{"id":1606,"date":"2026-08-25T11:28:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T10:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/?p=1606"},"modified":"2026-08-14T10:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T09:17:07","slug":"from-interns-to-insights-improving-moodle-accessibility-across-the-faculty-of-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/2026\/08\/25\/from-interns-to-insights-improving-moodle-accessibility-across-the-faculty-of-science\/","title":{"rendered":"From Interns to Insights: Improving Moodle Accessibility Across the Faculty of Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blog post by: <\/span>Katie\u00a0<\/span>Knight\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>MBioMed<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Biomedical Sciences with professional<\/span>\u00a0with Pr<\/span>ofessional Placement<\/span>)\u00a0<\/span>and Will Hempstock (<\/span>BSc Management with\u00a0<\/span>W<\/span>ork placement<\/span>): Insight Interns working in the Faculty of Science.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

466 Moodle pages analysed. Over 10,000 accessibility errors fixed. This project has\u00a0evidently had\u00a0a significant impact, leaving 236 Moodle pages with no errors\u00a0remaining.\u00a0Over the last two months, we have\u00a0completed the Bath Insights Internship,\u00a0working\u00a0together to improve the accessibility and consistency of Moodle pages across the Faculty of Science.\u00a0We achieved this\u00a0through implementing the Bath Blend Baseline and\u00a0using\u00a0the\u00a0Brickfield Accessibility+ Toolkit\u00a0in Moodle,\u00a0establishing\u00a0a better digital learning experience\u00a0for\u00a0all students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Takeaways<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Throughout\u00a0this\u00a0internship,\u00a0we learnt\u00a0a\u00a0variety\u00a0of\u00a0lessons,\u00a0notably\u00a0the importance of\u00a0digital accessibility.\u00a0As we\u00a0encountered\u00a0Moodle\u00a0pages with a\u00a0significant\u00a0number\u00a0of\u00a0accessibility\u00a0errors, we\u00a0realised the\u00a0scope\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0project\u00a0was greater\u00a0than\u00a0initially\u00a0anticipated.\u00a0We\u00a0fixed various\u00a0issues\u00a0such\u00a0as\u00a0inconsistent formatting, missing alt-text\u00a0and\u00a0colour contrast\u00a0errors.\u00a0Additionally,\u00a0we\u00a0ensured each page\u00a0contained\u00a0key information, improved\u00a0page\u00a0layouts\u00a0and\u00a0reorganised content into clear, consistent\u00a0sections.\u00a0Although\u00a0many of these changes may seem small, together they\u00a0significantly\u00a0enhance\u00a0the\u00a0Moodle\u00a0experience for both students and staff.\u00a0This was the key takeaway of the project, that\u00a0small\u00a0design\u00a0choices\u00a0can have\u00a0a big impact.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside technical skills, this project\u00a0shaped us both personally and professionally as we transitioned from students to staff.\u00a0We\u00a0adapted to\u00a0the 9-5 lifestyle,\u00a0coordinated\u00a0meetings\u00a0both in person and online, and sent professional emails to Unit Convenors.\u00a0This internship\u00a0experience provided insight into workplace expectations and helped us develop skills that are difficult to gain through academic study alone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Positives:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The most rewarding aspect of the internship was\u00a0the\u00a0tangible difference to the\u00a0Moodle\u00a0experience\u00a0of\u00a0students\u00a0both with and without accessibility needs.\u00a0As students ourselves,\u00a0we have experienced the challenges of inaccessible Moodle pages\u00a0and the\u00a0convenience\u00a0of one that is well structured\u00a0and inclusive.\u00a0Contributing to\u00a0pages becoming\u00a0both\u00a0more consistent and more accessible was incredibly satisfying,\u00a0especially\u00a0as\u00a0the benefits will continue long\u00a0beyond\u00a0the project.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore,\u00a0we enjoyed working\u00a0together\u00a0to complete this project\u00a0as it was helpful to\u00a0have\u00a0a different perspective\u00a0when faced with key decisions.\u00a0We\u00a0grew collaborative\u00a0skills as we\u00a0strategically\u00a0divided\u00a0tasks,\u00a0ensured consistency\u00a0across our work and\u00a0maintained\u00a0effective communication\u00a0throughout.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Challenges:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Although we received\u00a0a\u00a0largely positive\u00a0response,\u00a0\u00a0some\u00a0Unit Convenors\u00a0had different approaches to organising their Moodle spaces\u00a0and\u00a0were reluctant to\u00a0implement the changes we proposed. This\u00a0proved to be one of the more challenging aspects of the project\u00a0as\u00a0we developed adaptability and\u00a0understanding\u00a0of\u00a0different perspectives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Initially,\u00a0adjusting to a full-time working schedule\u00a0was\u00a0a notable change to the\u00a0flexibility of\u00a0student life.\u00a0The key challenge within this was remaining\u00a0focused\u00a0and motivated\u00a0throughout the day, especially\u00a0due to the repetitive nature of the project.\u00a0Nevertheless,\u00a0we learnt\u00a0when to take breaks to\u00a0optimise\u00a0productivity\u00a0and\u00a0complete our project to a high standard.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Reflections:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

If\u00a0we\u00a0were to undertake this project again,\u00a0we\u00a0would be mindful to record all changes made to Moodle pages. Whilst\u00a0we recorded\u00a0the number of\u00a0common\u00a0accessibility errors\u00a0fixed,\u00a0we did not\u00a0complete this for every error we encountered.\u00a0This meant a significant proportion of our work is\u00a0unaccounted for\u00a0as we do not have\u00a0the supporting data, requiring us\u00a0to use an estimate\u00a0for manual errors.\u00a0Recording each error\u00a0would have enabled us to identify common patterns more easily and provide stronger recommendations for future accessibility work. It could also help support similar projects in the future by highlighting areas that require the most attention.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Conclusion:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Overall, this internship has been an incredibly valuable experience. It has given us the opportunity to contribute to a project with a meaningful and lasting\u00a0difference\u00a0while developing new technical\u00a0and professional skills.\u00a0Additionally, it has shown us that creating inclusive digital learning environments is often achieved through small, thoughtful improvements that collectively\u00a0have\u00a0a\u00a0significant\u00a0impact\u00a0on\u00a0user\u00a0experience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This work was supported by the Faculty of Science\u00a0through\u00a0the\u00a0Bath Insights Intern\u00a0Programme<\/a>\u00a0and contributes to the\u00a0University's anticipatory approach to inclusion through Level 1 Reasonable Adjustments<\/a>\u00a0and improved\u00a0digital accessibility<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blog post by: Katie\u00a0Knight\u00a0(MBioMed\u00a0Biomedical Sciences with professional\u00a0with Professional Placement)\u00a0and Will Hempstock (BSc Management with\u00a0Work placement): Insight Interns working in the Faculty of Science.\u00a0 466 Moodle pages analysed. Over 10,000 accessibility errors fixed. This project has\u00a0evidently had\u00a0a significant impact, leaving 236...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1637,"featured_media":1607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[95,77,64,63,20,10,87,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accessibility","category-digital-skills","category-equality-and-diversity","category-inclusivity","category-learning-and-teaching","category-learning-technology","category-online-learning","category-technology-enhanced-learning"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/135\/2026\/08\/Accessibility-toolkit-screenshot.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd4Piw-pU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}