What is web accessibility in learning?

Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web.” (W3C, 2005).

The W3C includes the following types of disabilities in its consideration of designing for accessibility: Visual disability,

• Hearing Impairment
• Physical (motor) Disability
• Speech Disability
• Cognitive and Neurological Disability (including learning disability and seizure disorders, for example), multiple disabilities, and aging-related conditions (W3C, 2005).

The Development efforts for accessible Learning Products should focus on these low-incidence disabilities.

The four accessibility features described below comprise the foundation of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 AA. Ideally, a learning product design should include these features to provide a complete experience for students with vision impairments.

1. Users can navigate the content using only the keyboard. Users of mobile devices can navigate using the touch screen in screen-reader-mode.
2. The content and structure can be understood by a person using a screen reader like NVDA, JAWS, iOS Voiceover, Android Talkback and Chromevox on Chromebooks.
3. Text equivalents for all non-text media. This includes captions for video, audio transcripts, and alternative descriptions for images, animations, and videos.
4. All visual presentations follow the WCAG 2.0 AA visual guidelines.

Here are some examples of accessible content created by Magic Software:

Color Contrast

http://magicwebs.magicsw.com/seg/DLOSamples/Mathematics2/index.html

Drag and Drop, Access Keys

https://dev.opera.com/articles/accessible-drag-and-drop/example.html

Access Keys, Closed Captioning

http://accessiblewebsitedesignexamples.com/accessible-gallery.php#content

Video Captioning

http://magicwebs.magicsw.com/seg/accessibilitysamples/videos/5_6_1_am1/5_6_1_am1.html

Accessibility Solutions

It is now a requirement for digital education products to be accessible or WCAG compliant. The online learning world is focussing on learning opportunities for all, and focussing on students with disabilities. Technology has opened many doors in all spheres of life, and education should make maximum use of its capacity to teach as effectively as possible.

Individuals with physical disabilities need a customized type of environment where they can gather knowledge at their own speed. They need a congenial environment where they can interact or engage with the educator in a comfortable way and find out how they are doing. And this is the scenario where accessibility solutions come as a great boon to them. They offer them the right platform to pursue their academic courses and enhance their knowledge.
Ideally, a Learning Product design should include these features to provide a complete experience for students with vision impairments.

1. Users can navigate the content using only the keyboard. Users of mobile devices can navigate using the touch screen in screen-reader-mode.
2. The content and structure can be understood by a person using a screen reader like NVDA, JAWS, iOS Voiceover, Android Talkback and Chromevox on Chromebooks.
3. Text equivalents for all non-text media. This includes captions for video, audio transcripts, and alternative descriptions for images, animations, and videos.
4. All visual presentations follow the WCAG 2.0 AA visual guidelines.

Magic Software employs the best authors, instructional designers, and UX designers in the world and many of them are familiar with the principles of Universal Design for Learning. These authors and designers may decide to apply UDL when creating content and products, or they may decide to go in another direction.

For more information : http://www.magicsw.com

How to make your eLearning content interactive?

Interactive Content Development encapsulates of multiple learning methods. While thinking of interactive content, the first thing that comes to one’s mind is that the content should itself be self-explanatory and interact with the learner. Often, many E-Learning courses fall short of the expectations of interactive content and fail to convey the right messaging. In such cases, subject experts are needed while teaching anything, especially while teaching STEM.

How can you make your eLearning courses interactive?

Courses can be made interactive by adding games, diagrams, animations, and another kind of digital learning objects. Using virtual reality is also an instrumental way of teaching the student with the help of real-time examples. Interactive courses need to talk to the learner and explain the curriculum in the most effective manner.

Assessments

Interactive content should consist of courses that the learner can take after studying about a certain subject. There should be multiple explanations should the student get stuck at a particular part. The learner should feel like he/she is reading a story. These elements will enhance learners’ engagement and keep them coming back for more information and knowledge. Integrating quizzes and assessments at the end of the module or lesson will permit the eLearning content creators to access the effectiveness of the eLearning course with the help analytics. It then helps them determine the progress of the learner and the pain of points of the learner.

Interactive content should have a flavor of games, quizzes, videos, images, and other elements. Analytics and learning go hand in hand, as without knowing the progress of the learner, one can never determine the actual length and breadth of learning.

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Mobile distribution platforms open new business avenues for publishers

Content should now be available across devices. Most of the students learn on multiple devices, and it’s important for them to have their content online. Publishers are slowly moving away from print and going into digital formats of education- eBooks being the most common one. EBooks can be viewed in multiple formats and are accessible anytime and anywhere.

Digital publishing platforms enable publishers to convert a simple PDF into an ePUB3. These eBooks consist of interactive content, assessments, annotations, and other interactivities to encourage the most efficient form of learning. The formats that are used today are mostly ePUB3 and HTML5. These formats are usually constant and therefore have no problem downloading on any device.

While interactive eBooks still stay at the forefront, educational publishers are taking help of mobile distribution platforms to develop, manage, and sell their content. The mobile distribution platforms are stuffed with a lot of features to help publishers create digital copy of their content with the necessary licenses. Using these platforms, publishers deliver their content to schools on devices in the mandated environments. One of the most important things for a publisher is analytics of the content. Publishers want to know what part of their content is being used effectively and what part isn’t.

In order to develop ideal mobile learning solutions, it is important to have the best technology partner. UI/UX is extremely important and need to be kept in mind at all times while creating digital content. The learner should be able to access the content easily, and navigate without any trouble.

For more info visit: http://www.magicsw.com/