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Assistive technologies Free and Open Source. Free and Open Source (FOSS) solutions Making better accessible use of what has already been developed and released Using FOSS to develop (discipline-based) resources and p ractice
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Assistive technologiesFree and Open Source Free and Open Source (FOSS) solutions Making better accessible use of what has already been developed and released Using FOSS to develop (discipline-based) resources and practice Leave no-one behind as you innovate – it’s the law and the law empowers you
Context There are around 11 million disabled people in the UK.21% of school age learners have a learning disability.There are over half a million learners in further education who have declared a learning difficulty, disability or health problem.There are nearly 200,000 students in higher education who have declared a disability.
24% of working age disabled people do not hold any formal qualifications, compared to 10% of working age non-disabled people.Between six and eight percent of all web users use an assistive technology.
There are estimated to be 2.5 million people in the UK with speech, language and communication needs.The total number of deaf and hard of hearing people is estimated to be 8,945,000.Almost two million people in the UK are living with sight loss. That's approximately one in thirty.
As many as ¾ of people with learning disabilities are estimated to have visual impairments - either refractive error or blind or partially sighted.There are approximately 210,000 people with moderate to profound learning difficulties in the UK.
1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.
Mobility impairments are the second most common type of disability among students enrolled at post-secondary educational institutions.There are some 10 million children in the UK school system. On average more than one child in each class - 400,000 in the UK - is severely dyslexic.
Working extensively with partners to support the (post-16) educational sectors JISC TechDis provides advice on technologies for inclusion and accessibility.
There are some 10 million children in the UK school system. On average more than one child in each class — 400,000 in the UK — is severely dyslexic.’ http://www.dyslexic.com/articlecontent.asp?CAT=Dyslexia%20Information&slug=103&title=Facts%20about%20Dyslexia Influence attitude and approach
Students with disabilities tend to have lower grades due to accessibility issues.
and yet we still hear... • Q: “What were the accessibility challenges, issues and benefits of your project?” • A: “Well, we didn’t really have any students with disabilities, or if we did, they didn’t have any complaints.” Anonymous
FOSS tactics • Free as in Open – “not as in beer” • Maintained by a active communities • but not always in a handy location! • Works on multi-platforms • Licenced to go
…in a more open world • Open Educational Resources • Creative Commons
AccessApps • An initiative supported by JISC RSCs and JISC Techdis. • Around 60 FOSS applications including, • Open Office • Audio and speech tools • Display Enhancement • all portable - run directly from USB stick • user can take the tools they need anywhere
Example - Audio Tools • Audacity • Balabolka (Text-to-Speech) • Dspeech (Text-to-Speech) • Robobraille (service) Why might you use these?
Display Enhancement Tools • DesktopZoom • RapidSet • Sonar41 • ssOverlay • Tbar • Vubar
Xerte Online Toolkits E-learning without the hassle Advanced functionality through simple templates
Xerte on a surface table • www.nottingham.ac.uk/toolkits/play_3387 • http://pinterest.com/penguinnotlob/xerte-links/ • http://tinyurl.com/cea9bno
Establishing / Exchanging Digital Literacies • Each Level • Each Culture • Each Discipline • Each Post each Role • Each Institution • Each Network
Learning how to play a new game • How we interact with students, through our disciplines, requires a change of thinking. • Good practice and the UKPSF • Academia in new digital game – how does your discipline ‘play’ (e.g. MOOC) from the student perspective? (Note 1:00, 2:30)
Further resources AccessApps Accessibility Essentials Mobile Projects Alternative formats Staff Packs OASES SimDis Accessibility Passport Web2Access http://tinyurl.com/d7xmyaz
Xerte on a surface table • www.nottingham.ac.uk/toolkits/play_3387 • http://pinterest.com/penguinnotlob/xerte-links/ • http://tinyurl.com/cea9bno