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Alyssa Sloan

Professor Wolfe

ETEC 424

June 19, 2019

The Americans with Disabilities Act, Online Instruction and “Section 508 of the Rehabilitation

Act”

The Americans with Disabilities Act was implemented in 1990, to protect and provide

equality for any and all individuals with disabilities (Rabidoux & Rottmann, 2017). It is

important to make sure that all of instructional use online meets the requirements. Some areas to

remember when setting up your online instruction are: hyperlinks, text designs, images/graphics,

audio/video items, and documents (Rabidoux & Rottmann, 2017). With hyperlinks, you want to

make sure that all of the text is readable, especially for ones with a screen reader (Rabidoux &

Rottmann, 2017). Text design should be presented in a font that is dark colored and does not

have any additional strokes (Rabidoux & Rottmann, 2017). Images and graphics should be

something that is not blinking or flashing, but something with high resolution and easy to look at

(Rabidoux & Rottmann, 2017). Clear audio is vital, and documents should be searchable for all

(Rabidoux & Rottmann, 2017).

Online education is something that is common these days and has been very effective in

the academic world. With online instruction and education, it allows more flexibility in our lives

(Sun & Chen, 2016). One of the most common forms of online instruction is through colleges

and universities, that allow courses and degrees online (Sun & Chen, 2016). It is stated, “She

also reviewed ways to collaborate online to encourage students in creating a learning community
by actively participating in the process, which, she stressed, was essential to the success of

students’ online learning” (Sun & Chen, 2016). It is important to guide the students and create an

atmosphere in which they will be involved. Creating interactive assignments is a good example.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act was implemented in 1973, stating that any and all

electronic information or technology that is used by the government be available and able to use

by any person with disabilities (LaGrow, 2017). Not only does it give accessibility to the

government electronics and technology, it has now improved and demands universities and

colleges to follow this requirement (LaGrow, 2017). There is a difference between accessibility

and accommodations that has been a misunderstanding to many, and they are to be noticed as

two different things (LaGrow, 2017). In providing this accessibility, it gives everyone a chance

at education and online learning.


References

LAGrow, M. (2017). The section 508 refresh and what it means for higher education. Educause

Review. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/12/the-section-508-refresh-

and-what-it-means-for-higher-education

Rabidoux, S., & Rottmann, A. (2017). 5 Tips for ADA inclusive design. Inside Higher Ed.

Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/views/2017/05/03/tips-

designing-ada-compliant-online-courses

Sun, A., & Chen, X. (2016). Online education and its effective practice: A research review.

Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, Volume 15. Retrieved from

http://www.jite.org/documents/Vol15/JITEv15ResearchP157-190Sun2138.pdf

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