One of the most commonly held myths associated with accessibility is that it is difficult, expensive and time-consuming. I’ll confess that when I first became an online educator I was influenced by this view, and felt overwhelmed by the prospect of embedding accessibility into my teaching.

As with the other myths I’ve addressed so far, there’s an element of truth in the claim. I’ll address cost first. Adding a human signer to hundreds of existing videos could indeed be an expensive process for an educational institution. However, adding closed captions to those videos could be achieved at little cost through a combination of automatic tools and a human checking the results.

When considering the cost of implementing accessibility, it’s also important to also consider the cost of not doing so. As already discussed, many countries have legislation requiring education providers to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people will not experience a substantial disadvantage. Not taking such steps could result in costly compensation claims and a damaged reputation.

Moving on to the assertion that making education accessible is difficult and time-consuming, there’s an element of truth to that claim too. However, multiple resources are now available to support educators and institutions seeking to improve the accessibility of their educational provision. These resources can save you time and allow you to benefit from the expertise and experiences of others.

In this section of Week 2 you’ll look at accessibility guidelines – one example of the resources available. You’ll also draw on another resource, the shared experience of others, including your fellow students on this course.

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