Presentation on Frequently Asked Questions on accessibility by creators of eLearning resources, given by Jonathan Hassell (Accessibility Editor, BBC jam) to BBC jam external suppliers in 2006.
Covers: intelligent ways of making eLearning resources switch accessible (structured grouping and using user journeys to suggest natural tab orders); how best to make eLearning resources work for blind children (with and without screenreaders); how to write alternative text to make sense in the learning context; how to create sounds to enable blind people to navigate, play video and control gameplay; how audiogames and soundscapes can paint pictures with sound; how to design for screen-magnifier users; how captions should include text support for sounds as well as words in multimedia resources
The FAQ will also evolve over time… But, as you can see, it already has guidance on a large number of topics. Today, I ’ll present the key ones – the ones that I’m always being asked about by production teams…
The guidelines will cover the three fundamental stages of planning the accessibility of a commission Firstly, mapping out how you plan to support each group Secondly, working out how you will implement that intended support Lastly, testing how well you have done, by testing with real learners The important thing is to understand that… “ Content is accessible if user-testing has proved it is accessible… to the audiences for which it was designed to be accessible” These guidelines will evolve over time, as our experience grows.
The guidelines will cover the three fundamental stages of planning the accessibility of a commission Firstly, mapping out how you plan to support each group Secondly, working out how you will implement that intended support Lastly, testing how well you have done, by testing with real learners The important thing is to understand that… “ Content is accessible if user-testing has proved it is accessible… to the audiences for which it was designed to be accessible” These guidelines will evolve over time, as our experience grows.
The guidelines will cover the three fundamental stages of planning the accessibility of a commission Firstly, mapping out how you plan to support each group Secondly, working out how you will implement that intended support Lastly, testing how well you have done, by testing with real learners The important thing is to understand that… “ Content is accessible if user-testing has proved it is accessible… to the audiences for which it was designed to be accessible” These guidelines will evolve over time, as our experience grows.
Demo of the Windows on-screen keyboard…
So, why are the needs of these children so important to the digital curriculum? Well, it ’s part of the public service role of the BBC for a start. We have a long history in catering for the needs of the whole of the audience for our services. There are also important educational and legal reasons. Inclusion is an idea which is well established in our schools, and backed up by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill of 2001. But finding materials which are able to be used by disabled and fully able children together can prove challenging. Also, as the digital curriculum materials are delivered via the Internet, the Disability Discrimination Act also applies, requiring us to take reasonable measures to make our materials accessible, even though they are not conventional websites. So we have two aims for our accessibility programme: to be as accessible as reasonably possible across all dc materials to produce unique, innovative and groundbreaking materials for specific commissions for SEN groups
So, why are the needs of these children so important to the digital curriculum? Well, it ’s part of the public service role of the BBC for a start. We have a long history in catering for the needs of the whole of the audience for our services. There are also important educational and legal reasons. Inclusion is an idea which is well established in our schools, and backed up by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill of 2001. But finding materials which are able to be used by disabled and fully able children together can prove challenging. Also, as the digital curriculum materials are delivered via the Internet, the Disability Discrimination Act also applies, requiring us to take reasonable measures to make our materials accessible, even though they are not conventional websites. So we have two aims for our accessibility programme: to be as accessible as reasonably possible across all dc materials to produce unique, innovative and groundbreaking materials for specific commissions for SEN groups
So, why are the needs of these children so important to the digital curriculum? Well, it ’s part of the public service role of the BBC for a start. We have a long history in catering for the needs of the whole of the audience for our services. There are also important educational and legal reasons. Inclusion is an idea which is well established in our schools, and backed up by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill of 2001. But finding materials which are able to be used by disabled and fully able children together can prove challenging. Also, as the digital curriculum materials are delivered via the Internet, the Disability Discrimination Act also applies, requiring us to take reasonable measures to make our materials accessible, even though they are not conventional websites. So we have two aims for our accessibility programme: to be as accessible as reasonably possible across all dc materials to produce unique, innovative and groundbreaking materials for specific commissions for SEN groups
So, why are the needs of these children so important to the digital curriculum? Well, it ’s part of the public service role of the BBC for a start. We have a long history in catering for the needs of the whole of the audience for our services. There are also important educational and legal reasons. Inclusion is an idea which is well established in our schools, and backed up by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill of 2001. But finding materials which are able to be used by disabled and fully able children together can prove challenging. Also, as the digital curriculum materials are delivered via the Internet, the Disability Discrimination Act also applies, requiring us to take reasonable measures to make our materials accessible, even though they are not conventional websites. So we have two aims for our accessibility programme: to be as accessible as reasonably possible across all dc materials to produce unique, innovative and groundbreaking materials for specific commissions for SEN groups
So, why are the needs of these children so important to the digital curriculum? Well, it ’s part of the public service role of the BBC for a start. We have a long history in catering for the needs of the whole of the audience for our services. There are also important educational and legal reasons. Inclusion is an idea which is well established in our schools, and backed up by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill of 2001. But finding materials which are able to be used by disabled and fully able children together can prove challenging. Also, as the digital curriculum materials are delivered via the Internet, the Disability Discrimination Act also applies, requiring us to take reasonable measures to make our materials accessible, even though they are not conventional websites. So we have two aims for our accessibility programme: to be as accessible as reasonably possible across all dc materials to produce unique, innovative and groundbreaking materials for specific commissions for SEN groups
So, why are the needs of these children so important to the digital curriculum? Well, it ’s part of the public service role of the BBC for a start. We have a long history in catering for the needs of the whole of the audience for our services. There are also important educational and legal reasons. Inclusion is an idea which is well established in our schools, and backed up by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill of 2001. But finding materials which are able to be used by disabled and fully able children together can prove challenging. Also, as the digital curriculum materials are delivered via the Internet, the Disability Discrimination Act also applies, requiring us to take reasonable measures to make our materials accessible, even though they are not conventional websites. So we have two aims for our accessibility programme: to be as accessible as reasonably possible across all dc materials to produce unique, innovative and groundbreaking materials for specific commissions for SEN groups