With regard to the West Seneca Central School District (“District”) website, www.wscschools.org, and any official District web presence developed, maintained or offered through District sources, the District is committed to complying with the provisions of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This commitment exists so that students, parents, and members of the public with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same benefits and services as those without disabilities, with equivalent ease of use.

The District is making every attempt to comply with the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA and the Web Accessibility Initiative’s Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA) 1.0. These standards help make a website easier to navigate for people experiencing vision problems, dexterity issues, hearing limitations, and/or other neurocognitive barriers.

The District may not always be able to provide alternate text or HTML versions for many of the documents that appear on the website in PDF or Word format, but is continually seeking solutions that will bring all areas of the website up to the same level of accessibility. We will, upon request, work with any individual with a disability to provide web documents in an alternative format. If any person with a disability encounters any barriers, or is otherwise unable to access information provided on the District’s website or in any web-based resource, s/he is encouraged to contact the District. 

There is no way to guarantee the accessibility of third-party pages, embeds, applications, and widgets.

Audio

The audio alternative reads aloud the text in the original content. This also includes alternative descriptions for images, if they are provided.

The audio format is saved as an MP3. MP3s are compressed, high-quality sound files that can be played on any computer or mobile device.

Audio formats fail, if the original document contains more than 100,000 characters.

Why use audio?

Not only does audio benefit individuals with visual impairments, research has also proven that audio can increase learning (Boyle et al., 2003).

Maybe these sound like you. If so, audio is a good option.

• You prefer to listen than read.
• You’re an auditory learner.
• You want to read and listen to the content at the same time.
• You have a lot of material to read and find your eyes get tired.
• You read on your commute.
• You don’t want to, or can’t, carry print materials for any length of time.
• You have a visual impairment.
• You want to adjust the speed of the audio.

  Most players allow you to adjust playback speed. For example, Windows Media player, VIC, Audacity, and iTunes.

Audio language

Ally detects the language of the original content and selects a matching language for the audio format file. If you want the original content in a different language, try the Translated Version format.

These are the languages available:

• Arabic male
• Catalan and Valencian male
• Welsh male
• Danish female
• German male
• Australian English male
• UK English female
• US English female
• Colombian Spanish male
• Spanish female
• Mexican Spanish female
• American Spanish female
• Finnish female
• French female
• Italian female
• Icelandic female
• Dutch female
• Norwegian (bokmaal) female
• Norwegian (nynorska) female
• Polish female
• Brazilian Portuguese female
• Portuguese female
• Swedish female
• Turkish male

Alt format information from https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Student/Alternative_Formats

BeeLine Reader's color gradient technique not only increases reading speed but also enhances focus. BeeLine Reader is popular among undergraduate and graduate students with heavy reading loads. This includes programs like law, medicine, and the humanities. BeeLine Reader's approach also benefits people with dyslexia, ADHD, low vision, and anybody who may have difficulty with visual tracking or focus.

Maybe these sound like you. If so, BeeLine Reader is a good option.

• You read a lot on screen and wish you could read more easily and quickly.
• You read on your commute and find reading in this environment difficult.
• You prefer to read.
• You have a lot of material to read and find your eyes get tired.
• You read late at night, when your eyes are tired.
• You want to be able to read the content faster.
• You experience dyslexia, ADHD, or low vision.
• You have difficulty with visual tracking or focus.

The electronic braille alternative creates a BRF file that can be read on a refreshable Braille display (RBD), other Braille reading devices, or within a Braille software like Duxbury. 

Think of a Refreshable Braille Display (RBD) as a monitor-less computer. Most RBDs can connect to internet, create documents, access calendar, and a lot of the basic functionality a computer provides. RBDs can be a standalone device. They can also be connected to a smartphone, iPad, or laptop. Most RBDs are limited to reading one line of Braille at a time. 

Why use electronic braille?

While audio is excellent for reading comprehension, those who read braille acquire higher literacy rates on average (Benefits of braille article). With braille, users with visual impairments can know the spelling, punctuation, and format of text on a page.

Maybe these sound like you. If so, electronic braille is a good option.

• You have a visual impairment.
• You are familiar with braille.
• You prefer to read.
• You want to read and listen to the content at the same time.

Alt format information from https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Student/Alternative_Formats

The ePub alternative creates a digital publishing file that can be viewed on mobile devices. ePub files are reflowable. Reflowable means that the content displayed automatically adapts to the device it is viewed on.

Here are a few suggested apps for ePubs.

• Apple: EasyReader, iBooks, Voice Dream, NaturalReader, and Thorium Reader
• Android: EasyReader, Lithium and Voice Aloud Reader
• Windows: Calibre, Icecream Ebook Reader, NaturalReader, and Thorium Reader
• Linux: Thorium Reader

Why use ePub?

ePub is powerful. With it, readers can take notes, highlight content, adjust text and background, and in some cases use text-to-speech.

Maybe these sound like you. If so, ePub is a good option.

• You want to adjust font size and background color.
• You want to highlight content, take notes, and bookmark important pages.
• You want to be able to copy, paste, and search text.
• You want to use text-to-speech and adjust the speed of the speech.
• You prefer to read.
• You read on your commute.

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. The OCR PDF alternatives are created when the original content is a PDF of an image. OCR technology analyses the content and converts the image into searchable text.

The conversion is only as good as the quality of the original content. If the content is difficult to analyze, there may be mistakes.

Why use OCR PDF?

Maybe these sound like you. If so, OCR PDF is a good option.

• You want to be able to copy, paste, and search text.
• You want to use text-to-speech and adjust the speed of the speech.
• You prefer to read.
• You read on your commute.
• You use a screen reader.

Alt format information from https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Student/Alternative_Formats

What is Semantic HTML? Tags and elements—such as blockquote, paragraph, and headings—are added to add meaning to a page. These tag and elements aid screen reader users with good content structure.

Semantic HTML is viewed in a browser and adapts to the device you are viewing it on.

Semantic HTML is available offline on your mobile device, if you don't close your browser.

Why use Semantic HTML?

Semantic HTML is ideal when the content has complex layouts.

Maybe these sound like you. If so, Semantic HTML is a good option.

• You want to adjust font size and background color.
• You want to highlight content, take notes, and bookmark important pages.
• You want to be able to copy, paste, and search text.
• You want to use text-to-speech and adjust the speed of the speech.
• You prefer to read.
• You use a screen reader.

A Tagged PDF alternative uses tags and elements—such as blockquote, paragraph, and headings—to add meaning to a page. It aids screen reader users with good content structure.

Why use Tagged PDF?

Maybe these sound like you. If so, Tagged PDF is a good option.

• You want to be able to copy, paste, and search text.
• You want to use text-to-speech and adjust the speed of the speech.
• You prefer to read.
• You read on your commute.
• You use a screen reader.

This alternative format provides a machine-translated version of the original content into a total of 50 different languages. PDF, Word, Powerpoint and HTML documents are supported.

Accuracy varies and depends on the type of language being used in the document. For example, if there is a lot of technical language, complex sentence structure, and local colloquialisms.

Why use the Translated Version alternative format?

The Translated Version alternative format is great for content that is not in your primary language. The Translated Version is an ideal resource to compare with the original document when your are stuck or having trouble comprehending.

In what languages is the Translated Version alternative format available?

The Translated Version is currently available in the following languages:

• Afrikaans
• Albanian
• Amharic
• Arabic
• Armenian
• Azerbaijani
• Bengali
• Bosnian - Latin
• Bulgarian
• Catalan
• Chinese - Simplified
• Chinese - Traditional
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dari
• Dutch
• English
• Estonian
• Finnish
• French
• French (Canada)
• Georgian
• German
• Greek, Modern
• Gujarati
• Haitian
• Hausa
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Hungarian
• Icelandic
• Indonesian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Kannada
• Kazakh
• Korean
• Latvian
• Lithuanian
• Macedonian
• Malay
• Malayalam
• Maltese
• Mongolian
• Norwegian Bokmål
• Pashto
• Persian (Farsi)
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Serbian - Latin
• Sinhala
• Slovak
• Slovenian
• Somali
• Spanish
• Spanish (Mexico)
• Swahili
• Swedish
• Tagalog
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Thai
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Urdu
• Uzbek
• Vietnamese
• Welsh

Support for the following languages within the Translated Version alternative format is not available:

• Bosnian (Cyrillic)
• Serbian (Cyrillic)

Alt format information from https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Student/Alternative_Formats