CUDE

Some web browsers are more accessible than others for users with disabilities. In order to be accessible, a web browser, like any other software product, must have an interface that is accessible. For example, the browser must be operable by keyboard only (for people who are unable to use the mouse), and it must be compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers. In addition to having an accessible interface, web browsers must be capable of presenting web content in an accessible way, provided that the web author practiced accessible web design techniques.

Video has played an important role in education for many decades. Now, in the form of computer-based multimedia, video is increasingly utilized in distance learning and other web-based educational applications. However, the audio portion of a video presentation is inaccessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing unless it includes captions. Captions are on-screen text descriptions that display a video product's dialogue, identify speakers, and describe other relevant sounds that are otherwise inaccessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), defines "mitigating measures" as things that lessen or ameliorate the effects of an impairment, including, but not limited to:

Some individuals with disabilities require assistive technology (AT) in order to access computers. Hundreds of Windows AT third-party products are available, making it possible for almost anyone to use Windows® applications, regardless of their disabilities. The Microsoft® Windows® operating systems also provides a core set of basic accessibility features and AT applications, which can be deployed on all computers in a computer lab or classroom without additional cost.

In 2011-2012 three departments of Illinois State University, the Special Education Assistive Technology Center, Classroom Technology Support Services, and Metcalf University Lab School seized an opportunity to unite in a project which advanced research on better accommodations for students with visual impairments.

Java is a general-purpose programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It gained notoriety in the late 1990s in part because of its vision of platform independence: A compiled Java program can run on most computers, including those running UNIX, Linux, Mac OS, and Windows. This cross-platform support is possible because the Java interpreter, known as the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), is available for a broad variety of operating systems.

Adobe Flash is an animation technology that allows web developers to build dynamic content featuring multimedia and interactive applications. Flash content downloads quickly and can run on any browser that supports it and is equipped with the Adobe Flash Player plug-in.

On any computer, the operating system (OS) is the set of programs that performs basic tasks that are necessary for the computer to be functional. The OS provides a software platform on top of which application programs can run. Early operating systems, including Microsoft's Disk Operating System (DOS) and UNIX (originally developed by Bell Labs; now an open specification licensed by The Open Group), posed few accessibility barriers for users of assistive technologies because they were text-based.

Microsoft PowerPoint has become a standard format for creating and presenting visuals (e.g., slideshows) for presentations, including those used in educational contexts such as distance learning courses. A variety of approaches are used for delivering PowerPoint content online, each of which has strengths and weaknesses concerning accessibility.

Data tables are tables that are used to represent actual tabular data, with rows and columns of related information. The technique for creating an accessible data table depends on the complexity of the table. Data tables can be described as either simple or complex. A simple data table is one in which each cell corresponds with only one column header and/or one row header. In contrast, a complex data table is one in which there are nested columns or nested rows. Consequently, cells within the table correspond with multiple column and/or row headers.