Why this role is important
Tutors play an essential role in reducing barriers to learning. It is unrealistic for you to have an in-depth knowledge of disability, however, there are some important principles that improve the learning experience for all.
Your choices of resource, activity and assessment have a profound impact on learners with disabilities. In many teaching contexts, most resources focus on text, most activities focus on reading and most assessment methods focus on writing.
This creates a significant barrier to those with print impairments (for example, visual impairments or learning difficulties such as dyslexia), and those for who English is an additional language - including deaf students who use British Sign Language (BSL).
Technology is not the only way of providing inclusive learning experiences but it has a significant impact on:
- Enhancing your repertoire of approaches
- Enabling learner personalisation
- Supporting and promoting learner independence
Resources
For many tutors Word documents and PowerPoint presentations are staple resources. Make sure these are available online and follow basic accessibility practices.
Your library may subscribe to e-book platforms. If so, investigate how you can incorporate these into your teaching - they are more accessible than hard copy textbooks usually allowing learners to change text size or colours and use text to speech and a variety of inbuilt search and reference tools.
Rich media, for example podcasts or video clips can benefit many learners. For maximum benefit provide a text version of the main teaching points for videos or audio to make it easier to search and copy/paste key points from the information. This will also benefit blind or deaf learners who will otherwise miss content.
Make best use of the mainstream technology tools available. Virtual learning environments can store documents but can also create discussion lists or quizzes or let you link to a range of differentiated resources. If you have access to an interactive whiteboard or a lecture capture system get training on how to use it well. Consider using social media to create self-supporting learning communities.
Activities
There is no 'ideal' activity that is equally accessible to all. The best way to minimise barriers is to ensure a good range of activities so that everyone can take part in something that suits them. If you only have one or two disabled learners in your group then it is easy to focus on activities that they can access and engage with. The list of possible activities is very long but a selection is included below with potential inclusion strengths and weaknesses.
Teaching by asking
For example snowballing, brainstorming.
May suit:
Blind or dyslexic learners who could participate in the same way as their classmates without the barrier that text-based resources can present.
May present challenges for:
Deaf learners and those who have communication difficulties or autistic spectrum disorders.
Mind mapping
May suit:
Dyslexic and deaf learners. Mind maps usually contain little text and provide a visual overview of a topic, avoiding the challenges of text-based resources.
May present challenges for:
Blind learners.
Practical or fieldwork
May suit:
Dyslexic learners who may find it easier to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in more practical contexts.
May present challenges for:
- Learners with motor impairments, depending on the nature of the tasks
- Learners with autistic spectrum disorders who may struggle with changes to lesson routine (though they can often engage well with support)
- Learners with sensory difficulties who may need additional help with orientation
Group work
May suit:
Dyslexic or blind learners, as different group members can undertake different roles according to their strengths.
May present challenges for:
Deaf learners, or those with communication difficulties or autistic spectrum disorders.
Online simulations
May suit:
Learners with autistic spectrum disorders, as online simulations remove some of the difficulties with face-to-face communication. Be aware, though, that some may struggle with the concept of role play and ‘pretend’. They may also suit deaf learners and dyslexic learners, because simulations tend to be very visual and use little text.
May present challenges for:
Blind learners.
Creating and editing audio resources
May suit:
- Learners with autistic spectrum disorders
- Dyslexic learners
- Blind learners
- Learners who have motor impairments.
May present challenges for:
Deaf learners or those with communication difficulties.
Creating and editing video resources
May suit:
- Learners with autistic spectrum disorders
- Dyslexic learners
- Deaf learners.
May present challenges for:
Blind learners or those with motor impairments.
Online discussion lists
May suit:
Deaf learners, or those with communication difficulties or autistic spectrum disorders, as they remove the barriers that face-to-face communication can present.
May present challenges for:
Blind learners, dyslexic learners, or those with motor impairments.
Role play
May suit:
Blind learners, dyslexic learners or those with motor impairments.
May present challenges for:
Deaf learners, learners with communication difficulties, or learners with autistic spectrum disorders.
Reading and responding to paper documents
May present challenges for:
All learners.
Reading and responding to online documents
May suit:
Dyslexic learners, blind learners or those with a motor impairment. Electronic documents can usually be adapted by learners to suit their individual needs or read aloud by text-to-speech software.
May present challenges for:
Most learners can benefit from using electronic documents if they are created in an accessible way.
Assessment
Technology can support formative assessments, giving valuable feedback to both learner and tutor. Jisc has detailed guidance on inclusive assessment.
Higher education institutions have more scope in providing flexible assessments but FE and Skills providers need to assess learners in the way they will be assessed by the awarding body. However, consider the following:
- Ask the awarding bodies to accept evidence in alternative formats such as video diaries or audio explanations
- Use electronic assessments to build confidence in knowledge and understanding - you can use quiz tools even if the final exam will be more traditional. Join Jisc’s Tech Enhanced mailing list
- Collecting assessment data on a regular basis helps the learner understand how well they are progressing and helps you to understand how well you are teaching
- Your learning platform may have some basic quiz tools however content creation tools allow you to produce interactive, accessible content and many web based apps produce quizzes learners can use with smartphones. See the Jisc case studies on assessment using mobile devices
Many online test creation tools lack accessibility and do not allow you to change font sizes, colours or use text to speech. Xerte Online Toolkits is more accessible than many other systems and is compatible with tablet devices and many smartphones.
Remember that one of the most effective ways of learning a subject is to teach it or test it so make sure you give learners opportunities to set tests for one another or peer mark each other's work.