How to make e-learning accessible - thinking inclusively

Thinking inclusively: What to consider when you start a new e-learning project

In Part One of our three-part series on how to make e-learning accessible, Virginia Barder emphasises the importance of thinking inclusively from the beginning of an e-learning project. Who is your audience? What do you need to do to make it accessible, usable and therefore effective?

Why is accessibility something so few people understand? Why do I hear people ask "does this course need to be accessible?" Or even worse, "Fortunately, this course doesn't need to be accessible". Which begs a question, why bother producing it if nobody is going to need to access it?

Accessibility should be taken seriously - and literally. It literally means, making sure my audience can access - and use - the e-learning. Whoever and wherever they are.

Let's bust some myths

It doesn't mean "no blind people are going to do this e-learning, so I don't have to worry about accessibility". Nor does it mean assuming that accessibility is just an expensive overhead which will dumb down my design and cause extra work.

Most people will have some form of access or accessibility issue. They may be hard of hearing - or maybe they work in a noisy office. They may have RSI and find using a mouse difficult. They may be colour blind (something like 8% of men are); they may have dyslexia and find reading from a screen difficult. Maybe they don't work in an office and don't use a computer for their job. Maybe their internet connection is very slow. And they may be visually impaired - which covers a wide spectrum.

According to the National Statistics Office (in 2005), 20% of the workforce have some form of disability or impairment. That's a large proportion of your e-learning audience.

You say tomato...

If you look at the spirit of accessibility guidelines - and then at usability guidelines - they're the same thing:

• Make sure the user is in control.
• Make sure the user knows where they are.
• Make sure text is legible.
• Make sure audio is audible.
• Make sure the navigation is consistent and clear.
• Make sure you're not pushing the boundaries technologically, so it won't run on an average user's machine.
• Write clearly.

Isn't this just common sense and good design? So let's not "call the whole thing off"!

There are additional things to consider when thinking about accessibility with reference to particular disabilities. For instance, there's some evidence that people with dyslexia find text easier to read against a yellow background - rather than a bright white background. So consider whether this is worth offering as an option. People with manual dexterity problems may find it easier to use a keyboard - or even speech input. In this case, consider giving interactions keyboard equivalents rather than mouse only. Screenreader users aren't going to worry about how well laid out a screen is, or about 'wow' animations - but they would appreciate well punctuated text that will make sense when interpreted by a screenreader. None of this is hard to do. It just needs thinking about.

And think about what's appropriate. Not all users need to have the same experience, they need to have an appropriate experience. That might mean sitting with a coach or trainer to do the e-learning rather than doing it on their own. Or using a workbook or plain text version of the content. But plan this in at the start of the project, rather than as an afterthought. Learners deserve this and it makes business sense to do so. You're investing time and money into the learning after all.

Accessibility factors to consider when you start a new e-learning project

1. Make sure you think about true inclusive design and accessibility from the start.
2. Understand who your learners are and how they'll access the e-learning (for instance - are they at desks? On laptops? On a shared computer? At home?) What range of abilities should you assume?
3. Understand how big the audience is and hence what the overhead of additional support/materials might be and how you'll manage that.
4. Look at the W3C guidelines: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag. Do bear in mind they were written for websites, not e-learning, so make an intelligent assessment about which of the guidelines are really appropriate to your project. Don't just follow them slavishly for the sake of it. Nor should you pick and choose the elements you like. A course that is 90% screenreader friendly, and 10% not, is 100% not screenreader usable).
5. Define appropriate design guidelines that reflect good usability and accessibility design.
6. Define an appropriate technical spec for the delivery of the e-learning - and a plan for those users who don't have access to appropriate machines. For instance, consider distributing CD-ROMs for users without good internet access; or workbooks.
7. And factor in a reasonable amount of time for testing. Develop test plans that work through the content in different 'roles' - so test using a screenreader; test using keyboard rather than mouse.

Don't miss Part Two - Making e-learning accessible: Tips and tricks
And while you're waiting, here are some other sites that you may find interesting:

• WSC - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
• Centre for Excellence in Universal Design - Guidelines and standards for ICT
• CIPD - Why accessible e-learning makes business sense PDF [149k]
• RNIB - Advice on designing and building your website
• Open University - Introduction to accessibility

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