Promoting document accessibility for the Virtual Learning Environment

About Massey University

• 3 Campus in North Island: Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North

• 33,000 students (18,000 internal and 15,000 study extramurally)

• 50 students registered with RNZFB• 135 have identified themselves with

a Specific Learning Disability

Virtual Learning Environments

• What is a Virtual Learning Environment?• What is Moodle?• What is Stream?

Components of Moodle• Activities: Up to 19 modules

that the student can interactive with. For example…–Chat module–Quiz module

• Resources: Content that is inserted by the teacher. Can included study material, lecture notes, web links and extra readings.

Accessibility Issues

• Functionality: How well the environment can be accessed and utilised.• Content: Accessibility issues that

relate to the content that the Course Controller uploads onto the environment.

Functionality

• UK Open University 2006–Modified Moodle to address accessibility issues

• Randell Hansen 2009 –Testing Moodle on behalf of the CANnect consortium. –“the vast majority of Moodle is technically accessible”–but the details need more attention –Recommendations of report currently being addressed

Content Accessibility Issues

• Course controllers can place any material at anytime onto the environment• No guarantee that the material

will be accessible to all students• Alternative Format Coordinator

would not be able to monitor and convert course material

Proposed solutions to content accessibility issues. To encourage course controllers to

author accessible documents and to give them the necessary recourses that will enable them to do it.

• Creation of how to guides• Promote the adoption of

accessibility guides by academic staff

The Guides

• Easy to follow how to guides• Interlinking HTML documents• Format specific • Authoring tool specific• Cover major accessibility issues

Implementation Strategy

• Working with existing academic teaching groups

• Incorporating accessible guidelines within Stream

• Accessibility compliance linked to performance review

• Lobbying various decision makers

Implementation Progress

• CADel: Centre for Academic Development and eLearning• Stream 4 Staff • Other developments

Summary