The Blackboard Discussion Board

Norm: Up to now I've been letting you listen to JAWS at a speed that I'd hoped you might be able to understand. I can't tolerate working at that speed. Most blind people can't. You can read much faster than that and if you knew it, you could listen much faster than that, but you haven't taught yourself to. So I want to get my work done as fast as I can and get on to other things, so I have JAWS talking a little bit faster than that. So we're going to go through a discussion board here. I'll tab once it will read through the title of the first one.

JAWS: (very fast) Tab. Introductions link.

Norm: Introductions it said.

JAWS: Tab. Modify Forum link.

Norm: Modify Forum.

JAWS: Tab. Remove Forum link.

Norm: Remove Forum

JAWS: Tab Combo Box Two.

Norm: Combo Box Two

JAWS: Tab. Another Introduction link.

Norm: Another Introduction. Now I happen to know what I want to look at is the fifteenth topic. And you noticed I had to tab more than once to get to topic two, so fifteen times three or four... let's try about forty and see where I am.

JAWS: Tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab Modify forum link. Tab remove forum link. Tab combo box eleven. Tab unit four link. Tab Modify forum link. Tab remove forum link. Tab combo box. Tab unit Tab tab... tab. Combo box fifteen. Tab Reflections on this course to date link.

Norm: There we are, "Reflections on this course to date." You understood it clearly.

JAWS: Enter. Main frame. Page has six frames and 37 links. Links search for messages in this forum. Link show options, link expand options found, table with seven columns options.

Norm: You noticed how many times I had to tab to get to this discussion item I wanted. One thing that would help avoid that for me is if you set up the discussion so the most recent turned out to be the first. So, reverse order or whatever the terminology is would be helpful cause the student usually if he keeps up wants to get to the most recent thing possible. So that would be one thing that could help a great deal. And the more you have titles that are descriptive, the easier it is for any student to know whether what the link is, is what he's really looking for.