When I used Bobby to check accessibility of my web page I found one problem on my ePortfolio page. The problem was with identifying my picture "jmccrthygif". To fix this I typed in alternate text which stated that it was a picture of Janeen McCarthy. After I revised my ePortfolio page, the page then received 4 stars and was awarded approval. I also checked activity 1c and activity 1d. Both of these pages checked out with no problems. After checking the pages out I then placed the Bobby Approved icon onto my ePortfolio page.
When checking out the suggested sites, I found another one to be very helpful to me. It was Lynx-View, this tool was accessed through - Access.Edu. I used it to test my ePortfolios and its attached pages. This tool helped me see that the things I had planned on using with the students in my school and with my parents at conference time would not be beneficial to those who have disabilities such as dyslexia or any other visual disabilities.
Technology is a great way to help teachers make accommodations for students with disabilities. The following are some alternative page design strategies that I think will be excellent resources. In my kindergarten class I have had several students that have had visual disabilities. Alternative page designs can be as simple as making the font size larger to make it easier for them to read or changing the color to help them see things better. The following are web sites that I added to my Curriculum Hot Links that I found while researching this.
Kid Pix Studio: http://www.broderbund.com/
Yahoo--Search Engine: http://www.yahoo.com
Classroom Connect: http://www.classroom.net
Kids Pub: http://www.en-grade.com/kidpub/
Living Books are an excellent alternative page design for visually impaired students as well as the non-readers, slow learners, and those with learning disabilities in my class the Discis Books would be helpful. These are stories that are are on CD-Rom and are read to the student while the text on the computer screen is highlighted or pointed to as it is being read. The pages are set up like the real book but the added technology enables each of the students to "read" the book all by his/herself!