{"id":1975,"date":"2020-11-18T09:48:48","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T09:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/?p=1975"},"modified":"2020-11-18T15:11:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T15:11:05","slug":"5-ways-to-make-digital-learning-content-more-accessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/2020\/11\/18\/5-ways-to-make-digital-learning-content-more-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways to make learning content more accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0digital\u00a0accessibility regulations that came into place\u00a0in September 2018\u00a0aim to improve\u00a0accessibility for everyone.\u00a0For staff who work in a learning and teaching capacity, there\u00a0will\u00a0be additional\u00a0challenges as they\u00a0will\u00a0produce and deliver content across a range of platforms such as Moodle,\u00a0Re:View\u00a0and Microsoft 365.<\/p>\n<p>It is easier to make\u00a0digital learning materials\u00a0accessible by design \u2013\u00a0often\u00a0it's quicker to create\u00a0accessible\u00a0content\u00a0in the design process\u00a0rather than amend later.\u00a0Although technology is\u00a0rapidly evolving to assist in making content digitally accessible, there are some steps that staff can take to\u00a0ensure their learning materials are\u00a0accessible for everyone.<\/p>\n<h2>1 - Using automatic accessibility checkers<\/h2>\n<p>Accessibility checkers\u00a0are often built into\u00a0software.\u00a0Tools such as Blackboard Ally (in Moodle) and Microsoft 365\u00a0will let you know when alternative text\u00a0is missing,\u00a0if\u00a0colour contrast\u00a0is deemed poor, and in\u00a0Blackboard Ally\u2019s case,\u00a0later\u00a0provide alternative versions of a document.<\/p>\n<p>In our experience, there are a few main (and simple) changes which staff can make which can have a big impact on the digital accessibility of their content:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Provide alternative text (such as descriptive captions) for images\u00a0\u2013 do not rely on images\u00a0to convey meaning.<\/li>\n<li>Create clear and consistent headings in Microsoft Word that are easily navigated.\u00a0This can be achieved\u00a0in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/computingservices.sharepoint.com\/sites\/Microsoft365LP\/SitePages\/CustomLearningViewer.aspx?cdn=Default&amp;subcategory=5bbbe57f-709b-40b2-bec8-af0633d3582b\">Microsoft programs <\/a>and in the Moodle text editor.<\/li>\n<li>Include headers and captions for illustrative tables.<\/li>\n<li>For graphics, use\u00a0symbols or\u00a0labels\u00a0to convey information, rather than relying on colour alone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Further links:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/tools-and-resources\/tel\/digital-accessibility-including-blackboard-ally\/\">University of Bath TEL Guidance - Accessibility and Blackboard Ally<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/publications\/how-to-make-your-work-accessible\/attachments\/accessibility-guide.pdf\">University of Bath - Top tips to increase accessibility<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/computingservices.sharepoint.com\/sites\/Microsoft365LP\/SitePages\/CustomLearningViewer.aspx?cdn=Default&amp;subcategory=5bbbe57f-709b-40b2-bec8-af0633d3582b\">Microsoft\u2019s Accessibility\u00a0guidance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/app1.its.bbk.ac.uk\/xerte2\/play.php?template_id=468\">Birkbeck Accessibility\u00a0For\u00a0All guidance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>2\u00a0-\u00a0Organising learning materials<\/h2>\n<p>To make your learning materials accessible to everyone, staff should consider the layout and structure of their Moodle pages.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/the-bath-blend\/\">The Bath Blend<\/a>\u00a0approach\u00a0emphasises\u00a0Consistency and Accessibility,\u00a0and a few\u00a0design\u00a0considerations\u00a0could make\u00a0Moodle\u00a0more accessible for learners to\u00a0access content.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use a Topics or Weekly format to reduce vertical scrolling.<\/li>\n<li>Use\u00a0the in-built\u00a0text\u00a0editor\u00a0to create content. If you\u00a0are uploading additional documents, ensure that they are accessible.<\/li>\n<li>Use the\u00a0in-built\u00a0accessibility checker\u00a0to check for common errors\u00a0such as lack of contrast or\u00a0missing headings.<\/li>\n<li>Navigation and\u00a0links should be descriptive.\u00a0Links\u00a0should describe what the learner can expect to find when they click it.<\/li>\n<li>Discuss with colleagues and consider creating a consistent and coherent approach to layout, structure, and formatting of Moodle pages across a course.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>3 -\u00a0Captioning\u00a0video content<\/h2>\n<p>Re:View\u00a0(Panopto) is the University\u2019s\u00a0platform for hosting recorded\u00a0learning and teaching\u00a0content.\u00a0The platform is used to\u00a0store\u00a0pre-recorded\u00a0videos, recordings of LOIL and IPT\u00a0sessions,\u00a0and\u00a0student\u00a0video assessments.\u00a0Viewers can\u00a0turn captions on\u00a0whilst watching\u00a0videos\u00a0as well as\u00a0search\u00a0for captions\u00a0within videos.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>All\u00a0new recordings are\u00a0automatically captioned\u00a0using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.panopto.com\/s\/article\/ASR-Generated-Captions\">ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition).<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Staff may wish to check automatic captions for accuracy\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/how-to-use-review-for-staff\/#add_captions\">edit\u00a0where\u00a0appropriate. <\/a>Subject-specific and technical terms\u00a0are likely to be less accurate.<\/li>\n<li>It is possible to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.panopto.com\/s\/article\/Manually-upload-Captions\">upload a\u00a0separate\u00a0caption file\u00a0in\u00a0Re:View.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>4 - How to provide effective alternative text<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cA picture is worth a thousand words\u201d, so it\u2019s important to\u00a0provide\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/computingservices.sharepoint.com\/sites\/Microsoft365LP\/SitePages\/CustomLearningViewer.aspx?cdn=Default&amp;subcategory=5bbbe57f-709b-40b2-bec8-af0633d3582b\">effective\u00a0alternative text<\/a>\u00a0so a\u00a0screen reader\u00a0can\u00a0convey all the information to anyone who needs it.\u00a0These\u00a0following points\u00a0may be helpful\u00a0to consider\u00a0when writing alternative text\u00a0to ensure it is useful for those\u00a0accessing the material.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Be descriptive, specific, and concise.<\/li>\n<li>If the image is decorative then it does not need alternative text. Most software programs let you mark them as such. This means that screen readers will simply ignore the image.<\/li>\n<li>Do not include \u2018picture of\u2019 or \u2018image of\u2019 in the alternative text as this is already assumed.<\/li>\n<li>If\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/accessible-figures-guidance\/\">the\u00a0image is complex <\/a>and cannot be fully described in the alternative text box,\u00a0then a longer description should be given elsewhere\u00a0which is pointed to in the alternative text box.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>5 - Supporting technical content<\/h2>\n<p>There are additional\u00a0physical accessibility challenges\u00a0relating to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/writing-accessible-technical-content\/\">technical\u00a0learning content\u00a0(particularly\u00a0in\u00a0STEM disciplines)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In Microsoft O365 products, always use the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.office.com\/en-gb\/article\/write-an-equation-or-formula-1d01cabc-ceb1-458d-bc70-7f9737722702#ID0EAACAAA=Write_new_equation\">Microsoft\u00a0Equation Editor <\/a>and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/accessible-maths-with-microsoft-equation-editor-guidance\/\">don\u2019t use the superscripts\/subscripts options<\/a>\u00a0(e.g. 2<sup>8<\/sup>, CH<sub>4<\/sub>, H<sup>+<\/sup>),\u00a0which get missed by most screen readers.<\/li>\n<li>Maths-content\u00a0in LaTeX produced PDFs aren\u2019t accessible by screen\u00a0readers. Instead\u00a0consider\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/accessible-maths-with-rmarkdown-guidance\/\">converting\u00a0and writing\u00a0lecture\u00a0notes\u00a0in\u00a0bookdown<\/a>, which\u00a0creates\u00a0accessible\u00a0webpages (and PDFs).<\/li>\n<li>There is often lots of information contained in\u00a0technical figures, graphs and plots. Remember\u00a0to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghub.bath.ac.uk\/accessible-figures-guidance\/\">make\u00a0all figures\u00a0visually accessible<\/a>(can you read\u00a0it\u00a0at\u00a050% size in Black and White?)\u00a0and\u00a0look at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/diagramcenter.org\/making-images-accessible.html\">best practice for\u00a0technical alternative text<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Accessibility\u00a0is\u00a0for\u00a0everyone<\/h2>\n<p>Accessibility and\u00a0how this\u00a0can be\u00a0realised digitally is\u00a0always changing and improving.\u00a0To stay in touch with developments engage with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/l\/team\/19%3a2f8384d205ed4d86a0e2998b7e4c09b9%40thread.skype\/conversations?groupId=aa2711a4-4785-4197-b051-22ccee74360d&amp;tenantId=377e3d22-4ea1-422d-b0ad-8fcc89406b9e\">TEL Community of Practice<\/a>:\u00a0a space for staff to share\u00a0success stories and also learn from colleagues.<\/li>\n<li>Your students.\u00a0Seek\u00a0feedback from students on where\u00a0good accessible design has really helped them learn\u00a0or obstacles they face.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/l\/team\/19%3a796c455c3a5a4badbfbcb5434d869e98%40thread.tacv2\/conversations?groupId=1485fec3-9ca3-443b-94ae-f8fb7d07bd98&amp;tenantId=377e3d22-4ea1-422d-b0ad-8fcc89406b9e\">bookdown\u00a0usergroup<\/a>: A University community of authors who\u2019ve made the switch from LaTeX to bookdown and share tips and questions.<\/li>\n<li>Get in touch with <a href=\"mailto:tel@bath.ac.uk\">TEL<\/a> if you have good practise to share with colleagues around digital accessibility for learning and teaching.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/?p=1973&amp;preview=true\">To learn about how to communicate with colleagues in an accessible way, read this bog.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0digital\u00a0accessibility regulations that came into place\u00a0in September 2018\u00a0aim to improve\u00a0accessibility for everyone.\u00a0For staff who work in a learning and teaching capacity, there\u00a0will\u00a0be additional\u00a0challenges as they\u00a0will\u00a0produce and deliver content across a range of platforms such as Moodle,\u00a0Re:View\u00a0and Microsoft 365. It is...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1501,"featured_media":1974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[604],"tags":[609,608,611,607,605,612,613],"class_list":["post-1975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-accessibility-initiative","tag-accessibility-checker","tag-alt-text","tag-asr","tag-digital-accessibility","tag-digital-accessibility-initiative","tag-equation-editor","tag-tel"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/89\/2020\/11\/colleague-talking-to-students.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1501"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/digital-data-and-technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}