Accessible eLearning for Teachers and Lecturers

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Accessible e-Learning for Teachers and Lecturers
TechDis Staff Packs
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Pre-requisite knowledge

• Before exploring this pack you should have looked
  at
• What is Accessibility?
• An Introduction to the Disability Legislation

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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.

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This is the librarian whos 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
doesnt quite know what shes 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 tutors 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 whod helpif
shecould with a nice yellow filter but cant do
much else cos shes scared of PCs
This is the tutor who marks the assignment. It
isnt much good, but then Janes not very able..
This is the man who looks after computersbut
wont install software that complicates systems
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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 users
  notes using copy and paste.

Activity 1 Advantages of Online Resources
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Accessible for whom?
Facets of accessibility
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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.

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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
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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.
What I want my students to practice
Note taking Observation/recall
Compare/evaluate/synthesise
Example 1 Understanding the atmosphere
Word drag drop
PowerPoint animation
Excel simulation
Word drop down
Online handout
Example 2 Understanding hair
Online handout
Word drag drop
PowerPoint animation
Excel simulation
Word drop down
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Drop Down Menus
Software fix use mouse keys (AltArrow) 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.
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Animated PowerPoint
High
Accessibility gtgt
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).
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Animated Excel
Accessibility gtgt
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.
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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

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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).