Technology and Disabilities: Issues for Learning and Teaching

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Technology and Disabilities Issues for Learning
and Teaching

• Simon Ball and Lawrie Phipps
• E-mail helpdesk_at_techdis.ac.uk
• www.techdis.ac.uk

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Introduction

• TechDis an overview of who we are and what we
  do
• Technology and Learning what do we mean and why
  is it so important?
• What impact does technology have on students with
  disabilities?
• Summary

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TechDis an overview (who)

• Joint Information Systems Committee JISC
• Technologies Centre
• Mission Enhancing access for those with
  learning difficulties and/or disabilities, to
  learning, teaching, research and administration
  across Further and Higher Education though the
  use of Information and Communication
  Technologies.
• Remit Technology and disabilities

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TechDis an overview (what)

• Projects
• VLE accessibility 2 stages
• How to create accessible content
• Wireless networking issues for Deaf Hearing
  Impaired students
• PDA accessibility
• ICT for students with learning difficulties (new
  project)
• Identifying useful research guidelines...
• Advice
• Staff development
• Databases

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Technology and Learning what do we mean and why
is it so important?

• Delivery Method for learning, both on and off
  campus
• Drivers for increasing use
• E-learning, E-tutoring, E-assessment

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E-learning, E-tutoring, E-assessment why is it
important in this context?

• Nielson Norman Group Research
• Even with the prevalence of inaccessible design,
  participants in our study said they embrace the
  Web and find it helps them do many things they
  could not do without it. Kara Pernice Coyne,
  Nielsen Norman Group

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Accessibility

• Def. Accessibility
• can be easily and conveniently approached,
  entered, and used by people with disabilities
• W3C WAI guidelines, priority 1 and 2

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Usability

• Usability is the quality of a system that makes
  it easy to learn, easy to use, easy to remember,
  error tolerant, and subjectively pleasing.
• Jacob Nielsen has identified the following five
  aspects of usability that have become the
  standard
• ease of learning
• efficiency of use how fast can experienced
  users accomplish tasks
• memorability
• error minimisation
• subjective satisfaction

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• Some Examples of Research and Websites

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Accessibility Research Studies

• Nielsen Norman Group Beyond ALT Text
• Mencap Report Accessing the Web
• Quantifiable data

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NN Group Quantitative Research

• 20 screen reader users
• 20 screen magnifier users example...
• 20 people who use no assistive technology (with
  no vision or physical disabilities)
• Experienced assistive device users
• Reasonably experienced Internet users

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NN Group Quantitative ResearchTasks

• Fact-finding find the average temperature in
  Dallas (no site specified)
• Buy online Janet Jacksons latest CD from
  www.target.com
• Information retrieval take a bus in Chicago
  www.transitchicago.com
• Compare and contrast find a specific kind of
  mutual fund on www.schwab.com

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NN Group Major findings

• Sighted participants who use no assistive
• technology were
• about six times more successful at completing
  tasks than people using screen readers
• three times more successful than people using
  screen magnifiers

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NN Group Sighted participants were

• significantly less frustrated than people using
  assistive technologies
• more satisfied than people using assistive
  technologies
• more confident than assistive technology users
• very close relationship between success and
  satisfaction

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NN Group Who completed task?

• No assistive technology users 68
• Screen magnifier users 20
• Screen reader users 12

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NN Group Who didnt complete task?

• User ran out of time (20 mins per task)
• No assistive technology users 3
• Screen magnifier users 44
• Screen reader users 53

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NN Group Who didnt complete task?

• User stopped themselves
• No assistive technology users 13
• Screen magnifier users 43
• Screen reader users 44

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NN Group Finding and Searching

• Screen reader and magnifier users used the
  browsers find feature much more frequently
  than sighted users (35 to 1) - a form of auditory
  scanning
• Number of times clicked back
• Screen magnifiers 185
• No assistive technologies 151
• Screen readers 99

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Mencap Research

• Identify accessibility of 30 popular web sites
  for people with learning difficulties
• 11 users reviewed the sites in August 2001
• Varying levels of familiarity with the Internet
• Scores out of 90
• Good (50)
• Room for improvement (40-49)
• Could do better (39 and below)

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Mencap Research

• Questions asked of each site
• Visual appeal?
• Clarity?
• Is it obvious whats being provided?
• Navigation?
• Help and contact buttons visible?
• Language readable and understandable?
• Graphics and/or audio to help with understanding?

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Mencap findings top marks to www.royalmail.com/ac
cess
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Mencap lowest marks to www.bluewater.co.uk
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Mencap low marks towww.learndirect.co.uk
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Accessible Design

• Why?Good e-learning for all
• Examples
• Seven Precepts(www.techdis.ac.uk)

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The legislation

• Accessibility of E-learning will come under the
  Special Educational Needs and Disability Act.
• Handout Paper by Martin Sloan, also on the
  website www.techdis.ac.uk
• Materials should conform to W3C WAI guidelines
  Priority 1 and Priority 2, as well as good
  practice guidelines.

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Comments and Questions