Can WCAG Alone Ensure Accessibility of LMS

Date & Time

Thursday, March 16, 2023 - 3:20 PM PST  

Location

Platinum 7-8  

Description

A growing number of studies conducted in various countries shed light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students with disabilities. In this session, we shall attempt to add some insight to the issue based on the situation in Japan.

We have conducted a number of studies on students and teachers with disabilities in Japan to see how they are affected by the pandemic. Firstly, we evaluated the accessibility of four different Leaning Management Systems used in the country and demonstrated that the systems made in Japan are not made to ensure accessibility at all. Also, neither teachers nor students with disabilities consult the Disability Resource Offices regarding assistive technology. Nevertheless, skilled users of assistive technology who are well accustomed to the existence of barriers were able to use the Japanese-made, inaccessible Leaning Management Systems. We have also found that some Japanese universities customized accessible open-source Learning Management Systems in a way that hindered their accessibility. An interesting point we stumbled upon is that the opinion on Leaning Management Systems varied depending on the age and the position of the persons surveyed.

To see these points in perspective, we reviewed the nationwide surveys conducted in Japan and compared them to the surveys done in the U.S. during the same period. From the Japan-U.S. comparison, we derived that digital accessibility is truly an enormous problem in Japan.

This Presentation Link is provided by the Presenter(s) and not hosted by the Center on Disabilities at CSUN. The Center on Disabilities has confirmed, as of March 2, 2023, content linked is relevant to the presentation, but has not been reviewed for accessibility nor will the Center on Disabilities attempt to remediate any accessibility issues in the linked content. Please contact the Presenter(s) with any accessibility concerns.

 

Audience

• Higher Education
• Information & Communications Technology
• Government
• Research & Development
• Legal

Audience Level

Intermediate  

Session Summary (Abstract)

The purpose of this session is to discuss, based on data from the U.S. and Japan, whether WCAG is a sufficient requirement to ensure LMS accessibility. We will look into the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on students with disabilities in Japan.  

Primary Topic

Digital Accessibility  

Secondary Topics

• Blind/Low Vision
• Education
• Information & Communications Technology (ICT)
• Law, Compliance, and Policy

 

Session Type

General Track  

Presenter

• Chihoko Aoki
  Waseda University

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