Time for digital inclusion at scale

And so it begins… Student doctoral loan application sent, it’s starting to feel very real now. Dates for uni have come through too, now I can plan, plan, plan. Induction:  Monday 30th January 2023 RSDP4001: Developing as a Researcher •             Tuesday 31st January 2023          10:15-16:15        On Campus •             Tuesday 28th March 2023           10:15-16:15        On Campus   RSDP4005: Approaches to Research •             Thursday 12th October 2023      10:15-16:15        On Campus •             Friday 13th October 2023 ...

Lesson/training session idea: What is meant by the term DA (Q&A) So who does that affect (Flipchart list) What if I said it affects far more people and benefits everyone. Christmas is coming- my mum has cataracts, would this be OK?  Show yellow puzzle book - who would find this colour contrast challenging? - who is the audience it was made for? - write on flip chart  Example 1 Scenario: you are printing off an important report of the latest data in black and white so you can read it on your journey. You need this to give a short presentation first thing. Graphs, pie charts, line graphs (black and white - also colour blind have this same dilemma) - write on flipchart all who are affected  Example 2 The next day on your journey you have poor Wi-Fi and images just won’t load, thankfully you can see alt text has been added on images (alt - stands for alternative - that’s not the same as description) Graphs, fire escape  Write on flipchart all who are affected  E...

 What a weekend. I’ve gone for it, I’ve bought myself a new laptop. I need to collect and start collating thoughts, papers and research properly, my phone is not enough. I can’t use my work machine for obvious reasons so it felt like the right time to get everything in order and get prepared. Oh I do love a new toy :)

 Disability  Tools Content creation Did you know - kerb cuts, automatic doors, electric toothbrush, Alexa is made for accessibility but useful for everyone, so much so it’s normal. Accessibility is about people and practice, it’s not about a technical ‘fix’, it’s about being human. keep in mind that all that glitters is not gold… sometimes, it truly is just cheap glitter.

  Notes from TechShare Pro: Digital skills curriculum will in the process raise awareness about assistive technologies, disabilities and others needs STAART - University of Grenwich - Melanie Thorley Network is linkedIn - cross pollination of information Community is Mutually supported, shared purpose, non-judgemental Experts by experience - with is, not for us ERG - Employee resource group - we provide resources for you, not the staff used as resources Disabled people - research fatigue 2nd December  model being released - principles of awareness raising - disabled can take ownership SPoD - Creative Commons licence so people can use, share and help to grow it https://www.gre.ac.uk/articles/student-and-academic-services-sas/moving-towards-adopting-staart-principles-of-disability-spod How can we close the skills and knowledge gap? - Contacts? Mark Walker - AbilityNet Robert McLaren - Policy Direct Celia Hensman - The Disability Policy Centre Brilliant session - loads of resourc...

  The first thing to know about digital accessibility is to know that it’s a practice not a fix. Fixing at the end shows no real intent to be inclusive, yet adopting some simple practices into your everyday digital life and content shows not only intent, but that you care that everyone is included. In content some basic additions can already make a difference and these are not complex or costly at all. It’s only costly, time consuming and complicated if you bolt on at the end. The worst case scenario for not considering accessibility from the beginning is you have to rewrite or recode entire websites or documents because they are written or created without basics applied. Why on earth would you duplicate work, cost and effort when it could be done properly from the start? By dismissing basic accessible practices you are already planning to exclude people or discriminate, would you really want to be thought of like that? Would you behave like that if those users were sat in front of...

  https://teachaccess.org/accessibility-skills-gap/

  https://www.lullabot.com/articles/what-heck-aria-beginners-guide-aria-accessibility

 After finishing my CPACC preparation course it made me reflect on previous experiences I had many many moons ago. I was tasked with creating interactive learning materials for several groups of learners with additional needs, this must’ve been as far back as 2006-2007? These learners had some quite profound disabilities and used tools that were worn on the head to press keys on learning materials and others who couldn’t use a keyboard or mouse but could easily touch an interactive whiteboard. These materials were made and tested with those specific needs in mind. The teacher they had was incredible, he taught me so much about user needs and accessibility, even before people understood the importance of it. This laid the foundations of where my passion lies today. I remember testing the materials and them feeding back to me. This experience made me fully appreciate and question my own preconceived ideas about people with disabilities. They used the tools and were learning the same ...

  https://institute.global/policy/beyond-technical-how-can-we-make-digital-government-accessible Some good key points as well as a great introduction.

 Survey creator used by government digital service  https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/ https://app.smartsurvey.co.uk/c/ Account created with @and usual with capital letter  HOW TO VIDEO  https://info.smartsurvey.co.uk/share/hubspotvideo/74942879397?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=225984230&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_tldXwy-NgjnWynBDaaNam1bT6eYyertfIKN6Iqi27WKbMsPDDEtvfEWtkuPYPXUFieldlnf2LyB-zix16oi79f-xhm2Y9LthOii3pyHapnr6r6QQ&utm_content=225984230&utm_source=hs_automation Help Guides       How to create a survey   Survey questions

  Accessibility to digital technology: Virtual barriers, real opportunities Fernando H. F. Botelho   , MS Pages 27-34 | Accepted 02 Jun 2021 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10400435.2021.1945705 Speaks of a chain reaction of reliance on software, hardware and content. Remark on digital accessibility: educational disparities define digital inclusion from adolescence onwards https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10209-022-00908-5 https://g3ict.org/publication/research-report-the-impact-of-digital-accessibility-innovations-on-users-experience

  https://books.google.com/books/about/Ensuring_Digital_Accessibility_through_P.html?id=YepDBAAAQBAJ

 Accessibility report referred to by IAAP State of Digital Accessibility Report The team at Level Access has released the State of Digital Accessibility (SODAR) survey report. The survey highlights the key accessibility insights that were collected from 1,000 professionals across many industries and job roles  Read more: https://buff.ly/3h6op89 https://mcusercontent.com/c9e95602d3d7209e71c920bfa/files/68d58e96-4e75-ef11-3f60-e75f3e5e5dac/2022_SODAR.pdf

  https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/less-1-website-home-pages-are-likely-meet-accessibility-standards

 Just like in agile design practices, you start with the basics of a proof of concept or a wireframe of an idea so all stakeholders can understand how something works. From there you refine the features, the ideas and eventually the specifics are worked through with all stakeholders involved. To me digital accessibility is the same, you lay the wireframe or foundations of the basic knowledge, skills and understanding to all stakeholders and then from there you can develop and refine those skills and that understanding further. Without a wireframe you can’t see the big picture and you can’t get buy-in, and in wider society that basic wireframe or buy-in of digital accessibility awareness is just not there.  We currently only have web developers or enthusiasts working in silo, and that’s not all stakeholders. You just wouldn’t work like that on a project of such public importance, especially one that is intrinsic to current and future equality and inclusion. I wholeheartedly be...

 Go back up the line to where the blocker is E.g. no skills, no awareness or taught a difference way/routine  But the issue is far wider than just digital skills, it’s the importance of understanding the impact on people when the basics aren’t in place. Education promotes awareness and looking at things a different way. Once you appreciate the why you realise there are so many things that are accessible and taken for granted by everyone, ramps, dropped kerbs, electric toothbrush, video captions. Digital accessibility is essentially an extension of universal design that benefits everyone.

 An interesting study on closed captions https://www.3playmedia.com/blog/who-uses-closed-captions-not-just-the-deaf-or-hard-of-hearing/ Great to evidence and stats that accessibility benefits everyone.