Teleconference Details

1. URL to all collaboration home pages including Blackboard Accessibility Interest Group changed; new home page at: http://cita.disability.uiuc.edu/collaborate/blackboard/
2. Update on sub-groups activities
   Report by each sup-group leader/co-leader
3. Update on accessibility related activities at Blackboard by Stephanie Cupp
4. Minor restructuring the groups and their activities
   • Renaming bb-idea to bb-design to reflect the goal of the subgroup better
   • Focusing bb-design subgroup on new and unreleased products
   • Continuing NDA requirement for bb-design members
   • Using Blackboard server for collecting feedback on unreleased products
   • Focusing bb-testing subgroup on already released products
   • Removing NDA requirement for bb-testing members
   • Using bb-testing/Wiki environment for collecting data for potential accessibility issues
   • Mirroring issues recorded at Behind the Blackboard with the collaboration issue list
5. Revising outstanding issues and posting them Behind the Blackboard
6. Testing the New Grade Center
7. Presentation at BBWorld 2008

Next meeting

• Date: Monday April 07, 2008
• Time: 2:30 PM EDT; 1:30 PM CDT; 12:30 PM MDT; 11:30 AM PDT
• Phone: 217 265-8030

Participants

1. Laurie Holden, Calstate
2. Siegle,
3. Kevin price, UIC
4. Dar millen, Blackboard
5. William Murray, Blackboard
6. Jon Gunderson, UIUC
7. Phil Kragnes, UMN
8. Don Amos, Pellissippi
9. Nicaise Dogbo, UNR
10. Mark Burris, UALR
11. Kostas yfantis, UIUC
12. Ella Herz, Blackboard
13. Alex Ku, Blackboard
14. Wayne Dick, CSULB
15. Hadi Rangin, UIUC

Discussion

A lot of communication behind the scenes

• Restructuring of subgroup
• There's a new production version of Grade System (Grade Center)
• Need to Setup a meeting to discuss some AX issue related to that

Reports from subgroups

Testing subgroup

• Huge correspondences regarding testing subgroup, restructuring and redefining its tasks
• Report information to Mark Burris who will be responsible for logging a ticket on Behind the Blackboard
• In the email you send to Mark, please include:
  • Explanation of problem
  • Steps to replicate (be as detailed as possible, and try to actually list out these steps)
  • Bb Product and Version (Vista/CE or AS and version number)
  • Any assistive technology used
• Use wiki on UIUC website,
  • Update wiki on testing subgroup
  • Create testing group page
  • Open to suggestion from group
  • Get accurate input from members of testing group
  • Let everyone see at the same time challenges what others have observed

Blackboard doc subgroup

• Help Bb AX in learning style
• Universal design unit
• Documentations that they can use, available by June
• Create new materials for their wiki

Blackboard QA subgroup

Ella (Blackboard)

1. Manual Testing per week with guideline implemented
   • Guideline has been put in place
   • Testing of every pages
   • Will Murray is the point person on AX guidelines Engineering follows
   • Not usability testing, but tech level testing
2. Policy Tester
   • Blackboard just got training on this
   • Goes through every page on 508, WCAG
   • Provide feedback on what's wrong, and what std's been missed and in what way
   • Have yet to figure out what to do with that tool yet
   • "Testing perspective, people have variety of tool they use to test AX. We might be reporting information differently"
   • If testing by one person tested and Bb can't reproduce it with their tool
   • How can people communicate effectively the issues and reproduce it effectively

• John, "hence we've created a tool for us all to use so we can compare apples to apples"
• Hadi, "new version of tool: can it do 508?"
• John, "our tool is for functional testing from best practices" (More design approach)
• They already know they're doing the accessible way
• John, "tools in the market saying it's 508 compliant doesn't necessarily mean it's 508 compliant"
• About 80% of AX testing are manual checks
• People don't often spend those 80% of time to test for AX
• Will Murray: Guideline, whether all required code is available for screenreader used.
  Educate internally, and allow engineers to follow
• Help ensure correct implementation of the code, and ensure what to look for is correct.
• Hadi, "Group can provide feedback"
  "Design subgroup might be interested in the functional feature of the AX testing Bb has."
• Hadi, "testing should sync with code guidelines"
• Ella: One of the things we're looking at, "do whatever we can do is ensure every page is tested in every build cycle in a fast manner"
• Wayne: Mechanical test and manual test on 100+ pages on campus
  60% of pages have mistakes that we'd get sued for
• Hadi: Stephanie usually gives updates on Bb AX
  Would appreciate a written report if possible
  Anyone wanting to join Design subgroup has to sign NDA agreement
• Dara, Didn't have much time to catch up with Stephanie before meeting
  Will let Stephanie know a written report would be appreciated on latest update on Bb AX
• Hadi: To identify an issue, and be sure it's an issue, you need to collect a lot of data
  For Bb testing group, Mark can explain on procedure on how this group functions
• Mark: Testing group only evaluate existing products, hence no need to sign NDA
  Encouraged to communicate information
  Now members send email with these information to Mark or
• Hadi: Wiki might be useful and is considered for tracking these issues among members
  Our group would benefit from a standard reporting format for reporting to Blackboard
  Don't anticipate weeks to create a ticket
  Look to do this within days
  Members should look to wiki, try to replicate the issu on their own systems, collect the information, then Mark can create a ticket to Blackboard

Existing UIUC Bb webpage

• Created 3 issues this past week
• 2 were previous issues (reinstated)
• 1 was a new issue
• When you create a ticket, you get a reference #
  You can place the link to the ticket on the site, and people can access to provide additional information to the ticket
• Hadi, "only administrator of campuses can access the Behind the Blackboard"
• Only people with specific privilege can access Behind the Blackboard
• To let people know issues and their status, we can track them on Collaboration website and let members to see if the issue's been tracked.
• Email issue to Bb testing mailing list if you can't find the issue on the Collaboration website.
• Hadi: UIUC has Upgraded to Vista 4 The interface has changed and the issues need to be revised
  Spent the whole morning verifying a few issues
  Still has 34 issues to verify
• Wayne can help take a few issues to verify
• Hadi: Perfect combination if assistive technology user can cooperate with sighted users to revise these issues
• Contact for Mark: mfburris@uali.edu

Testing the Grade Center

• Grade Center is released, doesn't need NDA
• Issue - Modes available is not clear in functions/differences
• Falls under Bb Testing
• Difficult to test on Grade Center because navigation to Grade Center was difficult
• Dara, "Stephanie looking into providing a tool to help testing"
• Need a meeting about this
• Question, "Design cycle? Deadline to good to give feedback to?"
• Dara, "Stephanie to answer this question"
• None of the issues reported by Hadi were incorporated in Grade Center released
• There were specific issues provided for the Grade Center
• Feel like wasting time if they're not addressed in the new product
• Hope to get better results via a more structured way of the subgroups
• Dara, "We have them on file."
• Bb testing group - Put website available to the group. They run into problems reported earlier by John and Hadi.
• Dara, "Stephanie is the best person to answer these questions."
• Hadi, "Should those issues be moved to Bb testing or should we track those issues again?"

Presentation at Bb World 2008

• Hadi won't be joining
• Who's going there?
• Mark, "I'm going. But it'll be difficult to have a panel group if I'm the only person there."
• John, "Original design is to have a panel discussion."
• Need someone from this group who knows what's going on
• Phil volunteered to join remotely via the phone
• A lot of members from this group can't make it.
• What exactly is accomplished if we don't have a Core group of people going?
  • What'd be the viability of that?
  • What's the goal of this group going?
  • Bring attention to the group and bring more people into this group?
  • Group is looking for Advanced topic
  • As people expand the use of Bb, we're looking for more advanced topic. AX would be a good advanced topic.
• Decision seemed to be that there would be no presentation

Action Item

1. Grade Center meeting
2. Mark come up with Template. Replicate the reporting function so when people submit information they can be sent over easily