CD-ROM Access
Explorations in Cell Biology and Genetics Access Summary
Table of Contents
Product description
Screen magnification
Screen reader access
Recommendations for improvement
Details by assistive technology
Product description
This product provides 17 interactive explorations. Each is a simulation of a biological concept accompanied by additional graphics, videos, and a set of reading materials. Students change the values of variables and observe their effect on the simulation's outcomes.
Publisher: Wm. C. Brown Publishers
Platform (Windows, Macintosh, Multi): Multi
Copyright: 1996
Grade level: Secondary
Subject: Biology
Intended use (reference, interaction, tool): Interaction
Screen magnification
This product performs quite well under magnification. The text is readable and program graphics such as icons on the toolbar are usable, though a cleaner background would make viewing the screen much easier. The background is designed to look like parchment but when it is magnified this results in small lines which interfere with the text. The graphical experiments that make up most of this program stand up well under magnification. The introductions to experiments as well as experiment help are presented as audio, which is a useful feature. The opening screen is a splash screen with graphical buttons to select a specific area of the product. Once an area has been selected, a traditional menu bar appears along with a toolbar. The menu bar is usable under magnification on both platforms..
Video sequences and animations at their default settings perform better on the Macintosh than on Windows under magnification. However, there is a setting for slower animations that runs more smoothly with LP Windows. Windows videos do not run with magnification but run normally when magnification is turned off, even if it is not unloaded. Although this product is usable with a magnifier, it will take the low vision user a good deal more time to learn to manipulate the interactions and to observe results largely because the entire screen can't be viewed at a glance.
Screen reader access
Independent use of this product with a screen reader is virtually impossible. Vital controls to operate the experiments cannot be accessed with a screen reader, and any potential work arounds would be too complex to make use worth while. ScreenPower and JAWS cannot read any on-screen text but some of the text in the explorations is readable with outSPOKEN on the Macintosh. This indicates on-screen text was implemented in a slightly different fashion on each platform. Once past the opening splash screen (described earlier) a standard menu bar is available on both platforms but this does not improve usability. The toolbar on both platforms is equally inaccessible. Implementation of audio introductions to each simulation and audio help on the specific operation of each simulation is helpful, but enhanced descriptive language would improve the product further.
Recommendations for improvement
Enhanced keyboard access: A keyboard interface is essential in order for a blind student to freely navigate through simulations and to invoke essential controls. Currently the simulations primarily require the ability to adjust sliders and click buttons, tasks which are easily performed with a mouse. Screen readers provide the capability to perform mouse clicks and navigate but these features often become unreliable inside simulations and can cause unintended interactions.
Expose all on-screen controls: Equally as important as an implementation of a keyboard interface is the need for the blind user to be able to identify all the available controls. Currently, none of the simulation controls in this product can be identified by a screen reader. There are some readily available solutions such as Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA).
Enhance audio to improve accessibility of content: Most simulations are entirely visual and even if the user can navigate and access all of the necessary controls, much of the educational information conveyed through the simulation is lost. One way to make this information more meaningful is to improve upon the product's use of audio. Explorations in Cell Biology and Genetics already provides audio help and audio introductions for each experiment. Audio feedback and descriptive narration of essential elements of a simulation while the interaction is in progress would significantly impact accessibility.
Provide better contrast: Eliminate, or give the user the option to eliminate, the distracting pattern behind on-screen text.
Expose on-screen text: This product contains a large amount of reading material to accompany the simulations. Implementing standard methods of exposing on-screen text would enable a blind student to take advantage of this material.
Details by assistive technology
Click the links below for details on how a specific piece of access technology performed with Explorations in Cell Biology and Genetics.
LPWindows version 6.1
inLARGE version 2.1
JAWS for Windows95 version 2.0
ScreenPower for Windows version 3.0 revision C
outSPOKEN for Macintosh version 1.7.5
LPWindows version 6.1
This product performs reasonably well when LP Windows is running, though a cleaner background would make reading text easier as described above. Screen layout is generally good because the controls often appear in a consistent location. The product is challenging to use with a magnifier, especially when using the animations and videos. For example, animations must be set to run in a slower mode to show smoothly with magnification. And videos do not run at all under magnification, though when magnification is turned off, but not unloaded, they run well. Also, during experiments that have controls for altering values the pointer vanishes and then reappears rather undependably. This makes it difficult to alter variables or to click on buttons.
inLARGE version 2.1
The software performs reasonably well with inLARGE, though a cleaner background would make reading text easier as described above. Animations and videos run fine, but video images become more distorted as the level of magnification increases.
JAWS for Windows95 version 2.0
The required work arounds are too complex for this product to be used effectively with JAWS. JAWS cannot locate any of the controls or access any of the on-screen text. The opening splash screen is completely graphical and a number of macros would have to be built in order for a blind person to navigate this screen independently. Once past the opening screen this product employs a standard Windows menu bar, but in this case standard menus do not improve usability.
ScreenPower for Windows version 3.0 revision C
Required work arounds are too complex for effective use. Screen Power is unable to locate any controls or on-screen text. When a menu bar is available Screen Power can interact with it, but this does not effect the usability of the software.
outSPOKEN for Macintosh version 1.7.5
Even though the required work arounds are too complex for effective use, outSPOKEN can access some portions of the on-screen text in the explorations and some controls can be manipulated but a significant amount of sighted assistance is required. Values of variables and simulation output are readable when displayed in a text box, but they are shadowed such that each word reads twice, which decreases readability. The text in the "Topic Information" and "Recommended Readings" can be read normally, but there is a non-standard scroll bar. As a result, a blind student cannot independently move through large blocks of text without first seeking sighted assistance to help locate and identify the positioning of the scroll bar. There is a standard Macintosh menu bar but this behaves inconsistently. Sometimes outSPOKEN can access the menus but at other times it cannot for no apparent reason.
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