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NCDAE: The National Center on Disability and Access to Education

Increasing universal access by
developing educational resources

Factsheets

Information sheets on various distance education technologies are developed and regularly revised. As new technology and accessible distance education tools become available, these are listed on the NCDAE site for review.

These resources are not being updated, for more current resources view our cheatsheets.

Online Communication Tools

Added May 2007: There are a variety of tools that are used in an online setting to communicate and collaborate. Because many of these tools are used in real-time settings, rely on different media (visual, auditory, etc.) and can have complex interfaces, they face a number of accessibility barriers.

View “Online Communication Tools” Factsheet

Principles of Accessible Design

Added March 2007: In this fact sheet, you will find some key principles of accessible design. Most accessibility principles can be implemented very easily and will not impact the overall "look and feel" of your web site. This is not a comprehensive guide to all accessibility issues, but by addressing these basic principles, you will ensure greater accessibility of your web content to everyone.

View “Principles of Accessible Design” Factsheet

Microsoft Word

Added February 2006: Microsoft Word is currently the most common word processor on the market. Because it is so common, the .doc format has become the de facto standard for text documents. Word files can also be the starting point for other files, such as PDF and HTML.

View “Microsoft Word” Factsheet

Microsoft PowerPoint

Added December 2005: PowerPoint is presentation software from Microsoft. Although typically used to display "slides" during face-to-face meetings and presentations, it is also used on the web and with distance education technologies.

View “Microsoft PowerPoint” Factsheet

Adobe Acrobat & PDF

Added April 2006: After HTML, PDF (Portable Document Format) files are probably the most common files on the Web. PDF is usually used when a file needs to appear or print a certain way, regardless of the browser or technology.

View “Adobe Acrobat & PDF” Factsheet

OpenOffice.org Writer

Added August 2006: OpenOffice.org is a free, open source office suite, comparable to Microsoft Office. Although it is often called Open Office, the correct name of the suite of tools is OpenOffice.org, often abbreviated OOo. Several government agencies (including the state of Massachusetts), institutions and individuals use OpenOffice.org as their primary office suite.

View “OpenOffice.org Writer” Factsheet

OpenOffice.org Impress

Added October 2006: OpenOffice.org is a free, open source office suite, comparable to Microsoft Office. Although it is often called Open Office, the correct name of the suite of tools is OpenOffice.org, often abbreviated as OOo. Several government agencies (including the entire state of Massachusetts), institutions and individuals use OpenOffice.org as their primary office suite.

View “OpenOffice.org Impress” Factsheet

Web Captioning

Added December 2006: This factsheet is a brief introduction to the principles and potential challenges of captioning for the web. It is meant to be a starting point, not a definitive guide to captioning. If you are interested in learning more, read the NCDAE captioning article and the several captioning resources provided by WebAIM. WebAIM is a partner with NCDAE.

View “Web Captioning” Factsheet

Content Management Systems

Added June 2006: Almost every large organization, educational and otherwise, uses some sort of Content Management System (CMS). A CMS is a tool or set of tools designed to help create, edit, organize and present information on the web. There are dozens of Content Management Systems available, and while each has its differences, there are some general principles that can usually be applied to increase CMS accessibility.

View “Content Management Systems” Factsheet

Macromedia Breeze

Added October 2005: Breeze is a web communications system created by Macromedia. It has two main components:

View “Macromedia Breeze” Factsheet