Designing an accessible educational resource
I have just completed a module based around inclusive technologies and was asked to design an accessible resource.
I thought I was quite aware of the different types of barriers to learning but after researching the topic it made me realise that I could improve the resources for students. I currently create video tutorials with Camtasia which the students find helpful, rather than having just step by step tutorials written in Word or Google Docs, but on reflection there could be so much more done to improve accessibility, particularly around the course resources.
Looking at 3 resources used at my organisation:
Course handbook
The first document I will reflect upon is a course handbook. The handbook is created in Word and converted to a pdf and is usually printed out for students and is also accessible on the course vle. It is quite wordy but does include a good range of visuals. There is a lot of information to incorporate into this document, but I think there are better ways to get this information across to the students.
Let’s reflect on this document in relation to a student who has adhd. They may have a very short attention span and prefer to be able to navigate through a document like this quickly and for it to include visuals and sounds in order to capture their attention more effectively.
I think this document would benefit from being turned into an EBook.
Assignment brief
Assignment briefs are written in Word and converted to pdf’s and placed on the course vle and the Google Classroom. They include a lot of text and some visuals.
Let’s reflect on this document in relation to a student who has dyslexia. There are a lot words to read through and although they can be printed out onto coloured paper or an overlay sheet could be used, they could be problematic to decipher for a student with dyslexia.
It would be a good idea to include a sound file (podcast) that reads through the assignment. This would also be helpful for visually impaired students.
Step by step handout
Step by step handouts are currently created in Word or Google docs and are put onto Google Classroom and the course vle. Step by step handouts are often used to help students to understand tasks and how to use software. They include text and images and can be made in Word or Google Docs.
Let’s reflect on this document in relation to a student who has autism. The step by step handout may be confusing to decipher and hinder the student's progress and become a barrier to their learning.
A better way to produce this resource would be to use a video capture software such as Camtasia or Screencast-o-Matic to create a video tutorial. It could also be made interactive so that visual and auditory input could be added for extra support and guidance. I currently create video tutorials for students, but an added bonus would be to add interactivity to respond to user input.
Design proposal
I would like to re design the course handbook based around a student who has adhd, but this proposal would improve accessibility for a range of students who have dyslexia, visual impairment and autism spectrum.
The handbook would be created as an EBook. EBooks can contain podcasts and videos as well as images and text. The EBook can also be interactive and pop up larger visuals and videos and incorporate fun quizzes based on questions about the course. A course handbook created as an Ebook would contain a wide range of visual and auditory content and would be much more accessible and interesting for students.