Tag: Technology

Website Accessibility: Screen Readers and the Blue Icon.

Website Accessibility: Screen Readers and the Blue Icon.

A blue circle with a person in the center- this is the Icon which indicates accessibility menuWeb progress for diversity and inclusion! Not only have we updated our website to be more accessible for people with varied visual abilities, but also we offer our visitors a free virtual test drive and share how we made it happen.

Quite a few of our readers are no doubt familiar with ensuring websites are accessible for screen reading programs and apps. Screen reader programs “read” the screen aloud, hence the name!

Many people who are visually impaired or blind use screen readers to navigate computers, tablets and smartphones. Similarly, perhaps you have seen “Voiceover” features in your devices – these embed such screen reader capabilities! 

Step one in increasing a web site’s accessibility is to use a screen reader compatible platform. The next step is to review the site through special accessibility sites and correct any identified issues.

Accessibility icon- person in blue circle

What is the new icon in the upper right corner?

However, not all people with visual limitations use screen readers. Therefore, step three in our website update included adding an icon and menu to address color blindness, “low vision”, or other conditions which make it difficult to read and navigate traditional websites.

In the upper right hand corner of each page of the website, there is now a round, blue “digital accessibility icon”. When it is clicked, a menu appears which allows users to adjust the website’s font size, contrast, colors, etc.

Go for a “Test Drive”!

Go ahead and click the round, blue “accessibility icon”. (Think of it as a virtual test drive!) You might discover that changing one or more of these features creates a more pleasant reading and browsing experience for you. After all, we spend a lot of time online, and our eyes get tired!

Please let us know if there are other accessibility needs we can address.

Pay it Forward

If you have a website, please explore accessibility needs and accommodations. If WordPress is your platform, you can follow all three steps with fabulous plugins. There are several very easy and effective ones from which to choose.

 

 


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First posted 5/19/2019

Updated 5/10/2020

Dr. King’s Newest Technology Book

Dr. King’s Newest Technology Book

Photo of cover of Dr King's 2017 book "Technology and Innovation in Adult Learning"
Dr. King’s 2017 Book

Technology and Innovation in Adult Learning equips practitioners to further adult learning and shape the future of the field, while providing a rich perspective for classroom inquiry and research.

“If you teach adults and are thinking about, or are currently using digital tools with your learners, this book is for you. King has done it again! “

Kathy Peno, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Adult Education, University of Rhode Island

Adult learning is on the rise, and there is no mistaking technology’s role; whether they’re learning with or about technology, today’s adult learners come with unique sets of needs and skills that demand specialized approaches. Traditional pedagogical techniques don’t transfer directly, and learning technology requires its own unique approach to development and use.

A comprehensive exploration of technology’s role in adult learning

Technology and Innovation in Adult Learning introduces educators and students to the intersection of adult learning and the growing technological revolution.

Anyone working today with adult learners in this rapidly evolving digital age will benefit from Technology and Innovation in Adult Learning. With twenty years of pioneering the discourse on integrating technology in adult learning and teaching, Kathy King brings a cutting edge understanding to this book.

Roger Hiemstra, Professor Emeritus, Syracuse University

Building on current trends and research in technology and its use, each chapter illustrates the need, opportunities, and examples of current and future technologies that scaffold adult learning, and provides comprehensive coverage of both current and emerging challenges.

Uniquely integrating adult learning and technology for global and digital learners, Technology Innovation in Adult Learning is a timely, comprehensive, theory/model based and strategies/discussion rich book. Kathy King’s distinctive expertise and years of research and teaching in both adult learning and technology fields provides readers not only with a wide angle to view a new vista of applying learning theories for adult lifelong learning needs, but also with applicable use of instructional technology tools and examples. .. It is a must-have reference book for anyone who works with adult learners in formal, informal, and non-formal learning environments.

Dr. Qi Sun, Associate Professor, Program Coordinator of Adult Learning & Adult Education; Co-Editor, Adult Education Quarterly (AEQ), The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Written by an internationally recognized expert in the field, Dr. King’s book explores the theory, research, and practice driving innovation in both adult learning and learning technology, and illuminates a powerful approach to recognize and leverage these opportunities.

 

Visit the book home page for more details

 

 

 

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