Accessible technology

VLEs and e-learning can provide accessible and effective alternatives and can be useful tools for making learning accessible for some disabled students. For example screen readers can be used by visually impaired or blind students, supplying material in electronic from so it can be adapted by the user, for example changing font size or font colour can make resources easier to use. Some suggest that an online discussion forum can enable some disabled students to participate more effectively than a spoken discussion, this could be effective for d/Deaf or hearing impaired students. A guide to "Accessibility issues with e-learning resources and virtual learning environments", written by Nick Middleton at Coventry University, provides a summary of the issues with e-learning and accessibility. Lawrie Phipps covers some of the reasons for using technology to support learning and teaching in "e-Learning and disability: tales from the riverbank (and other non-classroom based learning environments)" presented at the Science Learning and Teaching Conference 2005.

SENDA covers all aspects of an institutions' services, including e-learning materials, so if e-learning materials are being used in course delivery it is important to try and ensure that they are accessible to all students.

Websites may not be accessible to disabled students, website compatibility should be checked before pages are made available, or recommended to students. The Web Accessibility Initiative has a number of resources to support the development of accessible web pages including evaluation tools for web content accessibility. There is also the W3C markup validator (http://validator.w3.org/) which can be used to check the compatibility of web pages according to W3C recommendations.

TechDis, an educational advisory service, focus on accessibility and technology, and provide advice and support on all aspects of e-learning and technology including hardware and software, including the Technology Database which can be used to investigate the information and products available to assist disabled students in a variety of circumstances. They have also produced the DelACC report, which looks at the accessibility benefits of a number of e-learning projects funded through the Subject Centres.

Lexdis, a forum where disabled students can discuss and share their e-learning coping strategies, could be useful for teaching staff using e-learning to support course design or as a resource to pass onto students.

AccessApps is a range of portable open source and freeware assistive applications that can be downloaded and carried on a memory stick. The applications do not need to be installed on a computer and provide a range of e-learning solutions to support writing, reading and planning as well as visual and mobility difficulties.

ALERT (Accessibility in Learning Environments and Related Technologies) run between Durham and Bournemouth Universities aimed to improve the accessibility of online learning and to identify ways of supporting disabled students to enable them to achieve the learning objectives of their modules through a VLE. Their website contains guidelines relating to accessibility in VLEs, case studies and a number of links to other organisations.

Access all areas: Disability, technology and learning, produced by ALT, JISC and TechDis provides advice on how to support disabled students when accessing technology.

The EMPTECH on-line database "aims to provide information resources on assistive technologies that are designed to help those with specific difficulties or disabilities work and study more effectively. The database includes product descriptions, links to manufacturers, suppliers with addresses as well as other related resources including advice and training guides where available. News items linked to the use of assistive technologies are regularly posted and updates occur on a weekly basis".

Virtual Learning Environments

VLEs could also provide an equivalent experience to lab or field work. If a student is unable to participate in a practical due to health and safety reasons, or for example a field centre is inaccessible, a computer simulation can be used. Virtual fieldwork and lab / practical simulations may provide an equivalent when lab or fieldwork cannot be conducted due to, for example, health and safety reasons or an inaccessible field station.

HEAT projects undertaken by Jo Badge, Jon Scott and Alan Cann at the University of Leicester looked at making materials available through a VLE more accessible

Distant access to an ecological field experiment a project funded by the Centre enables remote access to the field site for students and use of the data collected from the field site.

The GEES Subject Centre ran a Field work Education and Technology workshop, exploring the uses and benefits of virtual fieldwork, a report and presentations are available to download from their website.