I have found that whether JAWS works well or not depends on the individual inputting the information. I had one professor that designed his Blackboard so that all pictures/symbols were identified and it worked more like Moodle than Blackboard. I had another professor that did nothing to make the site accessible. I don't use JAWS but I always like to see if a site will work with JAWS and since I took six or eight classes using JAWS and Blackboard, I got a good chance to see what works. I should says that the professor that designed the accessible Blackboard taught classes for occupational therapist, special education teachers, etc.
________________________________ From: James Homuth <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 12:49 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: JAWS With Blackboard Interesting. I haven't seen that on this end and I've had to edit things rather extensively. What JAWS version and web browser? On Tue, Dec 29, 2015 at 07:47 pm, Kevin Hourigan wrote: Hi, I found Blackboard manageable,but I would not say there were no issues. The thing I had the most problem with was editing; there was not a character response, and when I felt I made a typo error, I had to exit, and start all over again, that said, it improved my typing skills, haahaa. Happy New Year. Kevin From: Brian Vogel [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: December-17-15 9:25 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: JAWS With Blackboard Kane, I was working with a client attending an institution that used Blackboard and there were no accessibility issues, per se, with Blackboard and JAWS 16. I do have to say, though, that I don't think that anyone who relies on JAWS should have to go in to using Blackboard, no pun intended, blind. The system is wildly complex and the options within it that various instructors use can vary quite widely. I pressured the institution in question to set up either a mock Blackboard system where individuals could practice using that or a couple of mock courses in their live Blackboard system that new students who are using any form of accessibility software for blindness or low-vision could be "enrolled in" so that they could practice navigating through blackboard before they had to do so in the context of taking a real course. My feeling was that learning Blackboard with JAWS was quite akin to a full course in itself. The client I was seeing at the time was a very capable student but there was no way she was going to be able to deal with learning Blackboard and the actual course material at the same time. Brian ________________________________ Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized State official. Unauthorized disclosure of juvenile, health, legally privileged, or otherwise confidential information, including confidential information relating to an ongoing State procurement effort, is prohibited by law. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all records of this email.
