Time for digital inclusion at scale

https://learntoenable.wordpress.com/references/ https://rise.articulate.com/share/2cW0exTz_c0DYaLeJT-YFQ34tO5FusGl#/ https://www.learntoenable.co.uk/enabledresources E-learning content Blog ready for reflexive reflections 14th Feb piloting of questionnaire 

Evaluating digital content for accessibility #How to spot accessibility barriers on websites One important part of learning about digital accessibility is to learn how to spot potential barriers in digital content. When we know what the barriers are we can fix them. Tools to find barriers  The are lots of tools that can help to find accessibility barriers. Some tools are for finding issues in websites and there are others that can find issues in documents. Automated tools for website designers   People who create and check websites for accessibility use many automated tools, including some free browser plugins-in tools like: Wave Silktide Axe These tools find out if a website is coded and styled properly for accessibility by using the WCAG criteria. They help to find around 50% of the accessibility issues a website may have. Manual checks on websites   To find the other 50%, web designers also do some manual checks on websites to check they are usable for people on assist...

  Shinohara, Bennett and Wobbrock, 2016 In theory, emphasising the user at the centre of the design process provides opportunities for students to be familiar with the accessibility issues people with disabilities face (Shinohara, Bennett and Wobbrock, 2016) Students were prompted to reflect on their experience between users with and without disabilities and the differences faced (Shinohara, Bennett and Wobbrock, 2016) Students conducted interviews with digital users, then created personas to be able to generate the specifications needed as well as be able to test their work (Shinohara, Bennett and Wobbrock, 2016) Only a few students had interacted with a disabled person (relate to lack of digital accessibility knowledge) (Shinohara, Bennett and Wobbrock, 2016) Course started with an initial lecture to orient the students with accessibility issues (Shinohara, Bennett and Wobbrock, 2016) The inclusion of diverse users can help to influence students towards creating accessible solut...

For those of us working in leadership and inclusion, this is big. Because what we normalize in childhood — the stories we hear, the models we follow, the power structures we internalize — becomes the foundation of how we show up later in life. At work. In politics. In relationships. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/digital-accessibility-standards   In the section: Communication should be accessible to all: Additionally, you should make sure that:  -there is understanding of accessibility and its importance throughout the school or college   -staff are trained on accessibility and can write and access content in an accessible format  -staff know who to contact to help them make things accessible – this may be the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), IT support or the SLT digital lead https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2025/03/24/teacher-training-to-include-mandatory-placements-in-spec...

  Laurin, S (2023) It should be the other way round, Funka Foundation. Available at:   https://stiftelsenfunka.org/about-us/columns/it-should-be-the-other-way-round/ (Accessed 22/01/25) If assistive technology doesn't work if content not accessible (ref), and software or authoring tools don't make content accessible by default (Laurin, 2023), the best course of action left is to make sure people are at least educated or aware of accessibility needs.  Training or lack of awareness is a reason often cited for inaccessible content (Cao and Loiacono, 2022; others) The main reason students were not already applying accessibility into their content was that they were not familiar with accessibility guidelines or needs (Cao and Loiacono, 2022). A reversible process was revealed from the interview data, which explained that one of the major reasons why students had not applied guidelines or accessibility before was because they were not aware of and not been educated about access...

 Putnam et al, 2015 (empathy paper) The unifying theme was to teach with the goal of cultivating empathy with end users by giving learners an embodied experience of using inaccessible content (Putnam et al, 2015) The most desired learning outcome expressed by teachers of accessibility was the importance of students embracing the message of diversity (Putnam et al, 2015) By far the most common and effective approach was to facilitate direct interaction with people with disabilities because the experience of disability is difficult to fully appreciate from a book learning perspective (Putnam et al, 2015) Another common approach was to simulate disability barriers to foster and build empathy (Putnam et al, 2015) When interviewing teachers, the activities they had tried that had been unsuccessful, they commonly mentioned how difficult it was to engage students when discussing legal and technical topics, highlighting that shifting to a focus on building empathy was much more effective (...

 Intro and context of digital accessibility- universal design and design for all. Legal overview and examples of case law. Physical examples to relate the concept of normal accessibility. Teach WCAG and principles using personas Persona - what barriers- impact and example to experience- how to meet it - do this for some core principles. Make it meaningful to a real life persona, do one in detail and offer similar brief examples to reinforce the breadth of how principles are useful to many (perm,temp,situational personas. (Tabbed content in RISE - perm/temp/sit. Alt, headings, captions, colours and keyboard (separate example as it’s websites - but a good initial demonstration activity to introduce a barrier in web - but then say it’s not just the web that can create barriers) accessibility- some perm, temp, situational personas- but also point out how it benefits all.  Create e-learning content to support a range of examples for each principle- relate to WCAG, give an example t...