Developing an Inclusive Culture in HE, 11/12 May 2011

1. Developing an Inclusive Culture in HE, 11/12 May 2011 Developing a Culture of Inclusive use of Technology: Accessibility and Technology Dr Simon Ball simon@techdis.ac.uk Twitter: @simonjball www.jisctechdis.ac.uk

2. This presentation…. • …can be downloaded from www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/events • …can be re-used freely with appropriate credit.

3. 10 Handy resources for practitioners to enhance inclusive use of technology • Accessibility Essentialswww.jisctechdis.ac.uk/accessibilityessentials • Teaching Inclusivelywww.jisctechdis.ac.uk/TeachingInclusively • Free Softwarewww.jisctechdis.ac.uk/freesoftware • Case Studies (HEAT scheme) www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/heat • Mobile Learning www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/upwardlymobile • Alternative Formats www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/altformats • Web2.0 Evaluation Tool www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/web2access • Equality Legislation Practical Guide www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/sed • Self Evaluation www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/oases • Management Issues: www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/12steps

4. Facilitating e-Inclusion with effective management • Online Accessibility Self Evaluation Service – managers benchmark their e-Inclusion performance anonymously against their peers to assess relative strengths and weaknesses. • Briefing document (and associated research paper): 12 Steps towards Embedding Inclusive Practice with Technology as a Whole Institution Culture

5. Online Accessibility Self Evaluation Service 1 • Over 130 institutions participated in live pilots. Now the self supporting tool has been rolled out. Could you use it? • Some of these people will not know they need to be there – so please pass it on to them. • Senior Managers • Marketing Managers • Heads Staff Development / Learning Technology • Library Managers • Heads IT/Networks/ISS • Heads Disability Support / ALS

6. Online Accessibility Self Evaluation Service 2 • Each session consists of an introduction to the benefits of self assessment and benchmarking in this area, followed by completion of a survey of practice and ultimately the sharing of anonymised results across the group. • So far reactions have included: • “Helped identify what we tackle next” • “Showed we weren’t as bad as I thought” • “Put this on the agenda of managers who weren’t really engaged with it before.”

7. To take the evaluations… • Go to www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/oases • Take your survey • Keep a hard copy of the results for benchmarking progress in 6 or 12 months’ time • Persuade other key colleagues to do theirs • Organise whole institution discussion of outcomes

8. 12 Steps towards embedding Inclusive Practice with Technology as a whole institution culture • Sent to all Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic/L&T) or equivalent during 2009-10 – along with copies to be given to the heads of Staff Development, Learning Technology, IT/Networks and Disability Support. • Unsolicited feedback: • 28 ‘Thanks’ • 27 ‘Useful’ • 23 ‘Just what we need – will use it’ • 1 ‘How dare you tell me what to do’

9. Research informed… • Over 18 months I visited institutions across the UK to speak with senior managers to try to identify what policy and management tools are helping to embed inclusive practice with technology as a whole institution culture, and also what may be preventing it. • Findings, the theoretical support for some of the approaches recommended etc can be found at www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/12steps

10. Senior Manager Briefing • Few Senior Managers will have time to read a 5000 word paper, so we have distilled into Briefing form 12 Steps towards Embedding Inclusive Practice with Technology as a Whole Institution Culture in UK Higher Education. • Available in Word and PDF formats as well as hard copy and FE version – www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/12steps

11. 12 Steps: 1 to 3 • Step 1: Deputy / Pro-Vice Chancellor (or equivalent) forms inclusive practice action team. • Step 2: Department/Faculty Heads facilitate gathering and sharing of good practice. • Step 3: Relevant parties ensure achievable inclusive practice is signposted within Learning and Teaching handbook.

12. 12 Steps: 4 and 5 • Step 4: Learning and Teaching Strategy reviewed to explicitly refer to inclusive practice principles. Staff Development Head commits to provision of contextual exemplars and guidance. • Step 5: Heads of IT, Learning Technology and Disability Support ensure free and Open Source technologies are made widely available, and the use of memory sticks is encouraged.

13. 12 Steps: 6 to 8 • Step 6: Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy adjusted to facilitate and support the use of specialist technologies. • Step 7: D/PVC ensures Procurement and Estates Managers fulfil legislative duty to involve disabled users. • Step 8: D/PVC facilitates management collaboration to overcome technology territoriality.

14. 12 Steps: 9 and 10 • Step 9: Inclusive practice action team ensures Equality Scheme works practically and is not just statement of intent. • Step 10: Inclusive practice action team embeds inclusive practice into HR, administration, information management and procurement functions.

15. 12 Steps: 11 and 12 • Step 11: Senior management review of funding to ensure inclusion through mainstream improvements. • Step 12: Inclusive practice action team acknowledge the ongoing nature of the process. • Full paper, briefing and FE version all available from www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/12steps

16. Everyone could be using these: • Audacity: Audio recorder (Portable version available; Good tutorials on Youtube and Videojug) • Screentoaster.com: Screen capture (web-based tool); similar to Camstudio (install or portable) • Dspeech: Automated audio of text; Portable version available; voices not great but picks up others from PC • Readthewords.com: Automated audio of text; much better voices (some ! E.g. Charles, Nina) • Robobraille.com: Send a Word document off to britspeech@robobraille.com, get an MP3 back!

17. Access Apps • See www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/accessapps • You can choose full package for a 2 GB memory stick or smaller ‘Lite’ version for 128 MB • Provides via a single menu over 50 tools that run from memory stick – so will run on any PC • Now part of larger EduApps suite • = (Access Apps + Learn Apps + Teach Apps)

18. Xerte: accessible learning objects Xerte: free web-based tool for creating learning objects with a high level of built-in accessibility JISC Techdis ‘sandpit’ available to ‘play’ in www.techdisplayxerte.info (beware monthly clearout) Xerte Fridays (www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/xertefriday) free online open access monthly workshops Long term goal is for each institution to host their own version of Xerte Online Toolkits on their own servers, enabling all staff (students?) to utilise it. We can assist with advocacy to IT heads.

19. Web2.0 Tools • Twitter – instant feedback and comment without disrupting flow of seminar or workshop; information to students quickly • Text wall – rent for e.g. £20 a year or as one-off e.g. www.xlearn.co.uk among many others • Ipadio – instant podcasts from your mobile – free! • Web2Access for evaluating accessibility of Web2.0

20. QR Codes • Generate a QR code freely on the web eg. http://qrcode.kaywa.com - print and stick anywhere • Download and install free QR reading software to your phone • www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-software/ • Two example uses: National Star College and Heriot-Watt University

21. Travel text is read out by a text to speech application running on the phone

22. HEAT2 mLearning Case Study – Heriot-Watt University • Alasdair Thin – used mobile phone to stream context specific audio information to students with visual impairment • Used camera phone QR codes to push text files to students’ mobiles, used TextAloud to convert this to audio. Moved on to using QR codes to access web url to download audio.

23. Creating an accessibility/usability testing facility for students • Students learning software design, web design, e-learning design are taught accessibility principles but have little chance to evaluate other than using automated tools • Facility gives them chance to obtain first hand user feedback • Students were very animated during session and referred to facility as an ‘eye opener’ • Assessment suggests this year’s cohort have a much deeper understanding of usability

24. Supplementing Learning and Teaching Through Mentoring Avatars • Avatars available 24/7 at times when human staff unavailable • Trialled with groups of volunteers – due for wider rollout this coming term • May be of particular benefit to students with Asperger’s • Further work needed to integrate more fully with existing systems

25. What’s it worth? Equivalent assessment opportunities • Began by offering alternate means of assessment to disabled students eg video or audio recordings in place of written work • Raised issues of equivalence – how much footage equates to a 3000-word essay? • Produced an ‘equivalence’ table of over 40 assessment types – extended project outcomes now available.

26. Using mobile devices and microblogging to analyse student use of learning spaces Two groups of students (UG and PG) used the iPod touches for a period of 4 weeks each. Asked to microblog about where they were and what they were doing, to increase understanding of student use of learning spaces.

27. Current HEAT4 projects include: • Using gaming software to improve decision-making and consensus-building skills • Using video conferencing to improve student interaction with radiography patients • Researching e-book usage by students with SpLD • Enhancing collaboration between student services and IT through loan of small digital aids • Supporting music outreach for blind people • Reflective learning video repository for Deaf people