LEARN
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LEARN |
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Learning Environments And Research Network |
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| Access & Accessibility |
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Computer technology, and with it internet and email access, have created opportunities for wider access to higher and
further education for a broad range of people previously not well served by conventional institutions. Among these groups
are those with physical or sensory disabilities. Through internet access people can have access to information and
resources difficult to obtain in other ways. Email and chat rooms widen social access, and who can tell from an email
whether the sender was deaf, blind or speechless!
The empowering potential of the technology already exists, but it can easily be designed away by developers who fail to incorporate accessibility into their web sites. In education this can mean that institutions fail to live up to their legal and Funding Council imposed obligations to support staff and students with disabilities. In recognition of the need to improve standards of accessibility both the Funding Councils and the QAA are taking accessibility provisions into account in their assessments. So how can we try to maximise accessibility for our students and staff? There are a range of resources and guidelines which already exist and can be easily accessed. In the UK the JISC funded Disability Information Systems in Higher Education (DISinHE) project. This is a major resource with information on internationally recognised guidelines, links to a wide range of contacts in HE, disability organisations as well as information about suppliers of goods and services and links to other useful sites. Two valuable HE guidelines which can be downloaded from DISinHE are: Teaching Everyone. Disability and new technology - a guide for lecturers Technology for Everyone. Designing teaching and learning technology. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) gives guidelines for website developers and authoring tools. The WAI guidelines range from a simple Quick Tips Reference Card to detailed manuals for developers. WAI have also developed style sheets which can be used to ensure that web pages are as accessible as possible regardless of the web browser being used. The Trace Centre provides information on usability and design for accessibility. The Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) provides information and downloadable software, Bobby, for testing the accessibility of web sites. The National Federation of Access Centres is based mainly in FE colleges in the UK. The National Bureau for Students with Disabilities produces publications and arranges conferences which deal with disability from students' and education providers' viewpoints. The website has very useful information sheets. Accessibility and usability are not just issues for people with disabilities: by making resources accessible and usable for those with disabilities, we make them more accessible and usable for all. |
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