• Overview
  ...a rough guide to e-learning, for staff
• News and Updates

• Using the Course Materials Repository
• Using Online Coursework Submission
• Using the Plagiarism Detection Service
• Using Moodle
• Using WebCT
• Using Perception
• Using a Personal Response System

• SENDA
• Supporting Online Learning
• IPR and Copyright Guidance
• E-Learning Network (Mailing List)
• Training
• Learning and Teaching

Online Learning and SENDA

Accessible Online Course Materials:

The key to accessible design is not to be prescriptive. You should, wherever possible, enable the user to have the option of readily adapting the look and feel of the content to suit their own needs. Users should be able to change font size or background colours, of particular benefit to students with dyslexia, if these have not been specified or fixed. For example, with MS Internet Explorer:

Users can change font size from Page>Text Size:

It is possible for users to change the default browser settings in Internet Explorer from Tools>Internet Options>Accessibility:

There are several alternative browsers to Internet Explorer. The WebAIM site has information on Using Opera to Check for Accessibility.

For information on accessibility and other browsers, see:

• Accessibility Options in Netscape Navigator
• Accessibility Features in Firefox

Cascading Style Sheets:

Cascading Style Sheets are simply a means of adding styles, such as fonts, colours, and adding white space to Web documents. CSS can improve accessibility as they separate Web document content from presentation, allowing users the option to override style sheet settings with personal viewing preferences (e.g. larger font sizes, different colours etc). Style sheets can be used to control how a page is presented on displays, in print, or perhaps how the page is pronounced or brailed. However, because not all browsers and assistive technology support CSS, it is important that Web pages be readable without requiring style sheets.

There is more detailed information on CSS available at the Web Support Unit (WSU) Web site, see, Stylesheets. The WSU also run courses on FrontPage 2000, which includes guidance on CSS (please see the Courses Currently Booking page). The WSU is able to advise staff on CSS, and can provide University staff with CSS templates into which they can insert content (from a Word document, for example). The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a CSS validator.

Images:

When an image is used in online course materials, it should always be described by mark-up tags which provide information on the image which is displayed in the browser and can be read out by a screen reader.

Does an accessible site mean a site without images? Most definitely not, as the following question at the RNIB Web site illustrates:

'If I create a text-only version of my website, it will be accessible to everyone, won't it? I don't need to worry about the graphic version.'

'Not really. It might ensure that those using speech or Braille output can easily access the content of your site, but for anyone with reading or cognitive problems, a text only site can be a real problem. Partially sighted users, too, can benefit greatly from a well designed combination of text and graphics and would much rather visit a site which is visually appealing.

'If you visited a site with a text only version, would you use that version by choice? You need to consider, too, whether or not there will always be the resources available to maintain and update two sites. A text only site which is six months out of date because it hasn't been updated every time the graphic site is updated might be accessible for some users, but it's not much use to anyone.'

RNIB FAQs

There is a particularly innovative example of how an image-rich, online learning resource can be made accessible from the Tate. The I-map project, with BT, is 'designed for visually impaired people and aims to explore some of the ideas, innovations and working methods of Matisse and Picasso, two of the twentieth century's most influential artists'.

PowerPoint:

This is a popular tool, which is used extensively to support the delivery of face-to-face lectures. Increasingly, tutors are making their PowerPoint Presentations available online via the Course Materials Repository. Screen readers cannot read the text on PowerPoint slides, which means that a visually impaired student who tries to access a PP presentation via the CMR will not be able to do so. A 'reasonable adjustment' would be make the content from PP presentation available as a Web page or as a document which could be displayed in a word processor and described by a screen reader. WebAIM, (Web Accessibility in Mind), a US-based organisation which works towards Web accessibility, has a tutorial on PowerPoint and accessibility, see PowerPoint.

Multimedia:

The use of multimedia within online materials can greatly enrich the learning experience of students. Accessible online materials do not necessarily mean the exclusion of interactive components, though their inclusion should be carefully considered and alternatives made available, if necessary.

Adobe (which develops and markets Flash and Acrobat) has developed its products recently to improve accessibility.

• Flash – although FlashMX is more accessible than previous versions, the RNIB cautions that, 'these features currently only go so far, and that they should not be solely relied upon to make Flash content fully accessible. Designers are still required to perform additional manual tasks to quality assure that what they create has an effective level of accessibility', (RNIB Web Access Centre: Macromedia Flash). There is a useful tutorial on FlashMX and accessibility from WebAIM, FlashMX Accessibility.
• Audio and video – audio and video can be used effectively to support learning online, but should not be used as the sole means of conveying information. You should be sure that users have access to the relevant technology, and not assume this, and users should also have controls over the delivery of the media - i.e. volume control, stop/play/pause/skip commands.
• Adobe Acrobat – .pdf is widely used in teaching and learning in HE, but until recently, it was very difficult for screen readers to read the content of .pdf. Adobe provide a free online tool which converts PDF files to a format which can be used with screen-reading programs. This is available on the Adobe Accessibility site.

There is detailed information on creating accessible multimedia at the RNIB site: Accessible Multimedia: Web Access Centre

 

Further University Guidance, Checklists and tutorials:

• The Web Support Unit at the University has a checklist for accessible Web design, which is based on the Web Accessibility guidelines from W3C. The WSU's Guidelines for accessible web design set out the University's minimum requirements for Web accessibility. The Guidelines have been developed and adopted by the Website Steering Group.
• TechDis has put together Seven Precepts for Usability and Accessibility. The precepts cover a 'range of usability and accessibility issues', including navigation and page layout, visual presentation, forms, lists, scripts and tables, and issues associated with the use of other media types. See also, Access all Areas (requires Adobe Acrobat) from the TechDis.
• The RNIB Web site has information on Web accessibility checklists, as well as an example checklist to download.
• WebAIM: there is an extensive list of tutorials on accessibility of multimedia on the How-To & Resources page of the WebAIM site.

Online communication:

Online communication can take many forms, but it falls into two broad categories: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous communication, for example Chat, or Instant Messaging, happens in real time; asynchronous communication means that there is some delay between a message being sent and being read.

Chat:

Chat is only used in a limited way in HE - it can be used as a means of running an online office hour, or embedded within an online course, (for example to enable discussion in real time between several locations, or perhaps as a means of having a discussion with a guest lecturer). WebAIM, notes that although chat programs are now very wide-spread and a popular means of communication, 'few are fully accessible to those with disabilities'. WebAIM lists the following point for consideration:

1. Is the interface accessible through the keyboard only?
2. Does the program work with common screen readers?
3. Can the user control the scrolling and/or refreshing of messages?
4. Does sound alone convey important information?
5. Are the controls easy to use and clear?
6. If Java is being used, is it designed to work with Jaws and other screen readers?

There is further information at the WebAIM site, Accessibility of Online Chat Programs.

There is an interesting article by Gail Lawyer, 'Instant Gratification,'CHAT' Finds a Home in the Corporate World', on the rise of Chat and instant messaging, with predictions for growth.

Bulletin boards or discussion groups:

This form of asynchronous communication is used more extensively in HE, and several tutors at University of Essex use bulletin boards as part of CMR, or within WebCT. However, the use of bulletin boards, which display communication in a threaded list is not unproblematic. Long lists of messages are difficult to navigate with a screen reader, and may cause dyslexic students problems as well.

You should not rely on a bulletin board as the only form of communication for the course. You should ensure that the bulletin board:

• does not use frames, which make it difficult to use a screen reader
• that messages include subject headings and detail the sender's identity

Online Assessment:

Online assessment is being used increasingly within HE for for both formative and summative testing and assessment. Many surveys of student opinion, from SAC (Student Assessment of Courses) and SSS (Student Satisfaction Survey) also take place online.

There has been little discussion of the accessibility issues of online assessment. Kathy Wilkes from the LTSN Generic Centre argues that students with Special Educational Needs face particular challenges when accessing a computer-aided assessment.

Wilkes argues that multiple choice questions, or MCQs, pose a particular problem:

• For visually impaired students who rely on text-to-speech software, remembering a variety of spoken information can require considerable mental effort.
• Students who rely on text-to-speech software require greater time to acquire and digest information than students who can visually read the data.
• MCQs often offer very subtle distinctions between choices. Visually impaired students are likely to need longer to determine these distinctions. A dyslexic student may be unable to identify such subtle distinctions
• MCQs that address higher-order understanding rather than surface learning are very complex and can require numerous re-readings. This has the potential to disadvantage the visually-impaired student and those using text-to-speech software
• Progressing through options using the tab key (for students who cannot use a mouse) can take up a great deal of additional time

Wilkes makes the following recommendations:

• When designing multiple choice questions, try to avoid overly-complex answers, especially long lists of distinctions that can only be made by careful re-readings
• If using graphics, ensure that high-quality recorded descriptions are available for each graphic used or that a narrative is included with video clips to describe any action taking place
• Allow students to set their own transition times between questions (but bear in mind that extra time may make the total exam burden more onerous)
• Allow students to navigate between questions using the keyboard rather than a mouse
• If you use assistive technology to make the assessment more accessible, ask yourself if the student is being required to learn to use new technology at short notice, and whether this constitutes fair treatment
• Ask the advice of disabled students and use that feedback in the design of computer-based assessments. No one is better placed to advise on accessibility than disabled students who often have a great deal of experience and many useful contributions to make to the design of materials

Kathy, Wilkes, Accessibility and computer-based assessment: a whole new set of issues? Full reference: Kathy Wiles, Accessibility and computer-based assessment: a whole new set of issues?, in, Access all Areas, Lawrie Phipps, Allan Sutherland & Jane Seale (Eds), JISC, TechDis Service and ALT, 2002.