Alabama Virtual Library and Accessibility for All

Alabama Virtual Library

The Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) is an online database that connects students, teachers, and Alabama citizens to various educational resources. The database contains articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers. These articles are categorized by their subject and assigned to specific search engines. For example, a journal article on Shakespeare could be found under one of the literary search engines. Another feature of the AVL is the citation feature. Every entry has citation information that is required for writing research papers. The articles also contain publishing information so that the articles can be found in paper form if necessary.

The AVL can be very useful in teaching students how to use the internet to do research. Common search engines such as Google present documents that are inaccessible to students. The AVL provides credible sources to students and teach students how to properly do research and document what they find. The most important benefit to teachers is that they have a free educational resource to offer students.

Alabama Virtual Library


Accessibility for All

After viewing Mr. Sullivan's presentation, I realized how important it is for me to become familiar with the technology surrounding accessibility for the blind. It had never occurred to me how important and easy it is to make the material I post on the internet accessible to those with disabilities. As a future teacher, I was very interested in the software available for the blind. Being able to see this software demonstrated made me realize that I need to do more research since it is quite possible that I may have a child with this disability in my classroom. I was very encouraged to know that these resources are available to help me reach my students who simply need a few accommodations.

Mr. Sullivan's Presentation