitamin water! I laugh at it now, but when that happened to me last semester because I misjudged which machine I was at, it was not so funny. Any other soft drink I could have dealt with, but not Diet Coke. At least I could tell from the shape of the bottle that I was about to drink something that would not even be remotely similar to vitamin water, but that was really a shock.
I also suggested that talking elevators could be implemented into more campus buildings. Haley is rather old, and it has them. Yet the student center does not have them and was built last year. I realize that this may not be necessary since there is another method of determining which floor a person is on, but it sure does make life much easier to have an elevator tell you where it is at.
The final two things I was supposed to write on were classroom and transportation changes. I did not come up with anything for these categories other than that it would be nice to receive PowerPoint presentations ahead of time. Sometimes this is possible, but at others, it isn’t. As for transportation, there were no issues. The route I ride typically has very nice and helpful drivers.