Ian…
Access all areas?
OPERA (Opportunity, Productivity,
Engagement, Reducing barriers,
Achievement)
• OPERA is a university-wide accessibility
project supported by advice and guidance from
Jisc.
• To implement a range of accessibility
initiatives and monitor their impact on the
development of a more accessible information
environment at the University of Kent.
Partners
What does print disability mean?
A print-disabled person is anyone for whom a
visual, cognitive or physical disability hinders the
ability to read print. This includes all visual
impairments, dyslexia, and any physical disabilities
that prevent the handling of a physical copy of a
print publication.
(Copyright Licencing Agency, 2011).
Assistive technology (AT)
• Any device or system that allows an individual to
perform a task that they would otherwise be
unable to do, or which increases the ease and
safety with which the task can be performed.
• Equipment or software designed or modified to
enable disabled people (actually everyone) to
gain access to curriculum content or
assessment, such as the use of text-to-speech
(TTS) or speech recognition software, are
examples. QAA (2010).
Video magnifier
Optical Character Recognition
Scanner
Types of assistive technology
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Text to speech
Spell checking/word prediction
Mind mapping
Reminders
Speech recognition
Scanning and Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Dictionaries
Calculators
Note taking
Referencing
Moodle
ebooks/ejournals…
OPERA aim
• To make recommendations that will help to
develop an inclusive information
environment and encourage the wider
adoption of assistive technology
(productivity tools) for all at the
University of Kent.
Inclusive design
• ‘Accessible design is good design’ (United
Kingdom 2015).
• We can’t always know who we have
coming to our institution so it is best to
anticipate that every module in every
faculty at all of our campuses could have
someone with a print disability in
attendance.
Inclusive design. Who benefits?
The problem with physical
printed material
Print disability case study
• Michael is a blind student who use a screen reader.
• For his seminar next Monday he needs to
summarise a 60 page report and present his
findings to the group.
• Although available in digital format, the report
appears to have no structure and he therefore has
no way to access a table of contents to navigate
between sections.
• It takes him most of the day to find out what may
have taken an hour if the document had been
properly structured.
Inclusive information
environment
• Ensure documents, presentations and key
readings are available to access
electronically as far in advance as
possible.
• This benefits everyone: part-timers,
commuters, international students,
academics, support staff…
Why are electronic resources
more accessible?
Electronic resources (where they are created
inclusively) will allow users to:
• Magnify.
• Read aloud.
• Reflow.
• Recolour - change background colours.
• Convert formats - for example text to mp3/audio.
• Navigate the document quickly using headings.
How can I make electronic
documents more accessible?
Sensus Access is an online tool that will enable
the conversion of electronic documents into a
more accessible/usable format.
Microsoft Word documents
Accessibility basics
• Keep the layout simple and clear.
• Use heading styles to create clear document
structure.
• Make sure pages are numbered.
• Use recognised rather than ‘unofficial’ formatting.
• Make sure images and diagrams have alternative
text descriptions.
• Use plain English.
• Ensure that printed handouts are also available in
electronic format.
• Use the Microsoft Word Accessibility Checker.
Microsoft PowerPoint
accessibility basics
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Minimum point size of 24 for all slide text.
Keep the layout simple and clear.
Use the standard templates.
Give each slide a unique title.
Use the Notes Field to expand on important
points or summarise visual materials.
• Make sure all pictures, charts and diagrams have
alternative text descriptions.
• Use plain English.
• Make sure there is good contrast between text and
background.
An accessible organisation?
Institutional Policies
• How and where do our policies support
models of inclusive design and promote
mainstreaming of reasonable adjustments
to reduce as many barriers as possible at
source for everyone?
• Could we create a minimum accessible
information guideline that outlines a basic
standard of accessibility for all in-house
created documents?
Policies: procurement
Asking the right questions in the early
stages of negotiation about product
requirements to identify potential barriers
well in advance and make these part of
acceptance criteria.
Questions about the
product/service
• What are the key accessibility features of the
product or service?
• Please tell us about any standards that the
product has been designed to meet e.g. WCAG
2.0 AA, BS8878?
Questions about the
product/service 2
• Has testing been performed with users that have
a range of accessibility needs using a range of
assistive technologies (AT)?
– What assistive technology was tested and
who did the testing?
– What were the key outcomes?
• When you release upgrades how can you
assure us they will not have a negative impact
on accessibility?
IT & Networks
• What is the optimal provision of assistive
technology (AT) on the Kent network?
• How can we make more AT available to students
wherever they choose to study e.g. off-campus,
own device.
• How can we exploit the benefits for all from using
AT e.g. text to speech, mind-mapping, word
prediction and voice recognition as productivity
tools?
• How do we direct users to AT and
embed/maximise effectiveness in everyday
teaching and learning contexts?
Library and Learning Resources
• How can we ensure that as much ‘born
digital’ accessible information as possible
is available on reading lists and to support
research?
Academic and Departmental
Practice
• How can we raise awareness of
accessibility literacy and embrace basic
accessibility standards for in-house
created/ recommended documentation
e.g. lecture/seminar slides and handouts,
module readings, module outlines and
assessments?
Learner Awareness
• Do recommended reading lists include
podcasts, video clips or websites / blogs?
• Have learning materials been produced to
meet accessibility guidelines?
• Can I personalise the online learning
environment – e.g. change colours or
fonts?
Student Support and Wellbeing
• How can we share expertise and best practice
advice and examples from the sector and the
University in the most effective way?
• What additional information is required to assist
schools in the effective implementation of ILPs?
• How can existing processes be streamlined to result
in quicker alerting of additional requirements where
mainstream adjustments are not enough to remove
all barriers for some students?
More information
• Kent accessibility web pages (in development)
Mainstream adjustments
• What are our most frequently requested
adjustments?
• Where could we mainstream adjustments to
tackle as many as possible in advance?
– University of Edinburgh: Mainstreaming learning
adjustments
• This policy includes three adjustments which made
up half of the adjustments recommended by the
Student Disability Service. Therefore by
‘mainstreaming’ these adjustments we significantly
improve the accessibility and inclusivity of our
classrooms and reduce the number of ad hoc
adjustments that teaching staff need to make.
Some free tools
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Hemmingway Editor / Grammarly
VoiceNote 2
Headings map
Clearly
Caret browsing
AT Bar
Spreed
Select and Speak
ClaroMagX
TapTapSee
f.lux
Be My Eyes
Mainstreaming
‘Mainstreaming takes equality to the heart of
an institution, moving it from a bolt-on
aspect of delivery to an integral part of the
way it thinks and functions’.
Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) Mainstreaming: equality at the
heart of FE and HE: final reports. [Online]