Comments on: Is the Mute ON/OFF Button Ruining Your E-learning Course? http://blog.thewritersgateway.com/2010/05/05/mute-onoff/ One Stop Resource for Instructional Design Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:28:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Rupa Rajagopalan http://blog.thewritersgateway.com/2010/05/05/mute-onoff/comment-page-1/#comment-3496 Rupa Rajagopalan Mon, 10 May 2010 11:59:13 +0000 http://blog.thewritersgateway.com/?p=2488#comment-3496 Archana and Christy, Thank you for your thoughts here! Archana and Christy,

Thank you for your thoughts here!

]]> By: Christy Tucker http://blog.thewritersgateway.com/2010/05/05/mute-onoff/comment-page-1/#comment-3488 Christy Tucker Sat, 08 May 2010 15:09:18 +0000 http://blog.thewritersgateway.com/?p=2488#comment-3488 If you're using audio, you should always provide captioning or subtitles. It shouldn't be an optional, extra feature--it should be a minimum requirement. Failure to do so is discrimination. In the US, if you're developing e-learning for schools or anything that receives federal funding, it's illegal. Frankly, it's likely illegal for any business or organization under the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] too, at least if anyone asks for accommodation. But hardly anyone ever ends up in court for violating it, so people just ignore the laws. I don't see the problem here as the mute button--that's just a symptom. The root problem is that we don't even think about building accessibility into our e-learning. If accessibility was a normal part of our development process, we wouldn't have the problem you describe. This is also a great example of why creating learning that is accessible benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities. If I don't have headphones and don't want to bother my coworkers with the speakers, I can turn on the captions/subtitles and still get full benefit of the learning. Captions benefit me even though my hearing is fine. If you’re using audio, you should always provide captioning or subtitles. It shouldn’t be an optional, extra feature–it should be a minimum requirement. Failure to do so is discrimination. In the US, if you’re developing e-learning for schools or anything that receives federal funding, it’s illegal. Frankly, it’s likely illegal for any business or organization under the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] too, at least if anyone asks for accommodation. But hardly anyone ever ends up in court for violating it, so people just ignore the laws.

I don’t see the problem here as the mute button–that’s just a symptom. The root problem is that we don’t even think about building accessibility into our e-learning. If accessibility was a normal part of our development process, we wouldn’t have the problem you describe.

This is also a great example of why creating learning that is accessible benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities. If I don’t have headphones and don’t want to bother my coworkers with the speakers, I can turn on the captions/subtitles and still get full benefit of the learning. Captions benefit me even though my hearing is fine.

]]> By: Archana Narayan http://blog.thewritersgateway.com/2010/05/05/mute-onoff/comment-page-1/#comment-3476 Archana Narayan Thu, 06 May 2010 06:06:52 +0000 http://blog.thewritersgateway.com/?p=2488#comment-3476 Very interestic topic, Rupa. :) How do we deal with Mute On/Off buttons? If the audio is expected to play a crucial role and if the learners prefer a audio/visual format, we do away with the mute on/off button. Let us think about this, when will the learner click mute? 1. If he is interupted, meaning he gets a call, someone walks in to talk to him, and so on 2. If he is irritated with the audio 3. If he prefers reading the text off screen For 1, he can reduce the volume on his system. For 2 and 3, if we understood our learners and their needs we would have ensured 'good' audio or stuck to limited audio. Very interestic topic, Rupa. :) How do we deal with Mute On/Off buttons? If the audio is expected to play a crucial role and if the learners prefer a audio/visual format, we do away with the mute on/off button. Let us think about this, when will the learner click mute?
1. If he is interupted, meaning he gets a call, someone walks in to talk to him, and so on
2. If he is irritated with the audio
3. If he prefers reading the text off screen

For 1, he can reduce the volume on his system. For 2 and 3, if we understood our learners and their needs we would have ensured ‘good’ audio or stuck to limited audio.

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