Digital Inclusive Practice inLearning and Teaching

David Sloan@sloandr

25th March 2013Teach @ Dundee,

Academic Induction 2012/13Photo credit: Flickr user @NathanaelB http://www.flickr.com/photos/purecaffeine/5399530443/

Digital Inclusive Practice?

• Motivations for inclusive e-learning– The who and why– Focus mainly on disability

• Key principles of inclusive e-learning design– Applicable to Web, document design,

PowerPoint…

• Resources to support you

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1 THE IMPORTANCE OF INCLUSIVE DIGITAL RESOURCE DESIGN

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Information and communication technology as an enabler

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Inclusive ICT needs thoughtful design and implementation

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The importance of inclusive ICT design and use

• Enhance quality of the learning experience• Improve efficiency of teaching delivery and

maintenance• Make learning experiences available to a

wider audience...earning social and financial capital?

• Oh – and there are legal obligations

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Focus of ICT inclusion?Disability Situational impairmentVision Small screen

Black and white printoutHearing No headphones

Quiet – or noisy – environmentMobility/dexterity Touchscreen

Small keyboardWearing glovesNo mouse

Cognitive English as a second languageMulti-taskingTired, hungover…

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Assistive technology and inclusive design

1. Assistive technology is hardware or software used by a disabled person…

2. Inclusive design is authoring digital resources such that AT can do its job of enabling access and supporting interaction

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Photo credit: Flickr user @visualpunch http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualpunch/5201363064/

2 PRINCIPLES OF INCLUSIVE DIGITAL RESOURCE DESIGN

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Inclusive digital documents and semantic structure

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Representing document structure – headings, lists, tables etc – gives meaningful structural information that can be used by assistive technology

Accommodating visual impairment

• Providing text alternatives for graphical content– Audio description for video

• Not relying on position or appearance of content when referring to it

• Supporting flexibility in text resizing• Suitable contrast between text and

background colour

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Accommodating hearing impairment

• Captions for video• Reducing contrast between background and

foreground audio• Providing signed translations of audio content

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Accommodating mobility impairment

• Make it possible to interact with a digital resource without requiring use of the mouse

• Reducing demand for fine mouse control– Clicking/double clicking on small links, buttons etc– Complex drop-down menu structures

• Use headings, in-page links to make navigation more efficient

• Making it obvious when a link has focus

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Accommodating cognitive impairment

• Consistency in design– Layout, appearance, terms used

• Making digital content understandable to the target audience– Appropriate language – Supporting text to speech– Designing for dyslexia – left justified text, line spacing, off-

white background

• Illustrating text with appropriate diagrams, images, video, animation

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More tips: accessibility in a lunchtime

http://www.slideshare.net/sloandr/online-learning-resource-accessibility-in-a-lunchtime

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3 SUPPORT @DUNDEE IN DIGITAL INCLUSION

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Some tools for digital resource authoring

• MS Office – for learning resource authoring• Blackboard/MyDundee – for distributing e-learning

resources• Additional learning technologies (e.g. Turning Point,

QuestionMark Perception)• WordPress - for blogging• Terminal4 – the University’s web content management

system (wCMS)• All can be used – with care - to create inclusive

resourcesDavid Sloan, 25 March 2013 17

Digital inclusion help @Dundee

• Suggestions for using ICT to overcome barriers present in the physical world

• Awareness and familiarity with best practice in inclusive digital resource design– How to use existing resources to optimise accessibility of

e-learning resources

• Evaluation of existing and prospective e-learning resources for accessibility and usability

• Defining accessibility and usability requirements for procured resources

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Web Accessibility Service @DundeeUniv

• Providing advice to staff on accessibility issues• Accessible authoring techniques• Evaluation and fixing issues• Advice on procurement• Training – Staff Development, Generic Skills,

Graduate Certificate• Web site:

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/ics/services/web/accessibility/ and http://blog.dundee.ac.uk/accessibility/

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ICS Disability Specialist

• Advice on supporting use of assistive technology in the University

• Alternative Formats project:– Supporting people with print disabilities by

providing content in non-text formats– Training on accessible document creation

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Contact details

David Sloan (Web Accessibility Service)dsloan@computing.dundee.ac.uktel 01382 385598 twitter: @sloandr

Andy McMahon (ICS Disability Support)a.z.mcmahon@dundee.ac.uk

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