Accessibility
This section would normally belong in the front matter, but that would cause inconsistencies between the page numbering of the two PDF versions because I didn’t include this section in the print textbook. Please don’t assume that its position at the back of the book indicates that it is merely an afterthought.
Accessibility Statement
Open Oregon and your author believe that use of open educational resources can make content more accessible and more universally usable for students. Accessible content meeting the requirements of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) removes barriers for everyone, not just those with documented disabilities. When resources are not accessible, however, they are not truly “open” to all because some students may not be able to use them.
Our aim is for the electronic version of this textbook to align with known web content accessibility guidelines, ensuring that most of the time, for most people, there will be enough flexibility in how to access the files so that accessibility needs can be met.
Accessibility features of the web version of this textbook
The web version of this resource has been designed to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, level AA, incorporating the following basic features:
- Document structures use headings, lists, and other formatting styles to support navigation.
- All content can be navigated using a keyboard.
- There is an option to increase font size.
- Images have alt tags.
- Tables have header rows and columns when appropriate.
- Links are anchored to descriptive text rather than the word “here”.
- Information is not conveyed by color alone, text colors have acceptable contrast with the background color, and color combinations that cause difficulty for people experiencing colorblindness have been avoided.
Accessibility was checked with the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool.
Other file formats available
In addition to the web version, this textbook is available as a PDF for printing (without active links) and a PDF for electronic use (with clickable links). You can download this book in another file format from the textbook’s main page. Look for the “Download this book” drop-down menu to select the file type you want.
This book links to a number of external websites, and there are numerous internal links as well. All links are programmed to open in a new tab of your browser. Your author did not realize until the very end of this project that the preferred method for accessible content is to open in the same tab. He has marked it as a known issue below.
Known accessibility issues and areas for improvement
While your author tried to ensure that this resource is as accessible and usable as possible, he worked on this entire project essentially by himself and surely made mistakes. He did his best but has a rudimentary knowledge of html and can’t always make things function the way he’d prefer. Any issues that are identify will be listed below.
| Location | Issue | Timeline | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web version | Kurzweil 3000 text to speech can’t read the math text correctly | Unknown | Math expressions are rendered using QuickLaTeX integration with Pressbooks, which is not fully accessible to screen reader software. (For some examples, it interprets some things correctly, such as square meters, but not others, such as square centimeters. It also reads out the underlying QuickLaTeX coding, which means it says “backslash” quite a bit and reads 62 squared as “6 circumflex 2”.) To fix this, I would need to switch from QuickLaTeX to MathJax, which would likely require me to create a copy of the book and manually edit each expression. |
| PDF versions | Kurzweil 3000 text to speech can’t read the math text correctly | Unknown | Math expressions are rendered using QuickLaTeX integration with Pressbooks, which is not fully accessible to screen reader software. (The results are different in many ways from what happens in the web version. It reads 62 as “sixty-two”. It frequently ignores symbols. It reads the starting page number in Spanish and “Exercises” in French.) As above, I would need to put in a lot of work to switch from QuickLaTeX to MathJax. |
| Modules 17 and 19 | Poor contrast with blue link on gray background | Unknown | I tried a few things but I’m not sure whether the link color to a footnote can be adjusted because they are programmed differently from other links. (This is minor compared to the screenreader issues mentioned above.) |
| Module 30 | Three tables have an empty cell in the upper left corner | N/A | This is intentional. |
| Throughout | Links open in new tab | N/A | Be aware that this is the default. I would need to manually edit each link to change its behavior or add “new tab” to each link. |
Let us know if you are having problems accessing this textbook
If you have problems accessing this textbook, please contact the author to let him know so he can try to fix the issue.
Please include the following information:
- The location of the problem by providing a web address or page description
- A description of the problem
- The computer, software, browser, and any assistive technology you are using that can help us diagnose and solve your issue: e.g., Windows 11, Google Chrome Version 122.0.6261.112 (Official Build) (64-bit), NVDA screen reader
Email the author at morganc[at]clackamas.edu or morganchase64[at]gmail.com to report an issue. Apologies for the non-clickable email addresses, but I am nervous about receiving spam if I make these addresses readable by malicious bots.
This statement was last updated on April 17, 2024.
Content on this page was adapted from Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition by BCcampus, as well as from Open Oregon Educational Resources, both of which are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
