Journal 8: Five Steps to an Accessible Classroom Website

Amundson, Linda. "Five Steps to an Accessible Classroom Website." Learning and Leading with Technology 37.3 (2009): n. pag. Web. 8 Dec 2009. http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=November_No_3_5&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4436&ContentID=24615&DirectListComboInd=D

This article addressed the need for a website that is easy and accessible to all. There are five steps to follow that will make your website open to a wide community of diverse users. When teachers or technology coordinators make a website, they are creating a website that should be available to a diverse group of people. Website should also be easy to navigate for someone with hearing, movement, cognitive, and speech disabilities. There are so many tools that you can use to make website accessible for people with disabilities. Here are the 5 steps:
Step 1: Organize for Easier Navigation
Step 2: Navigation without a Mouse
Step 3: Text Explanations for Images
Step 4: Using Text that makes Sense
Step 5: Web Validators
After you believe you have followed these steps, there is the final check. Try the steps yourself and make sure everything works. Teachers need to make sure for than anyone that their website is accessible and following these steps will ensure that.

What exactly makes the website accessible?
In the article there is a list of things to make sure it is accessible. For example, use headers, doesn't require horizontal scrolling, use appropriate color scheme for background, can be viewed easily in gray scale, provides descriptive texts for links, etc.

Why is it important to be able to navigate without a mouse?
This is important so that people who are visually impaired or someone with a temporary disability can navigate the page with the tab bar.