Chapter 7 of Rhetorical Accessibility, “Accessibility Challenges for Visually Impaired Students and Their Online Writing Instructors,” discusses exactly what it is titled—accessibility in online writing instruction (OWI), specifically in regards to blind students.
To begin, the chapter addressed many professors’ attitudes towards accessibility; this attitude typically being one of cluelessness, lack of interest, or complete refusal to accommodate students according to the survey used to gather the information. It also discussed how typically all of the responsibility is placed on the disabled student. They are advised to contact their instructor and get in contact with disability services and do all the things on their own. One thing that is frequently forgotten is that not all students are on campus and can access these things as easily.
Despite recent enactments of policies to make classes more accessible, some professors and teachers are still unaware of how to make their courses more accessible. Confusion arises when people think that making things accessible means simplifying them, but really it means making sure everyone has equal access to the material. An issue that has come about with making things equally accessible is that there is an abundance of technology that is supposed to make things accessible, but in reality they are poor quality. The synthesized speech doesn’t sound right or some interfaces don’t work with how screen readers attempt to read them, among many other things. One point that is made in the chapter is that screen reader quality varies, but none offer the quality of speech you hear in places like public transportation systems. Ones that do have good quality tend to be expensive.
The main takeaway from the chapter is that accessibility for blind students is obviously important, but there is no one-size-fits-all method of accessibility. Different students have different methods that work for them. Students tend to have to jump through hoops just to have classes that are as equally accessible to them as they are to other students. All this considered, professors and teachers should also keep in mind the material they choose for the class and see how screen readers and other programs read the book along with seeing what audio descriptions are available. When assigning videos they should keep in mind not only the captions of the words being spoken, but the description of the video itself too. The chapter recommends professors speaking one on one with the students over the phone or in person to help plan for the semester to make the class accessible.
EH 331 at JSU 
Hey Taylor! It makes me so sad to read about the lack of accessibility in the classroom. Like you said, they often leave the task of making accommodations to the students instead of providing them an alternative. Having one-on-one conversations with students in order to create a plan that works for them is essantial!
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I too have never thought about the different accommodations other students may need. I feel that in this day and age of technology, instructors should be more aware of how to make a variety of accommodations rather than relying on the student or disability services. Since this book was published a few years ago, I hope instructors have been more accommodating.
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Hi Taylor! I really enjoyed your appreciation and perception of this chapter! For me personally, I never really put into perspective what accommodations someone really needs to learn, especially those who may be blind or disabled. I agree with you 100% when you said there is no one-size fits all method of accessibility. As humans we should all be aware of the way each of us are different and accommodate to each other!
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