Making Multimedia work for EVERYONE

So far in our journey through Multimedia, we have addressed those who put it together, how to handle it, fix it, color it, rearrange it, and so much more using authoring tools, etc. We have praised the Interfacers, Instructional designer, and many more for their deligence in working hard so that technology can not just be fun but a great learning experience. However, I have yet to know or learn about how people with auditory deficiences, blindness, and other problems that somewhat effect those with ailment to be able to use multimedia functions.

What is about Multimedia and it's function's that accomodate those who interact with technology everyday, but not in some of the same way as people who can see or hear? After reading( http://ncam.wgbh.org/news/cdromnews1.html )Tom Wlodkowski's "Making CD-ROM's Multimedia Work for All Users", you will get a better understanding of how Multimedia helps those with deficiences make just as much use out of it as those who can see and hear just fine. You can also read an interview that was done with Orville Maxon, a highly intelligent producer who in fact works with Multimedia and is visually impaired.(http://blog.sonicfoundry.com/howtowebcast/making-multimedia-better-for-the-visually-impaired-an-interview-with-orville-maxon/ )


After your reading, ask yourself: if what is done is good enough to accomodate those with hearing loss or blindness and what do you feel could be done better? What other problems can you think of that present an issue to people with disorders when it comes to using multimedia, power points, and other forms of technology? If you were a multimedia designer, what would you do in order to test and see if what adjustments you have made are effective?