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	Time: 15 hours Level: Masters

	Introduction Introduction Resource Accessibility for disabled students is a topic which could be included in any area of the curriculum. Most education professionals are aware that they should consider it, but are unsure of what it means,...

	1 Introducing accessibility and disability Why include accessibility in innovation? Resource In countries where the use of computers and the web in daily life is widespread, many disabled people now have better and more independent access to information and communication. New technology developments... 1.1 Considering disabled people Resource Disabled people were among the early adopters of personal computers. They were quick to appreciate that word processing programs and printers gave them freedom from dependence on others to read and write... 1.2 Disability facts and figures Resource There are many sources on the web that have disability statistics. We found the following at CSR Europe. 1.3 Activity task 1: list of challenging activities Resource Drawing on your own experience and your study of this unit so far, write a list of activities that might be expected of a student on a course that has online and distance components. 1.4 Resources Action on Access: the national co-ordination team for widening participation in higher education

	2 Discussing disability 2.1 Models of disability Resource Disability is discussed more frequently now than it was even a single generation ago. You may have come across ‘political correctness’ debates in the media in which the terms used to describe diverse groups... 2.2 Defining disability Resource So, what do we mean by the term ‘disability’? The Open University doesn't define the term, but offers services to any person with ‘a disability, health problem, mental-health difficulty or specific learning... 2.3 Disability-related terminology Resource You may already be aware that the influence of the social model of disability has resulted in a change in the terminology used in relation to disability. Some terms are discouraged because they reflect... 2.4 Activity task 2 Resource Return to your list of challenging activities that you created in ‘Accessibility and disability’. In the light of your reading would you change the way that you have expressed your ideas? 2.5 Resources Scottish Disability Team, ‘Guidelines for creating an accessible environment’ http ://www.sdt.ac.uk/acc_environment.asp

	3 Introducing accessibility and assistive technology 3.1 Computers and assistive technology Resource In this activity on accessibility and assistive technology we consider the technological adaptations used by people with different disabilities. In order to understand the adjustments that are needed to... 3.2 Mobile accessibilty Resource A few mobile devices have accessibility features and there are some specialist computers designed with a disabled-only accessible interface; for example a portable computer with Braille-only input and... 3.3 Visual impairment Resource There are approximately two million people in the UK who have a sight problem. The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) defines someone as having a sight problem if they are unable to recognise... 3.4 Activity task 3: using a screen reader Resource If you are already familiar with screen readers you can skip this activity. 3.5 Access for partially sighted people Resource Partial sight is caused by a variety of eye conditions, which affect vision in different ways. This means that partially sighted people have a range of different needs for accessing the output of a computer.... 3.7 Activity task 4: simulating visual impairments Resource From the WebAIM website run the simulation that demonstrates how a web page looks to people with a range of visual impairments (macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma) and the effects of screen magnification.... 3.8 Deafness Resource The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) estimate that there are approximately 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK (approximately 698,000 of these are severely or profoundly... 3.9 Physical impairments Resource People may have a range of physical impairments caused by a wide variety of conditions. It is not necessary to discuss causes of these conditions, but it is useful to note the kind of impairments that... 3.10 Activity task 5: without a mouse Resource If you never use a mouse, you can skip this activity. 3.11 Dyslexia Resource Dyslexia is sometimes referred to as a specific learning difficulty (SLD). 3.12 Accessible content and alternatives Resource Assistive technology can give access only to whatever is on the screen; it doesn't provide any alternative content, unless this is specifically added. For example, a screen reader cannot interpret visual... 3.13 Activity task 6: solutions to challenging activities Resource Return to your list of the challenging activities, which you updated in ‘Discussing disability’. 3.14 Resources OU Knowledge Network, ‘Guidelines for describing visual teaching material’ http://kn.open.ac.uk/public/index.cfm?wpid=2709 3.15 References Resource BBC (2005) ‘Men's health’ [online], London, British Broadcasting Corporation http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/mens_health/index.shtml (Accessed 31 July 2007).

	4 Accessibility, pedagogy and reasonable adjustments Adjustments for all Resource This activity on ‘Accessibility, pedagogy and reasonable adjustments’ discusses considering the needs of disabled students in terms of the concept of reasonable adjustments and the potential impact of... 4.1 Pedagogy and reasonable adjustments Resource It has always been part of the OUs mission to make higher education available to all potential students, regardless of background or circumstance. To quote the OU mission statement: ‘It promotes educational... 4.2 Reasonable adjustments and responsibility Resource In completing the accessibility activities the first three sections of this unit, you should have gained an appreciation of the range of challenges that might be anticipated. As technology and assistive... 4.3 What is reasonable? Resource Every subject area is likely to have potential disabled students. Regardless of any feeling that you may have that students with particular disabilities will never want to do your course, you have to consider... 4.4 What is not reasonable? Resource Educators are not expected to make changes that would make the course less effective for most other students. For example, audioconferencing may be a valuable tool that has a positive effect on students’... 4.5 Learning objectives Resource What can you do if you have considered all the adjustments appropriate for a particular student and you have determined that they can't achieve the learning objective? 4.6 Informing students Resource Students need accurate information about accessibility before they enrol on a course. This may seem like common sense, but it is a significant contributor to students’ legal complaints. It is important... 4.7 Activity task Resource 1. Read through the four scenarios below and choose one to answer the associated questions. 4.9 Resources National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (a part of the US Department of Education), ‘Special analysis 2002: nontraditional undergraduates’

	5 Specifying, designing and evaluating accessibility Design decisions Resource In this activity, we examine in more detail the design decisions that affect accessibility for different groups of disabled students. The activity will help you to create accessible resources, or can be... 5.1 Specifying accessibility Resource You should have a good idea, from the earlier activities, ‘Introducing accessibility and disability’ and ‘Introducing accessibility and assistive technology’, of the way in which disabled students interact... 5.2 Design guidelines and their limitations Resource Having considered accessibility requirements and principles in ‘Specifying accessibility’, we now take a closer look at the guidelines that are available to support the development of accessible resources.... 5.3 Evaluating accessibility Resource It is good practice to include evaluation in the development of any product or resource, but it is particularly important to evaluate accessibility because of the difficulties associated with the use of... 5.4 Activity task Resource Return to the scenarios that you used in ‘Accessibility, pedagogy and reasonable adjustments’. Having now read the section on specifying accessibility, is there anything you would change in your own or... 5.5 Resources ETO Engineering, ‘Accessible cell phones’, http://www.etoengineering.com/index.htm References Resource Bastien, J.M.C. and Scapin, D. (1992) ‘Validation of ergonomic criteria for the evaluation of human-computer interfaces’, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, vol.4, no.2, pp. 183–96.

	References and Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Resource

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