Paper given at W4A 2012 conference (www.w4a.info), discussing the potential influence of British Standard 8878 and the use of learner analytics to support accessibility policy and activity in large organisations.

1. A Challenge to Web
Accessibility Metrics
and Guidelines:
Putting People and
Processes First
Martyn Cooper @MartynCooper
David Sloan @sloandr
Brian Kelly @briankelly
Credit: Flickr user emmar Sarah Lewthwaite @slewth
Credit: Flickr user daveybot
http://goo.gl/Fmeyu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/purecaffeine/5399530443/
W4A 2012, Lyon, France
Monday 16 April 2012

2. Outline
• Progressing our past work exploring how web
accessibility strategy can be effectively applied
in complex organisations
• BS8878 as a tool to support organisational
accessibility strategy
• Case study: using Learner Analytics as an
opportunity to identify issues with disabled
learner experience
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3. 1 CONTEXT
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4. Technical accessibility and user experience
• HCI research increasingly focusing on user
experience
– Beyond testing…beyond task completion
• Accessibility guidelines tend to focus on
testing of technical artefacts
– Questions of relationship between conformance
and disabled people’s user experience
– Emergence of social web accessibility reporting
and repair tools (e.g. Fix the Web, Access Grade)
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5. Supporting organisations optimise online
experience for disabled people
• If organisational policy focuses exclusively on
technical guideline conformance, is there a
risk accessibility efforts can be mis-focused?
– Particularly when resource constraints limit what
can be practically achieved
• How can policy address non-technical
components of accessibility?
– Where the Web is one way to help deliver
experiences and support goal achievement
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6. 2 BS 8878
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7. BS 8878
• Published by British Standards Institute in Dec 2010
• Aimed at managers rather than developers/authors
• Standardises the process of commissioning and
implementing optimally accessible web sites
• Gives advice on how to apply technical guidelines in
accessibility strategy
• 16 step process, including steps to:
– Define goals, tasks, and UX
– Consider balance of inclusive design and personalisation
– Assure accessibility post-launch
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8. Impact of BS8878
• Uptake and impact unclear yet - case studies being
gathered by Jonathan Hassell, the standard’s lead
author: http://goo.gl/K3Tza
• Guidance for organisations to think more holistically
– and pragmatically - about applying Web
accessibility policy
– Support for managing the political, social and other
complex factors that will be encountered
• Transferability – could it work under different legal
jurisdictions?
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9. 3 (LEARNER) ANALYTICS AND
ACCESSIBILITY
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10. Analytics and accessibility
• Taking advantage of user activity data
gathered automatically by organisations to
strategically focus accessibility efforts
• A way of using data to support a BS8878
approach to organisational web accessibility
policy and practice
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11. Analytics in e-learning
Analytics in education focuses on:
•Technical – extracting value from large datasets
•Political/economic – improving learning opportunities
and results
•Educational – optimising the learning and teaching
experience
(Ferguson, 2012: http://goo.gl/UV6F2)
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12. Learner analytics
“... the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting
of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes
of understanding and optimising learning and the
environments in which it occurs”
(1st international conference on Learner Analytics &
Knowledge)
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13. Using organisational data to
understand more about accessibility
• Open University engaged in distance learning delivery
– > 200,000 students; > 12,000 with declared disability
– Substantial activity through e-learning platforms and tools –
large dataset
• Data: learner profiles, attainment, VLE activity
• Opportunity to assess currently available data and
establish how to identify current areas of concern for
disabled learners
– e.g. identifying dropout points
– Prioritise area of focus for accessibility evaluation and repair
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14. Next steps
• Open University Learner Analytics Project
– Establishing what sort of data is useful for
accessibility analytics
• Comparative studies
– With other Higher Ed organisations?
– With organisations in other sectors?
• Link with learner and resource profiling:
– Revision of ISO 24751 well underway
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15. Continue the discussion
• Martyn’s blog post: http://goo.gl/KBlXk
• Brian’s thoughts:
– Blog post: http://goo.gl/Xwh3T
– Youtube video: http://goo.gl/yUTAk
– and on publicising our work: http://goo.gl/5uclB
• Sarah’s blog post: http://goo.gl/08QaQ
• Dave’s blog: http://58sound.com
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