Creating a Digitally Inclusive Culture - a 20 Year Journey

HELLO!

Clare Thomson

Digital Education & Enhancement Consultant, Office for Digital Learning, Ulster University

You can find me at @slowtech2000

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“It is not our learners who are disabled. It is our systems, our curriculum.”

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Katie Novak

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15,846

number of students with disabilities registering with the support services in higher education, increase of 226% in the last 11 years.

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AHEAD report 19/20

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Accessible? Equitable?

Link to tweet (read all the replies):

https://twitter.com/SarahMarieDS/status/1226879470717546496?s=20

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Read the Guardian article recounting her fight from September 2019 through to this episode in February 2020.

How my journey began

• As a recent postgraduate in a multimedia developer role was assigned task of testing all products to ensure they met accessibility legislation.
• Had to start from scratch.
• First stop: W3C guidelines

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Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

• 1999: Version 1.0
• 14 principles and overall each item had levels of requirement:
• must, should or may
• 2008: Version 2.0
• websites must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust
• 2018: Version 2.1
• Amended to better include - users with cognitive or learning disabilities, users with low vision, and users with disabilities on mobile devices
• 2020: Version 2.2 is a working draft
• 2021: Version 3.0 under development

Legislation

The full name of the accessibility regulations is the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

The accessibility regulations build on your existing obligations to people who have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (or the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland). These say that all UK service providers must consider ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled people.

… need to make sure your service meets level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) as a minimum.

Source:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps

1999 Guidelines

• Guideline 1: Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content
• Guideline 2: Don't rely on colour alone
• Guideline 3: Use markup and style sheets, and do so properly
• Guideline 4: Clarify natural language usage
• Guideline 5: Create tables that transform gracefully
• Guideline 6: Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully
• Guideline 7: Ensure user control of time sensitive content changes
• Guideline 8: Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces
• Guideline 9: Design for device independence
• Guideline 10: User interim solutions
• Guideline 11: Use W3C technologies and guidelines
• Guideline 12: Provide context and orientation information
• Guideline 13: Provide clear navigation mechanisms
• Guideline 14: Ensure that documents are clear and simple

Jisc Digital Experience Insights: Ulster University

• Live lectures/teaching events - more of them, shorter, more interactivity, more breaks, recorded lectures
• More interaction, collaboration and regular checks on learning with feedback - dedicated time for interaction.
• Live module-level support – regular live Q&A session.
• Clear communication channels - quicker response times, guidance and clarity of expectations (e.g. assessment) – careful about communication (email, notifications, alerts, posts, etc.) not becoming overwhelming at course level.
• Consistent course-level approach to the use of Blackboard – layout, naming, etc.
• Challenges in current circumstances - increased workload – understanding, provide flexibility

What has changed in 20 years?

• Then the guidelines were targeted at professional web developers
• Now we are all web developers:
• Virtual Learning Environments
• Document production
• Presentations
• Multimedia
• Social Media
• Blogging

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Changing Culture

Emergent Strategy

by adrienne maree brown

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1.

Fractals

The relationships between big and small

The relationships between big and small

• No single solution
• Physical
• Digital
• Repeating patterns for a large effect
• Embedded culture
• Open discussions around resistance

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2.�Intentional Adaptation

How we change

How we change

• In sync
• Clear, consistent communication
• Collective leadership and ownership
• Deep trust

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3.�Interdependence and decentralisation

Who we are and how we share

Who we are and how we share

• Collaboration over co-operation
• Multiple departments
• Mutually reliant
• Dispersion of functions/power
• Include students in the conversations

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4.�Nonlinear and Iterative

The pace and pathways of change

The pace and pathways of change

• Chaos theory
• Complexity rather than complicated
• One small thing
• Create new habits

Visibility

Tech functionally can revolutionise the learning experience for many students but it often remains hidden/complex to use.

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In addition remember many students do not declare a disability or seek support.

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Twitter bringing ALT TEXT to everyone not only brings the need for it right up and centre but it enriches the experience for all.

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Writing ALT text is easy, writing MEANINGFUL ALT text takes a bit more consideration.

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Descriptive Alt text

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Practical guidance: Colour

Do

• Use colour combinations to convey meaning
• eg red for negative (stop) and green for positive (go)
• Chose a limited number of colours, up to 3 maximum
• Use a very pale, off-white background colour if possible

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Don’t

• Use colour ALONE
• eg if you put keywords in colour for emphasis, use an additional element such as bold
• Use closely contrasted colours
• eg this is too similar for most of you to make out

Practical guidance: Text

Do

• Use proper mark up eg Heading 1, Heading 2 … in Microsoft and VLE editors etc
• Use clear sans serif fonts, in at least 12 pt
• Left align blocks of text
• Break up into small chunks
• eg lists, sub headings

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Don’t

• Use overly complicated language or local phrases/colloquialism
• Repeatedly use ‘Click here’ for hyperlinks, each should be unique ‘Click to go to the AHEAD website’
• Use flowery serif fonts
• eg this will be tricky to read clearly

Practical guidance: Images

Do

• Add meaningful ALT text
• Ensure contrast between picture content and text
• Add plain background, shadow, glow etc

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Don’t

• Put text directly on images

Practical guidance: Audio/Video

Do

• Provide alternative means to the information
• eg a transcript, the slides file
• Add captions (live if possible)
• Describe any visual content if included
• Spell out acronyms

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Don’t

• Record overly long sessions, chunk it into shorter sections
• Speak too quickly
• Turn on ’autoplay’

5.�Resilience

How we recover and transform

How we recover and transform

• Following the pandemic staff are exhausted
• Increasing pressures
• Leadership
• Support
• Practical
• Cultural

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Buying back time

Save time by rethinking :

• Don’t change text colour
• Don’t change templates
• Don’t rename, rearrange navigation
• Don’t make your own layouts in PowerPoint
• Don’t change fonts – use a sans serif one

Don’t do it alone

Save time by rethinking :

• Explore alternative format generating systems
• Use checkers such as Microsoft, VLE editors etc
• Ask student support departments for advice

6.�Creating More Possibilities

How we move towards life

How we move towards life

• Constantly evolving
• Navigating around obstacles
• Even failure leads to new opportunities
• Learn from and with others
• Lead by example

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Support

• Your local centres
• AbilityNet
• AHEAD
• Universal Design for Learning (Cast.org)

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Emergent Strategy: Summary

• Fractals: patterns b/n big & small
• Intentional Adaptation
• Interdependence and decentralisation
• Nonlinear and Iterative
• Resilience
• Creating More Possibilities

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THANKS!

You can find me at:

• @slowtech2000
• c.thomson@ulster.ac.uk

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Credits

Special thanks to all the people who made and released these awesome resources for free:

• Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
• Photographs by Unsplash

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