Computer operating systems

The built-in accessibility features in Windows vary with the operating system – you can get a summary of accessibility settings on different Windows versions. Options are available to support magnification, colour/contrast changes, text to speech, voice recognition etc. Tweaking these options can make a productivity difference for any users

A similar range of accessibility features for Mac OS means that whether the student has a Windows laptop or Mac they should be able to optimise the default settings to make reading or writing more comfortable and efficient.

Browser extensions and plugins

Google Chrome, Opera and Mozilla FireFox can be extended with a range of free extensions known as plugins or add-ons. Find these in the Chrome Webstore, the FireFox Add-ons page or the Opera Add-ons page.

There are a wide range of accessibility plug-ins for FireFox, many of which improve reading comfort by changing colours or magnification. The University of Southampton’s ATbar plugin provides a suite of accessibility features.

Tools include text to speech, colour changing, page de-cluttering, speed reading, mind mapping, time management and even quality voice recognition. See the accessibility blog for details on specific recommended browser plugins.

Standard software

Microsoft Word and Adobe Reader have some excellent inbuilt functionality that can support print-impaired readers. Both Word and Adobe reader allow you to:

• Magnify text and reflow it so it fits on the screen without left right scrolling: use the ‘web page view’ in Word or View > Zoom > Reflow in Adobe Reader
• Change the background page colours
• Use inbuilt text-to-speech (although you have to manually add the 'Speak' feature to Word’s Quick Access toolbar), which allow users to highlight text, select the speak button and listen to the content
• Navigate swiftly to any point of a structured text document using the navigation pane (Word) or bookmarks toolbar (Adobe Reader)
• Automatically scroll the page like an autocue (Adobe Reader)

The listing below looks at tools to support different learner needs.

Under each need we cover a variety of platforms. Learners who can choose appropriate tools and strategies according to the device they are using can be more agile and independent than those who require a particular piece of software on a specific device.

Implications of free and open source software

Freeware (free software) is, as you may imagine, completely free of charge.

Free and open source software (FOSS) or free/libre/open source software (FLOSS) is distributed on licences that allow you to use and adapt the source code. In the case of FOSS, free refers to the 'freedom' to use and edit the program, but much of it is also available free of charge.

Before downloading any free and open source software or plugins we recommend keeping your computer secure using antivirus software1.

Many freeware and FOSS tools can benefit learners and staff, those with disabilities as well as those without. There are literally thousands of tools available, from software for designing accessible learning objects through to simple widgets and programs to help you find the cursor on your screen.

Pros and cons of FOSS tools

Advantages include:

• Learners have the opportunity to try a wider range of tools since there is no financial commitment
• Ability to use the tools at home, on work placements and in employment
• Shorter learning curve as the tools are simple to use
• Culture of active experimentation and independence
• Access to user and developer communities with support and advice to new users

The disadvantage is that there is unlikely to be a great deal of technical support for smaller programs apart from a help file. Some of these tools have a ‘freemium’ model – you have the basic tool for free but have to pay to get enhanced functionality.

Before using FOSS tools, it is important you:

• Check reviews – there’s a lot of dross as well as gold
• Take care where you download from and stick to reputable sites or suppliers like PortableApps.com and www.eduapps.org, or academic products like www.atbar.org
• Take care with download and installation – some downloads will offer to install or update additional tools like browser plugins or the download page will have links to unrelated products

Mobile phones and tablets

The combination of media recording and playback, web connectivity, inbuilt accessibility and a wide range of free apps make smart phones and tablets an ideal assistive technology for a very wide range of accessibility needs.

Standalone software for PCs

Learners using a Windows laptop for most of their work can significantly improve their productivity using a range of free and open source software tools. Most of these will run happily from a memory stick and therefore can be used on other PCs as well - for example on a work placement, on a library PC or in an IT room.

These include tools to help with:

Specialist tools - screenreaders

Screenreaders are one of the few assistive technologies which are not “productivity tools for all’. Learners with deteriorating sight may need support in making the transition to operating a computer by audio feedback alone. This is a daunting task but confidence can be built by using some of the free assistive technologies available.

By the time the learners require commercial screenreader tools a good deal of transferable skills and confidence can be built up.

Organisations may invest large sums of money in digital resources. In theory, these ought to be a significant part of your “inclusion armoury”, allowing users to access information in an accessible way.

Providing information in accessible formats is one of the key requirements of the equality act. However, lack of awareness or lack of training can turn an accessibility solution into an accessibility problem.

This section explores how organisations can turn their mainstream tools, technologies and practices into assistive technologies and productivity tools for everybody.

Documents and presentations

There are a few basic accessibility practices that can be taught in minutes but make a substantial difference to people with print impairment.

Our six tips for teaching staff, from our accessibility blog, explores this further.

Accessible spreadsheets

Spreadsheets can be daunting especially for people with dyslexia, dyscalculia, visual impairment or learning difficulties. But it is possible to make spreadsheets more user friendly.

Making use of the in-built functionality can help learners make sense of numbers. Microsoft Excel for example enables you to create engaging interactive resources for learners that represent numbers visually (such as graphs and charts) making them easier to interpret.

Useful shortcuts

When you are creating a spreadsheet for others it is worth knowing about some simple practices and shortcuts that make life easier.

These range from merging cells to help with layout through to naming sheets with meaningful names. You can also duplicate cells quickly or fill in ranges automatically and add simple formulae.

A navigation sheet can make it easier to find your way around complex data.

Creating accessible spreadsheets

Use colour or shading to highlight key areas and add relevant images. Add pop-up comments where appropriate to give explanations or instructions.

You can use data validation to reduce the likelihood of learners accidentally adding the wrong values and conditional formatting can help to highlight key values.

User tips

When presenting learners with large spreadsheets make them aware of pivot tables and how they can help to easily navigate complex data sets. 

When users are dealing with a large spreadsheet they can work more productively and efficiently if they know how to freeze panes, filter and sort columns. Although these are not specific accessibility features they reduce barriers for people who lack confidence or are easily overwhelmed by numbers.

Interactive spreadsheets

If learners collect results and add them to the spreadsheet, set up a graph to plot the values from the results table. As the data is entered learners will see the developing trends on the graph. This helps them move beyond numbers to what the numbers actually mean.

By using slider bars you allow learners to experiment with different values on a graph or in a formula. The use of 'IF statements' can allow you to create self-marking exercises and multiple choice exercises.

Spreadsheets don't suit all learners and they can cause problems for blind users so it is important to understand the primary teaching objectives of an exercise before adapting the resource. An interactive economics graph showing demand varying with price adds great value for a dyslexic learner but could be far more effectively explained to a blind person using pipe cleaners or Wikki Stix.

Useful links for documents, presentations and spreadsheets

• Accessibility in Google docs, sheets and slides
• Open Office accessibility features
• Microsoft Office accessibility features

Many things influence the accessibility of a learning platform or virtual learning environment (VLE). It is not just about technology; the way you use it matters too.

Our blog post on accessible learning platforms looks at four key areas; users, resources, activities and browser choices.

Creating guidelines

It is important to have guidelines for the accessibility of content uploaded to the learning platform but it is equally important that these guidelines encourage (rather than discourage) people to create and use digital content.

We explore this further in our blog post: rich media on your VLE – an accessible policy?

Accessibility testing

Accessibility testing is key.

If you are incorporating interactivity into your VLE, have a look at the Web2Access website which gives more detailed testing protocols as well as test results for a selection of Web 2.0 tools used in education.

Rich media - images, audio and video - can significantly enhance engagement and learning for many students.

Each type of media has its own “accessibility profile” which benefit some learners may cause a barrier to others. By ensuring that the key teaching points are available in text format (for example in the body text, captions, transcripts or subtitles etc) you can add maximum value to maximum number of people and make searching and navigation easier.

Images

Copyright-cleared images are easy to source from a range of collections including Pixabay, Flickr CC and Wikimedia Commons.

The accessibility of an image depends on technical factors (brightness, contrast, sharpness) as well as pedagogical factors (how effectively it is labelled, how well it is described, how it is integrated into a text/audio narrative).

If the key teaching points are available in captions, body text or alt tags then potential barriers are minimised.

Video and multimedia

Videos can stimulate discussion, clarify explanations or allow learners to record their skills and abilities.

Free tools and services such as Screencast-o-matic, TinyTake or Jing can help tutors/learners turn still images into narrated movie clips. PowerPoint 2013 or above has an automatic screen recording tool under the Insert options.

Supporting apps

Apps for tablet devices (e.g. EduCreations, Book Creator, ThingLink, Explain Everything) make it easy to create multimedia content with embedded video/images and raw videos can be taken on most smartphones. See this video example of a learner using Educreations.

Animation

Some processes which cannot be videoed can be effectively visualised using animation instead of using animated GIF files or PowerPoint animations.

Multimedia can add considerable value for a wide range of accessibility needs but may present barriers to those with poor sight or hearing. Visual formats also tend to be far less searchable and navigable than text. 

By ensuring that the key teaching and learning points of multimedia are covered in a summary, transcript or captions, you reduce potential barriers for everyone.

Free tools

Creating rich media and interactivity is no longer a specialist job requiring expensive training and tools. Free content creation tools such as Xerte toolkits and eXeLearning or bundled tools like Microsoft Office Mix and Sway, as well as a range of apps, allow staff or students to create sophisticated interactivities including quizzes with instant feedback.

Intelligent compromise

Some interactivities add a lot of value to one kind of learner but prove to be a barrier for another – for example dragging and dropping slope labels onto a contour map will be a fun revision tool for many learners but a barrier for a blind person.

You could adapt the coding to make it technically accessible but the resulting activity would require immense concentration and memory for a blind user – not at all a ‘fun, revision tool’. In circumstances like this it is important to get the balance right.

It can be appropriate to have 'partially accessible' resources on the network if they benefit many learners so long as an alternative resource (in this case perhaps a tactile alternative) is available. However, it makes little sense to waste the time of the developer and the blind student in making an inappropriate learning experience easier to access.

Accessibility is as much related to the pedagogical approach as it is to the nature of the resource. Being creative about different types of reasonable adjustment will allow you more freedom to be innovative with both the online and the offline experiences.

E-books and alternative formats

Many organisations subscribe to e-book collections (for example through Jisc Collections). These can be easy routes to alternative formats provided that the following have been considered:

• Accessibility was a feature in the procurement process (our blog post on checking the accessibility of your e-resources outlines the features to look out for)
• The titles are integrated with reading/resource lists
• Users are confident in accessing the accessibility options

If you have difficulties getting a textbook in an accessible digital format see guidance on obtaining alternative formats on the Learning Apps website.

Specialist formats

In addition to a purely digital format, text can also be provided with synchronised, navigable audio (requiring no screenreader skills to access) or as a tactile format such as Braille.

Braille can exist in traditional print format or it can be delivered via small Braille displays. iOS devices such as iPads and iPhones have native support for Braille displays allowing text content on the screen to be read or written using a wirelessly connected refreshable Braille device

DAISY files consist of a highly-structured but highly flexible format that allows text to be navigated and read entirely by sight, entirely by listening or by a combination of the two

Producing small amounts of course material in either of these formats can be done with tools such as Robobraille but if a learner requires all their books in this format you’d be advised to get specialist tools and training or outsource to experience providers.

Working with specialist formats

As a general rule, the more mainstream a user's technology is, the more independent the user will be and the more sustainable their support will be. Nonetheless, for users with particular needs maximum benefit may require working with a specialist format.

These vary in the amount of commitment they require both from the user and the provider of support (public library, learning provider, or university). By definition, specialist formats will be more expensive to procure but they often provide a level of access and understanding which makes them very worthwhile.

Types of specialist formats

There are three main specialist formats in use:

For detailed technical guidance on Braille, DAISY and other formats see the UK Association for Accessible Formats website.

Detailed technical guidance from the Benetech Diagram Center is also available on creating accessible diagrams in maths.