Accessibility of eLearning

It is part of a teaching professional's skills to understand the needs of a diverse population of students. This free course, Accessibility of eLearning, introduces the challenges for disabled students who may use computers in different ways when taking part in eLearning or may need alternative teaching methods. It covers the technology and techniques used by disabled students, the adjustments to teaching methods that might be reasonable, design decisions which affect the accessibility of eLearning tools and strategies for evaluation.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Introducing accessibility and disability
• 1 Introducing accessibility and disability
• 1.1 Why is accessibility important?
• 1.2 Considering disabled people
• 1.2.1 The social and medical models of disability
• 1.3 The ethical and legal imperative for accessibility
• 1.4 Usability and accessibility
• 1.5 Special resources or universal design?
• 1.6 Activity 1: Anticipating needs
• 1.7 References
• 2 A brief overview of assistive technology
• 2 A brief overview of assistive technology
• 2.1 Communication aids
• 2.2 Screen readers
• 2.3 Text to speech
• 2.4 Keyboard and mouse alternatives
• 2.5 Free and Open Source (FOSS) Assistive Technologies
• 2.6 Other assistive technologies
• 2.7 References
• 3 Creating accessible eLearning content
• 3 Creating accessible eLearning content
• 3.1 Alternative content
• 3.2 Starting with learning outcomes
• 3.3 Thinking about modes of access
• 3.4 Accessible text
• 3.5 Accessible ‘slides’
• 3.6 Accessible images
• 3.7 Accessible audio
• 3.8 Accessible video
• 3.9 Quick ways to improve accessibility
• 3.10 A process for creating accessible materials
• 3.11 Activity 2: Creating a plan of action
• 3.12 References
• 4 Evaluation of accessible eLearning
• 4 Evaluation of accessible eLearning
• 4.1 Design guidelines and their limitations
• 4.2 Evaluating accessibility
• 4.3 Conducting an accessibility evaluation
• 4.4 Activity 3: Working through a scenario
• 4.5 References
• Conclusion
• Keep on learning
• Acknowledgements