Are Google Apps accessible enough to be relied on as the
primary tools for your class or office?
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) feels they are
not and has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the reliance of New
York University (NYU) and Northwestern University on Google apps as a violation
of the civil rights of blind faculty and students. See...
The Chronicle of Higher Education had a short article on
the topic that drew a lot of comments:
Just how accessible are the various Google Apps? The
Web2Access site, which evaluates interactive and collaborative e-learning
tools, has been looking at the Google Apps. You can see their evaluations by
going to the Web2Access site at...
...and entering "google" in the search box.
Readability and accessibility of text editors seem to be common weak points.
NFB has created a set of accessibility demonstration
videos to show the kinds of problems they feel raise concern. You can see the
videos at...
Google itself says it is committed to improving
accessibility of its products. See...
and
One response to all this buzz is to let Google know how
important accessibility is for the higher education environment. Back when
Apple started pushing iTunes U, the California State University system (which
has 23 campuses) refused to get on board because of serious accessibility
problems with the iTunes interface. CSU even sent delegations to the Apple
headquarters to advocate for improvements. Apple responded by making
significant improvements. So, letting the vendor know how you feel can bring
about real change.
