Rocío Calvo

Evaluating the accessibility of three open-source learning content management systems: A comparative study

Learning content management systems (LCMSs) have become increasingly popular in the educational field over the past few years. However, problems in system design can create difficulties in the interactions between LCMSs and an important sector of the user population. The assessment and monitoring of LCMS accessibility are vital for the guarantee of universal accessibility in education. This article presents a comparative study of the accessibility of three web‐based, open‐source LCMSs: Moodle, ATutor, and Sakai. Results of the study indicate that barriers to accessibility are present in each of the three systems evaluated. A primary aim of the study is to help detect and correct these barriers such that the goal of universal access in educational environments may one day be achieved.

Accessibility barriers for users of screen readers in the Moodle learning content management system

In recent decades, the use of the Internet has spread rapidly into diverse social spheres including that of education. Currently, most educational centers make use of e-learning environments created through authoring tool applications like learning content management systems (LCMSs). However, most of these applications currently present accessibility barriers that make the creation of accessible e-learning environments difficult for teachers and administrators. In this paper, the accessibility of the Moodle authoring tool, one of the most frequently used LCMSs worldwide, is evaluated. More specifically, the evaluation is carried out from the perspective of two visually impaired users accessing content through screen readers, as well as a heuristic evaluation considering the World Wide Web Consortium’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines. The evaluation results demonstrate that Moodle presents barriers for screen reader users, limiting their ability to access the tool. One example of accessibility problems for visually impaired users is the frequent inability to publish learning contents without assistance. In light of these results, the paper offers recommendations that can be followed to reduce or eliminate these accessibility barriers.

Are All Chats Suitable for Learning Purposes? A Study of the Required Characteristics☆

Abstract The Chat is being used for more than one decade in learning environments as a useful Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)Tool. However, nowadays some students still usually face accessibility barriers when using Chats and, as a result, they cannot learn in the same way as their classmates. Thus, some of the equality principles of education are not accomplished. This paper shows a study of chats characteristics and analyzes if commercial Chats with general purposes can be used for learning environments in an accessible way. This study has been carried out from the point of view of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines 2.0. The study analyzes fifteen commercial chats (desktop, mobile and web chats) and provides some recommendations in order to improve the accessibility of chats in learning environments.

Is Moodle Accessible for Visually Impaired People

Most educational centers are currently using e-learning tools to provide the pedagogical resources for the students, especially in higher education. Nevertheless, some students are not able to access to this information because these authoring tools are not as accessible as they should be. The main aim of this paper is to evaluate if one of the most widely e-learning tool used around the world, Moodle, is accessible for visually impaired people. The evaluation shows that the accessibility guidelines provided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are not accomplished by the tool. Moreover, it shows that people using screen readers are not able to access to the majority of the functionality of Moodle.

Evaluating the accessibility of crowdsourcing tasks on Amazon's mechanical turk

Crowd work web sites such as Amazon Mechanical Turk enable individuals to work from home, which may be useful for people with disabilities. However, the web sites for finding and performing crowd work tasks must be accessible if people with disabilities are to use them. We performed a heuristic analysis of one crowd work site, Amazons Mechanical Turk, using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. This paper presents the accessibility problems identified in our analysis and offers suggestions for making crowd work platforms more accessible

Accessible chats for computer supported collaborative learning environments in mobile devices: Doctoral consortium paper

The use of chats in Mobile Devices (MD) for learning environments is being increased in the last decade. However, they present many accessibility barriers that prevent people from using them. As a result, some people do not have the same opportunities to learn. This research aims to solve the accessibility barriers of chats in learning environments for its use in MDs. Thus, this paper presents the proposal of an model-based design and the strategy development process to create an accessible chat.

Are chats and forums accessible in e-learning systems?: a heuristic evaluation comparing four learning content management systems

This paper presents a heuristic evaluation of accessibility of the Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) tools: chat and forums in four Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS): Moodle, ATutor, dotLRN and Claroline. Moreover, some recommendations are offered in order to improve the accessibility of the tools

An Accessible Chat Prototype for Screen Reader Users in Mobile Devices

Chats present accessibility problems for screen reader users. This work presents a prototype of an accessible chat for Mobile Devices (MD). The main aim of this research is to remove the accessibility barriers that screen reader users face when they use a chat in a MD. Thus, this prototype is based on the requirements which have been elicited considering background research and with the use of Software Engineering (SE) and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) methods as well as accessibility standards and guidelines.

Evaluation of accessibility barriers and learning features in m-learning chat applications for users with disabilities

Chat applications are being used for more than one decade in learning environments as a useful computer-supported collaborative learning tool. However, some of the chat applications used are not appropriated for learning purposes. On the other hand, previous studies have detected that unfortunately nowadays some students still face accessibility barriers when using chat applications, and, as a result, they cannot learn under the same conditions and equality opportunities than their classmates. This paper presents a comparison of chat applications’ features and functionalities of the top three most used and non-commercial learning content management systems nowadays, namely Moodle, Edmodo, and Instructure. The paper studies which of them provide advantage in learning environments based on UDL guidelines. In addition, a heuristic accessibility evaluation of the chat applications was carried out based on the WCAG 2.0 guidelines. Finally, some recommendations are provided to improve or build new inclusive chat applications for learning environments. After conducting the study, it can be concluded that the application that includes most learning characteristics is the Edmodo chat application. In contrast, the application that includes most features to avoid accessibility barriers is Moodle chat application.