Educators utilize a wide variety of authoring tools to create web sites. In virtually every category of computer software, if content can be created, it can be saved or exported as HTML. Many web authors simply export the content of their word processing files or of files they've created using graphics applications. Unfortunately, much of this web content is inaccessible to users with disabilities.
According to the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 2.0:
A user agent is any software that retrieves, renders and facilitates end-user interaction with web content. User agents include web browsers, media players, add-ons (plug-ins & extensions), and web applications that help in retrieving, rendering and interacting with web content.
Scripting languages are becoming increasingly popular on the web, because they can be used to make web pages more dynamic and interactive. There are two types of scripting languages: server-side and client-side. Server-side scripting performs all of its processing on the web server and delivers a final product (the web page) to the user's browser. Server-side scripting does not, in and of itself, present accessibility problems. Like all web content, however, server-side scripts must produce content that follows principles of accessible design.
Several resources for ASL signs for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields are available online. They include sign language dictionaries, which are edited collections of signs, as well as sign language forums, which are communities wherein users contribute their own signs for various terms.
Major STEM-related ASL dictionaries and forums include:
At the Pathways to Success for Students with Invisible Disabilities Capacity Building Institute (CBI), held at Landmark College from April 8 – 9, 2013, a panel of Landmark faculty members discussed several different technologies that can be helpful to students with invisible disabilities, including learning disabilities, attention deficits, and autism spectrum disorders. Listed below are some panelist suggestions.
Learning management systems (LMS) such as Blackboard, Canvas, Desire2Learn, and Moodle allow instructors to provide online courses within the context of a consistent standard interface. One accessibility benefit of using an LMS is that many students with disabilities have the greatest success in accessing web content when it is presented using a consistent layout. If an educational institution standardizes on a particular LMS package, students at that institution will likely encounter the same online course interface for many of their classes throughout their academic career.
Founded in 1997, the National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN) "is dedicated to breaking isolation and building community through supporting youth with disabilities to reach their full potential." NYLN organizes people with disabilities, who are 16-28 years old, to create positive change for people with disabilities. Youth involved with NYLN build leadership skills and are active in disability rights issues.
The Career and Technical Education Program (CTE) at Seattle Public Schools serves a wide variety of students with different learning needs.
Postsecondary career counselors and employment recruiters report that many college students and job seekers are not prepared to succinctly describe their skills and abilities to others. The AccessSTEM CAREERS project, which promotes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields to students and job seekers with disabilities, created an event called the Elevator Pitch Contest to help them build skills in this area.
The first set of formal guidelines for identifying how to develop accessible web content was the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed through the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI™). WCAG 1.0 became an official W3C® Recommendation on May 5, 1999. The WCAG 1.0 lists fourteen guidelines and, additionally, provides a list of checkpoints for each guideline. There are a total of sixty-five checkpoints.