Presentation by Abi Mawhirt, Senior Learning Hub Assistant at the Developments in accessible content, joint LibTech and Inclusion in e-Learning forum, Perth College, Thu 17 Oct, 2013.

1. Creating accessible library
materials at Dundee College
Abi Mawhirt, Senior Learning Hub Assistant

2. Why are we creating accessible materials?
Who can or will use the materials?
What exactly are the materials?
How did we make them?

3. Why: College Values
Respect
show respect for the needs and views of every individual through our
communications and actions
Innovation
take responsibility to find solutions to problems and empower others to do
the same
Future Focus
contribute to a learning environment which is effective in preparing learners
for the future and which supports them in achieving their ambitions
Quality
demonstrate a commitment to continual quality enhancement in all aspects of
the learner experience

4. Why: Equality Act 2010
We must make
reasonable adjustments

5. Who: Student Support Requests
2011-12
2012-13
Students identifying a support need:
Those who noted a support need on their
application form for college
950
985
Final number of students supported:
Group 18 students are removed as they are
supported elsewhere in the college, as are
students who have a support need but do not
want any assistance, those who withdraw from
studies etc.
458
474

6. Who: Everybody
© Microsoft

7. What
What: Materials
A5 hard copy
Online Wimba Files
A4 Printable PDFs
Plain Text Files
This guide is available in other formats.
Contact learninghub@dundeecollege.ac.uk for more information.
You may use this material under the CC licence shown.

8. What
What: Materials
A5 hard copy
Online Wimba Files
A4 Printable PDFs
Plain Text Files

9. What
What: Materials
A5 hard copy
Online Wimba Files
A4 Printable PDFs
Plain Text Files

10. What
What: Materials
A5 hard copy
Online Wimba Files
A4 Printable PDFs
Plain Text Files

11. What: Moodle Course

12. What: Screen Capture Videos and Podcast
Screen Captures:
• Created using Camtasia
• Cover procedural tasks like renew online, login to ebooks etc.
• Include subtitles
Podcast:
• Generic information
• Benefit from album-quality recording studio at Gardyne
campus, but important not to get hung up on ‘perfection’
Free apps and tools can deliver suitable results.

13. What: Access Apps
Available on all College networked computers as a result of the
award-winning PADDI Project, in conjunction with JISC and SLIC.

14. How: Content First
Steps to creation:
• Draft content
Create the basis of the material
• Share content
Liaise with other departments on the content, i.e. curriculum
teams, supported learning, guidance, IT etc.
• Proof content
Once approved, go over the content carefully and look for
ways to improve wording – clarity extremely important
• Format content
The easy bit! Copy and paste your content and fiddle with
formatting to make any number of differentiated versions

15. How: Software Used
Microsoft Office
Publisher in particular – enhanced desk top publishing
Function to create PDFs
Wimba Create: http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_create
Microsoft Word plugin
Camtasia: http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html
or Jing: http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

16. What Next?
Podcast:
• 4 ½ minutes long too long?
• Create shorter sound snippets, variety of topics
Guides:
• Constantly reviewing
• More topics, as many formats
• Advertising the variety of formats further – being explicit
Video Guides and Tutorials:
• Create online video tutorials and guides with subtitles
• Provide information in a visual and friendly way

17. Contact and Useful Links
Abi Mawhirt @abimawhirt
Senior Learning Hub Assistant, Dundee College
a.mawhirt@dundeecollege.ac.uk or 01382 834850
Learning Hub Help Moodle Course:
https://moodle.dundeecollege.ac.uk/
Username: library_01
Password: Library_01
JISC Edu / Access Apps downloads:
http://eduapps.org/?page_id=67