Access NSDL

Wgbh Educational Foundation, Brighton MA

Investigators

Abstract

This Services project is building the capacity of the National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library (NSDL) to serve learners with disabilities. Project activities are being led by the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), a joint effort of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and WGBH. Through this project the NSDL is benefiting from and contributing to the national and international dialogue on access specifications for online learning resources to meet the needs of users with disabilities and to ensure interoperability of accessible content. Project deliverables include an automated evaluation tool that reports on a site's accessibility and guides users to relevant resources to address barriers to accessibility by people with disabilities; an integrated and comprehensive information resource with useful materials, tools, sample solutions, and demonstration models specific to challenges presented by math and science content; and a Working Paper on Access Specifications and Solutions that summarizes relevant approaches to access and interoperability from working groups within the IMS Global Learning Consortium, the W3C and the Dublin Core. NSF's Division of Human Resource Development is providing co-funding for this project in recognition of its importance to broadening access to the educational resources of the NSDL.