TechDis staff packs published to support accessibility
Engaging staff with e-Learning can be difficult, particularly where their personal IT skills are modest. This difficulty can be compounded by misguided accessibility training that attempts to give highly technical advice to people who lack the skills to make use of it. The resulting confusion can lead to tutors and lecturers – the staff with biggest potential impact on accessibility - retreating to traditional, less accessible teaching approaches.
The Jisc-funded service TechDis has produced a series of self-supporting staff development packs aimed at highlighting the important issues surrounding technology and disability. Each pack is self-standing and can either be delivered as a session independently or adapted into a wider staff development programme.
How do you get the TechDis Staff Packs?
These materials have been produced on a CD which has been disseminated to the relevant contacts in higher, further and specialist education and adult and community learning. The packs are also available to download at the Staff Packs section of the TechDis website.
Why you need the TechDis Staff Packs?
Two of the key criteria in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) include the concept of “reasonable adjustment” and “anticipatory adjustments”. For teachers or lecturers creating home-grown resources, e-Learning offers a more adaptable resource than almost any other. By training front-line practitioners in the accessibility benefits of e-Learning it becomes easier to give them an enlarged range of adjustments they could make – for example to the resources, or to their pedagogical approach.
Given that no two students with the same disability will have identical needs the most effective "anticipatory adjustment" may be to raise staff awareness and skill level so that they can adapt the learning resource or the learning experience as appropriate. The TechDis Staff Packs are designed to help staff with modest understanding of e-Learning and disability to recognise the significant contributions they can make to ensuring learning is more accessible to all learners, not just those with disabilities.
The TechDis Staff Packs take a positive approach with a very upbeat assessment of the role e-Learning has in maximising benefits and minimising barriers. With a pragmatic learner centred approach they include presentations, sample resources, learner profiles, activities and information sheets.
Current Staff Packs
• Accessible e-Learning
These training materials explore the theme of accessibility in relation to simple “home grown” e-Learning, illustrating how simple techniques can greatly add to the learning experience of many students.
• Benevolent Bill - What Microsoft® Does for Accessibility
This pack looks at the range of built in features in Microsoft® Windows and Word that are either designed to enhance accessibility or can be used creatively to make learning more accessible to certain groups.
• Checking the Accessibility of your e-Resources
This pack looks at the current international guidelines for accessibility. It also investigates the available auditing tools, how they can be used and how the results can be correctly interpreted.
• Dyslexia and the use of Assistive Technology
These materials give a basic overview of the common Specific Learning Difficulties and how Assistive Technology can be implemented to assist learners.
• e-Assessment
These training materials consider the benefits of assessing online and draw out the accessibility issues, problems and solutions associated with e-Assessment.
• Introduction to Assistive Technology
These training materials provide a broad introduction to the breadth and range of assistive technologies available and the issues to consider when trying to match a learning need to a technological solution.
• Introduction to Web Accessibility
These training materials provide an introduction to the issues facing disabled people when accessing materials on the web. They also give an overview of the disability legislation in relation to website development.
Complementary Document - Designing Effective Training Workshops
TechDis commissioned Professor Phil Race, Senior Academic Staff Development Officer from the University of Leeds to produce a document containing an overview of how to develop and run an inclusive and effective workshop. This document can be accessed directly from the following link: Designing Effective Training Workshops.
Further information can be found on the TechDis website.