Accessible e-Learning for Teachers and Lecturers

1. TechDis Staff Packs Accessible e-Learning for Teachers and Lecturers

2. Pre-requisite knowledge • Before exploring this pack you should have looked at • What is Accessibility? • An Introduction to the Disability Legislation

3. Accessible e-learning for teachers and lecturers Staff development in accessibility is essential for meeting the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act and promoting good practice in teaching and learning When providing staff development in accessibility it is important to take account of: • Development needs in ILT/e-learning. Many staff can benefit from learning simple ILT/e-learning techniques. • Role appropriate training – the accessibility training you would give a web developer is different to the training a classroom teacher or lecturer needs. • Time appropriate training – training needs to be given at an appropriate point in the year so that new skills can be practiced.

4. This is the librarian who’s fed up explaining the wonders of Dewey to girls who glaze over and then want to Google. This is the learner who wants to do well but doesn’t quite know what she’s supposed to be doing because her dyslexia makes writing much slower. This is the PC which takes her to Google then on to great pages with screenloads of writing she finds hard to read. And the tutor’s notes were on the VLEbut he forgot to say.. This is the tutor who sets an assignment without writing it down ‘cos he mistimed the lesson. This is the learningassistant who’d helpif shecould with a nice yellow filter but can’t do much else ‘cos she’s scared of PCs This is the tutor who marks the assignment. It isn’t much good, but then Jane’s “not very able..” This is the man who looks after computersbut won’t install software that complicates systems

5. 7 good online fixes • Material online is under user control in terms of where, when and for how long they access it. • Material online can be richer in diagrams and the use of colour. • Material online can link to explanatory or extension materials. • Material online can be enlarged or reduced at will. • Material online can be customised in terms of colours and font style. • Text online can – in many cases – be read by appropriate software. • Material online can be integrated with user’s notes using copy and paste. Activity 1 – Advantages of Online Resources

6. Physiological I can’t see it Psychological I can’t do it Learning style It would make more sense in pictures Perceptual They look the same to me Cognitive I can’t get my head round it Linguistic What does that actually mean? Accessible for whom? Facets of accessibility:

7. Caveats…. • The samples that follow aim to give a selection of scenarios. We have omitted a wide range of other disabilities and made simplifying assumptions about the ones we have included. These simplifications allow us to focus on broad teaching and learning implications. • In practice the accessibility of the learning experience will depend as much on the quality of the context (eg clarity of instructions, organisation of activities, enthusiasm of teacher/lecturer) as the quality of the resource.

8. Explore one of the themes below: The link to the raw material shows how the original paper handout looked when used in a traditional teaching setting. What I want my learners to understand Example 1 Understanding the atmosphere • Temperature changes with height • Ozone layer influences temperature change • Three atmospheric layers, each with different properties Raw Material Example 2 Understanding hair • The structure of hair • Hair types • The growth of hair and the hair cycle Raw Material

9. What I want my students to practice Note taking Observation/recall Compare/evaluate/synthesise Example 1 Understanding the atmosphere Online handout Word drop down PowerPoint animation Word drag& drop Excel simulation Example 2 Understanding hair Online handout Word drop down Excel simulation PowerPoint animation Word drag& drop Samples for evaluation Select any of the links below to see how the original paper based materials might be developed online using simple techniques available in Office. Each different resource will have different accessibility gains (or losses) for different learners. These are explored in the following slides.

10. Accessibility >> High Med’ Low Blind Visual imp'd Motor imp'd Hearing loss Dyslexic Original paper print outs Software fix: Not applicable. Hardware fix: Use magnifying glass or CCTV magnifier for visual impairment. Use clip stand for mobility impairment. Pedagogical fix: Oral presentation for blind users.

11. Accessibility >> High Med’ Low Blind Visual imp'd Motor imp'd Hearing loss Dyslexic Simple ‘handout online’ Software fix: Use screen reader for blind user or “reading assist” software for dyslexic user. Hardware fix: MP3 player to play MP3 text to speech version. Pedagogical fix: Lecture or seminar style could benefit blind or print challenged learners.

12. Accessibility >> High Med’ Low Blind Visual imp'd Motor imp'd Dyslexic Hearing loss Drag and Drop Resources Software fix: use mouse keys for motor impaired. Use windows magnifier for visually impaired. Hardware fix: use mouse emulator or joystick for motor impaired learners. Data projection for high visibility images. Tactile pad for blind? Pedagogical fix: games, simple models or tactile materials (fuzzy felt / Lego) for blind.

13. Accessibility >> High Med’ Low Blind Visual imp'd Motor imp'd Dyslexic Hearing loss Drop Down Menus Software fix: use mouse keys (Alt+Arrow) for motor impaired. Use windows magnifier for visually impaired. Hardware fix: Alternative input device (adapted keyboard; joystick etc). Text reader (some struggle with forms) Pedagogical fix: blind students work in pairs with sighted peers or teacher reads text and provides options for learners to select from.

14. Animated PowerPoint High Accessibility >> Med’ Low Blind Visual imp'd Motor imp'd Dyslexic Hearing loss Software fix: use notes field for blind users or voice recording describing animation. Hardware fix: Magnifier software for visually impaired or use data projector for large image size. Pedagogical fix: audio tape or practical simulation with plasticine (ozone formation) or pipe-cleaners and rolled up paper (split ends).

15. Animated Excel Accessibility >> High Med’ Low Blind Visual imp'd Motor imp'd Dyslexic Hearing loss Software fix: Change cell or text colour to suit colour blind users or dyslexics. Make slider bar larger for motor impaired users. Use zoom tool for visually impaired. Use Windows MouseKeys. Hardware fix: Alternative input device (eg joystick) for manipulating slider bar Pedagogical fix: blind students could work with tactile graph (e.g. fuzzy felt string) for atmosphere or tactile models for the hair growth.

16. Key Considerations for Accessibility • Language – Keep it as clear and simple as possible. • Colour – Avoid making colour the sole means for transmitting information. • Headings and Formats – Use inbuilt heading styles e.g. Heading 1 / Heading 2. • Text – Use Sans serif font with lots of white space. Minimum font size 12pt. • Images – Use descriptions / captions. • Navigation – Ensure hyperlinks have descriptions about their destination e.g. Case Study on London

17. Conclusion • Teaching and learning are not primarily about resources but the learning experiences created with the resources. • There is no such thing as an “inaccessible” resource. • Most resources are more accessible to some users and less accessible than others. • Resources that a user struggles to use can be fixed in one of three ways – through software, hardware or pedagogy (tweaking the learning experience so that learners at a disadvantage can participate more fully).