Innovation and accessibility

Designing educational resources to maximise their accessibility can be quite a challenge, especially as every learner is different. There are many different types of disability, some seen and some unseen, and people with the same disability will be affected by that disability in different ways. Accessible online learning needs to take account of this.

Accessibility guidelines can be a good place to start when planning accessible teaching strategies and learning content. As new technology emerges and people learn from the experiences of disabled people, some details in guidelines may change, some accessibility issues may disappear and other issues will take their place. Some resources describe general principles that can be applied to any new technology; others contain details that reflect current versions of particular software and will need to be kept up to date.

You may not be planning to implement accessibility guidelines yourself, perhaps because you may not be in a teaching role. However, it is still important to understand the issues the guidelines cover so that you can communicate them to anyone you commission to create resources for you, know what it is reasonable to expect to be done for the students that you support, and understand the time that might be needed to make these changes.

In the video above, filmed in Second Life, fictional art teacher Leona Simpson explains how she used accessibility guidelines to shape her teaching and better meet one learner’s needs. As you watch, consider the following questions:

• Should educators spend their precious time designing learning experiences to meet the needs of just one learner?
• Could there be any disadvantages to Leona’s approach, as described in the video?
• What might Leona have done differently?
• What might the consequences be of Leona not referring to guidelines?
• Have you had a similar experience yourself? If so, what did you do?

© The Open University

© Video: The Open University (assets PhotoDisc)