Resources

Here are TWO great resources if you want more information about using AT for LD

[|LD Online] www.ldonline.org [|Schwab Learning] www.schwablearning.org

**Web Title:** [|LD Online]
Review by Emily Elliott EDET 735 Spring 2008 Design:** The site is well designed with links and content in places you expect. It is easy to navigate and contrast is good, graphics make sense and add to the look of the site.
 * URL address**: www.ldonline.org
 * Content/Topic**: LD and ADHD
 * Type of Site description**: LD online offers basic information, instructional strategies and advice for parents and teachers of children with LD and ADHD as well as adults living with various learning disabilities or ADHD. Articles and information range from basic to in depth and cover many different cognitive disabilities that are classified as LD.
 * Web Validator used to check site & results**: [|WAVE] reported 3 accessibility errors. I could only find two "red flags" in the graphic report of the site that both indicated a form without a label (search and enter your email to receive the newsletter.)
 * Content:** As stated above content ranges form very basic to very in depth and targets a varied audience from teachers to parents to adults with LD. There are articles, essays, multimedia presentations and products all geared towards helping students with learning disabilities be successful. There is a lot of content, but it is well organized and easy to find based on who you are and what you're looking for. It is organized by audience, disability, and by topic.
 * Completeness:** The content seems to be very complete with out any omissions. A range of disabilities is discussed such as attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and other common disorders that fall under the LD umbrella.
 * Clarity:** Content is well written by experts in the field. The website includes a lot of information, but is relatively easy to use.
 * Corroboration or credibility****:** LD online is in association with the [|National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities] and is a service of WETA, which is the Washington Area's educational television station.
 * Currency:** The copyright on LD online is 2008, but articles are marked with the year they were written or added to the site. Most articles I viewed seemed to be current and no more than a few years old.
 * Connections:** Hyperlinks connect to articles, multimedia, columns and product pages of the site. Also included are links to WETA's other educational websites ReadingRockets.org and Colrin' Colorado.org as well as the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities and WTEA**.
 * Accessibility (508):** You can click on an icon for Access tips, printing and text size to make the site accessible for you. Also you can get anywhere in the site with your keyboard and you do not need a mouse. To make it even more accessible I would add captions to videos included in the multimedia section of the site.

Schwab Learning
Review Written by Melanie Campbell, EDET 735 Spring 2008

**Web Title:** [|Schwab Learning:] The parents guide to K-12 success
 **URL address: www.schwablearning.org**

 **Content/Topic:** A resource for parents who have children that struggle with learning, have specific learning disabilities, and/or have attention deficit disorders.

 **Type of Site description:** Schwab Learning is a free website designed specifically for parents of kids in kindergarten through high school with learning difficulties.

 **Web Validator use to check site & results:** WAVE, 14 errors

 SchwabLearning.org serves parents of children K-12 who struggle with academics because of learning or attention problems. This website provides practical, reliable, research-based information to parents and seeks to guide them in helping their children. Research and articles posted on schwablearning.org must meet certain criteria in order to be featured on the website. All articles must be based on latest research from reputable sources; presented in a clear, conversational, and informative manner with minimal technical terminology; limited to 800-1200 words; and, does not endorse specific products, services, or learning/therapeutic approaches. Contributors to the schwablearning.org also are knowledgeable about learning disabilities and its challenges, and specialize in education, child development, psychology or psychiatry, parenting, health, science, education law, and medicine.

 Content presented on the website appears thorough and useful. Topics of interest include managing a child with difficulties, managing home and family, managing school and learning, identifying difficulties, and connecting with others.

 Schwablearning.org is updated regularly with feature articles presented weekly. The hyperlinks to various articles are active and valid, and the website is well-organized. Schwablearning.org is free of distracting graphics and text is presented against a white background. In addition to being well-organized, the site has an option to switch to Spanish making it accessible for many parents. A quick readability check on a few articles indicated about a 6th to 7th grade reading level with Flesch-Kincaid and a Fog index of about 10. This might be a bit too high for some parents given the primary objective of the site is to provide information to parents.

Schwablearning.org contains a significant number of accessibility errors. WAVE detected 14 accessibility errors. Most errors were missing form labels and alt text for non text items. Wave also identified areas where the text was small and may be problematic for those with vision handicaps. Schwablearning.org does not have any embedded tool to enlarge font size of text. This site could be improved my providing such resources and correcting form label and alt text errors.