{"id":2351,"date":"2019-07-03T14:20:16","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T14:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinking.is.ed.ac.uk\/melissa\/?p=2351"},"modified":"2019-09-13T13:40:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T13:40:32","slug":"accessibility-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinking.is.ed.ac.uk\/melissa\/2019\/07\/03\/accessibility-2\/","title":{"rendered":"what we are doing about digital accessibility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image from the University art collections @University of Edinburgh Female Faces, Lips and Dots http:\/\/images.is.ed.ac.uk\/luna\/servlet\/s\/186b57 Purely decorative.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What with the new digital accessibility legislation coming into place, I am gathering together a list of things\/projects\/initiatives and services we offer in Learning Teaching and Web Services to support accessibility online. We have a support service in ISG which provides practical testing and advice on meeting the requirements of legislation<\/a>. At a strategic level we take a broad view on accessibility and inclusive learning.<\/p>\n

We will be presenting the\u00a0 University of Edinburgh experience as an institutional case study at UCISA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A working knowledge of accessibility is a key knowledge set for learning technologists and web developers and I’m very proud of how well we do in this area. I am often asked to support colleagues when they are writing up their CMALT portfolios and describing the policy environment in which they work, it is important that we reflect on what is quite a nuanced area of work.<\/p>\n

I wrote my initial CMALT application in 2008 about the policies which shaped the context of my work. At that time those were: The new HEA UKPSF framework, the University of Leeds strategy and vision towards 2015, the HEFCE e-learning strategy, SENDA legislation on accessibility, copyright and emerging Creative Commons and CETIS -led technology standards. Back in 2004 I employed one of the first institutional web accessibility officers at University of Leeds. The second edition of our book about designing accessible learning is due out any day now…<\/a><\/p>\n

Website accessibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

University of Edinburgh has a huge corporate web estate so, as a central team, we are taking what we believe to be the most pragmatic and effective way forward toward improving accessibility, and thus reducing overall risk.<\/p>\n

University Website<\/a>, MyEd<\/a>, Web Search and our content support widgets have all accessibility statements published reflecting on our capabilities and access to support and report inaccessible content etc. What really helped was the use of EdGEL consistently across our services.<\/p>\n

We will proceed with our \u2018Future Web Services\u2019 project, in conjunction with a migration to Drupal 8. We will take a stringent approach to accessibility throughout design, development and testing, considering both the end users\u2019 experience and accessibility needs<\/a>. We will proceed with a content audit with a view to decommissioning and archiving portions of the estate as appropriate and rationalising the remainder, redeveloping content as needed and with accessibility in mind. We will target agree key user journeys giving us a prioritised backlog for more in-depth accessibility assessment.\u00a0\u00a0 Our web teams will develop, adopt and communicate policy, standards and guidelines around accessibility as part of our continuing development of our digital governance.<\/p>\n

We attend every year, the UK webmasters conference<\/a> the event typically covers a wide range of topics or relevance to this sector including digital transformation, website\/digital governance, university strategy, digital strategy, UX, accessibility, design, development, user-journeys and tasks, team management, leadership, content, measurement and analytics, change management, student recruitment and retention, tools, technologies and communications.<\/p>\n

Accessible VLEs and platforms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our VLE and media platform teams have been battling to get our accessibility statements and roadmaps straight. Karen’s team have been working with colleagues across the sector to gather best practice guidance for Learn. Some of our platforms are cloud hosted and vendor supplied which makes things challenging.<\/p>\n

Accessible course design of our VLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our EDE teams offer advice on how to deliver inclusive and accessible technology enhanced learning<\/a>. We are currently working with six Schools and a Deanery to implement a new site structures in Learn. \u00a0 The new site structure is being rolled out to Schools with the support of a team of student interns during the summer break to create consistent courses within Learn in preparation for the start of the 19\/20 academic year. The aim is to create a new site structure that will provide a consistent student experience by making course specific materials easy to find as well as supporting staff in delivering rich, online courses.\u00a0 It will ensure courses are more accessible and inclusive and the terminology used relating to learning and teaching is more consistent.\u00a0 We are finding a huge range of lefthand menu options being used, as many as 400+ in one school.<\/p>\n

Digital accessibility is a particularly strong example of the universal benefits of inclusive practice. Students enjoy more usable and flexible learning resources, listening to lecture recordings or podcasts while traveling on the bus, or using heading styles to go straight to the important part of the course handbook. An inclusive approach allows all students to learn in ways that suit them best. If we can respond effectively to these regulations, all students will benefit from a better experience.<\/p>\n

Accessible content in the VLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The student interns are working over the summer to complete accessibility audits of course areas\u00a0 with a view to reporting back to heads of schools.\u00a0 They are sampling\u00a0 course materials and producing\u00a0 accessibility scores.\u00a0 This work is gaining a lot of interest from VLE support teams in other Universities. If you are interested in talking to the project team or looking to find out more information regarding the project contact the Learn Foundations team<\/a><\/strong> and we are presenting about it at ALT Conference in early September.<\/p>\n

The University provides a selection of assistive software to staff and students. One such piece of software, and one which we are excited about is called \u00a0SensusAccess <\/strong><\/a>. We believe this is a really useful piece of software for staff and students using the VLE. SensusAccess allows you to convert electronic documents into alternative versions of the document – such as audio, e-book or digital Braille formats.\u00a0 It even tackles less accessible documents such as image-only PDFs and PowerPoint files.\u00a0 It is quick and easy to use, and free to students and staff of the University.\u00a0 \u00a0You upload the document you wish to be converted to another format to the software and it is then emailed to you once the conversion is complete. You can then upload this version of the document to the VLE.\u00a0 Students can also use it themselves to create a version of the document which suits them best.<\/p>\n

Library Website Improvements<\/strong><\/p>\n

A workstream in our Digital Library Programme is looking at making improvements in particular to Collections<\/a>, but also, some changes to DiscoverEd<\/a>, with the focus being on improving search for collections.ed but also accessibility and usability where possible. We offer a huge range of digital resources<\/a>\u00a0 and we are part of the IIIF consortium on digital imaging standards<\/a><\/p>\n

Service level descriptions<\/strong><\/p>\n

In LTW we publish service level descriptions for all our services which include a statement on accessibility, and we publish Equality Impact Assessments<\/a> for any new or changed services.<\/p>\n

For example, here is the accessibility statement from our digital skills training service SLD<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accessibility and equality compliance:
\n<\/strong>Links to relevant documentation<\/em><\/td>\n		Written resources are available in alternative format on request, as indicated on each resource. Resources are all available online.<\/p>\n

Slides and visuals used on our learning events are designed with accessibility in mind.<\/p>\n

Training rooms in Argyle House are installed with hearing loops and have a height-adjustable desk in each room.<\/p>\n

All videos developed in house can be viewed at different sizes and have captions.<\/p>\n

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) has been carried out on Lynda.com.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Promoting universal design<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have specialists in our LTW teams who promote and train in universal design, whether that is design of digital materials, web sites, communications, rooms, spaces, signage or\u00a0 AV kit<\/a>.\u00a0 Neil’s team have led the development of the\u00a0 new look for MyEd designed for mobile first<\/a>, making it easier to use on any device, wherever you are. The menu-based navigation makes it easier to find content, and avoids the need to load content-heavy tabs, making it faster to get to the content that you need.<\/p>\n

Accessible communications<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our LTW graphic design teams<\/a> offer expert advice on\u00a0 accessibility in print and design. With design for print, we always do our best to comply with University standards and where we need to, we will add the accessibility strapline to printed materials. Design for print often requires a balance of aesthetics with accessibility and Sonia’s teams have to carefully consider the purpose of the thing that we are producing. Finding that compromise is always a challenge that we do our best to make as a design team. We endeavour at all times to ensure that we are following best practice in terms of accessibility. This may be through looking at the following guidelines or consulting directly with experts from the very start of the project at the initial design consultation. Here are some of the links we may refer to for our information.<\/p>\n

ISG: https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/information-services\/help-consultancy\/accessibility\/creating-materials <\/a>EdGel: https:\/\/gel.ed.ac.uk <\/a>And other guidelines such as the Government: https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/inclusive-communication\/accessible-communication-formats<\/a><\/p>\n

We also ensure that our newsletters and graphics are available in a variety of accessible formats. We make sure to check that our LTW comms officers understand about accessible and inclusive communications.<\/p>\n

Accessible blogging<\/strong><\/p>\n

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When writing a blog, it is easy to forget that some visitors have vision impairments and disabilities that can come in the way of their reading experience.\u00a0 \u00a0It is our responsibility to make our websites as accessible as possible so we don’t discriminate against any of our users.\u00a0\u00a0 Anne-Marie’s teams offer advice on how to write an accessible blog on our WordPress service<\/a><\/section>\n
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Accessible data<\/strong><\/section>\n<\/div>\n
Through our wikidata projects we are sharing data sets online and making them accessible to the world to use, adapt and interrogate in creative ways.<\/section>\n
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Conversational interfaces<\/strong><\/p>\n

Increasingly users interact with internet content via voice interfaces such as Siri and Alexa and text based chat bots. In LTW we are\u00a0 leading in the development of conversational interfaces for student support. We are running training sessions for students and staff.<\/p>\n

AV in teaching spaces<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our teaching space<\/a> development projects contribute to providing an Improved and more consistent user experience\u200b, supporting the accessibility and inclusion objectives of the new Learning and Teaching Spaces Strategy<\/a> and the Estates strategic goal of creating a world class accessible estate. Lesley’s teams offer training on how to use AV and IT equipment<\/a> in centrally managed teaching spaces.<\/p>\n

Media subtitling<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Subtitling for Media Pilot<\/a> was established to investigate the feasibility, viability and cost of a student-led transcription service, alongside improving the digital skills of staff and promoting a culture change in our approach to delivering accessible content. The team subtitled public-facing audio and video content within Media Hopper Create<\/a>, with a focus on content that was embedded in the main University website. Automated subtitling services are notoriously inaccurate and require checking before publication.\u00a0 In the pilot, subtitles were automatically generated and the student team acted as human mediators, checking and correcting the subtitles and drawing on their own knowledge and expertise of Edinburgh and University life.\u00a0 As a result of the pilot more media content is open and accessible to all users and new training courses\u00a0 are available for staff and students on DIY subtitling, aiming to move to a position where subtitling of media is standard practice at the point of creation as far as possible. Following the pilot, we’ll be establishing this as a service in 19\/20.\u00a0In the pilot service, <\/span>subtitles were automatically generated and the student team acted as human mediators, checking and correcting the subtitles<\/span>,<\/span> drawing on their own knowledge and expertise of the HE sector in the process.\u00a0 Automation is effective at quickly processing large amounts of content<\/span>;<\/span> people are good at ensuring the right meaning is conveyed and that accurate <\/span>sector<\/span>–<\/span>specific terminology is used.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this project w<\/span>e subtitled 228 media <\/span>[<\/span>a total of <\/span>53<\/span> hours, <\/span>07<\/span> minutes<\/span> play time<\/span>] during<\/span> the 12-week pilot<\/span>. <\/span>We <\/span>established average times to subtitle, and identified things that will impact the time taken (accents, technical\/scientific words, sound quality)<\/span> and shared these finding with the sector. <\/span>We produced a style guide that can be used as a subtitling aid for staff<\/span> and <\/span>ran four 2-hour workshops to develop University staff skills in subtitling<\/span>, developing a successful format for ongoing training provision<\/span>.<\/span>We published two videos and five blogs <\/span>to disseminate information about the pilot<\/span> .<\/span><\/p>\n

Accessible work experience and workplace
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

In designing our projects we think carefully about how we employ students. We are interested in whether digital work is the kind of work that might be attractive to students, specifically those who need some flexibility in hours and location of work. We are aware that this kind of work might offer opportunity for employment for students with caring responsibilities, who have disabilities, or who prefer solo working, and so we make sure to design these job opportunities with this in mind.<\/p>\n

We have a number of staff in LTW who have visible and invisible disabilities and we listen to their feedback on how to ensure we have an inclusive workplace.<\/p>\n

Professional Development\u00a0 and training for colleagues<\/strong><\/p>\n

We offer role-based training of staff, including webmasters, developers, designers, content creators, instructional designers.<\/p>\n

Our University of Edinburgh PgCap Learning and Teaching<\/a> includes a session on \u201cBuilding accessibility & inclusion into your teaching & learning with technology\u201d. We are going to develop this into a stand-alone session, and we\u2019ve talked about developing a baseline e-accessibility resource (either on the open website or as a self-enrol course in Learn). We have recruited Tracy as an accessibility expert to our learning technology team.<\/p>\n

Our course on Effective Digital Content (Writing for the Web)<\/a> is mandatory if you need access to\u00a0 edit EdWeb. Bruce is our expert in web accessibility. It is open to all staff and students and available online or in person. This editorial training course covers good practice in writing and structuring information for the web. Nurturing a community of practice can help build leadership in and commitment to IT accessibility. That community of practice can and should reaches across unit and campus boundaries. Institutional challenges require institutional responses and our trainng includes guidance on data protection, freedom of information issues and improving performance in search engine results.<\/p>\n

Things 5&6 in our ’23 Things’ course are diversity and accessibility <\/a>and our collection of online digital skills courses offers dozens of courses on accessibility<\/a> and these are available for free to students and staff including ‘Accessibility: Creating Accessible Documents in Microsoft Office’ and ‘Creating Accessible PDFs’. We run 2-hour workshops to develop University staff skills in subtitling<\/span> and a range of courses in creating accessible media and learning content.<\/p>\n

We work closely with Institute of Academic Development and our course design service offers clear accessibility advice to colleagues making courses<\/a> in our VLE.<\/p>\n

Lecture recording<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’ve fitted some rooms with lecture recording facilities<\/a> . We hope that lecture recordings can support a wide range of accessibility and inclusivity needs<\/a> including those:<\/p>\n