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Accessibility Regulations Compliance Guest post Policy & strategy What works

Learning, teaching and capacity building for accessibility – messages from TechShare Pro

Geane Fontinele, a Research Fellow on the Teaching Accessibility in the Digital Skill Set (TADSS) research project at the University of Southampton, reports on education-focused sessions from AbilityNet’s TechShare Pro conference. Current industry perspectives on education and training The recent TechShare Pro 2023 in London brought a strong sense of responsibility and enthusiasm towards building […]

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Uncategorized

Technology did make all the difference

One of the best things about my job has been promoting transformation. I have enjoyed helping people, organisations and systems change their expectations in response to emerging technology.  I started my career in Accessibility and Inclusion, by accident, more than 20 years ago, because there was little support for the increasing number of diverse adults […]

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Researching assistive technology Smart homes What works

What makes assistive technology work in organisations?

We often look at assistive technology through the lens of individual users’ needs but are we overlooking all the organisational factors that need to be in place to ensure success? Julie Eshleman, a PhD Candidate at University of Stirling, has been investigating what works when implementing assistive technology in care settings. Following an overview of […]

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Accessibility Regulations Compliance Policy & strategy Power outage

Staying connected to support student wellbeing

Power outages, planned closures and concerns about the rising cost-of-living will impact some students more than others. Listening to students who are disabled, or have long term health conditions, will help you to create a strategy that supports the wellbeing of everyone. Communication is key Ensuring information is accessible will make it easier for everyone […]

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Augmented reality Researching assistive technology Virtual reality

How can we make immersive AR and VR experiences more accessible for disabled people?

As immersive technologies gain traction in further and higher education, Chris Creed looks at why it’s so important to consider accessibility of these environments at this emergent stage. Learn more from Chris at TechAbility in Birmingham on 16th November 2022. About Me I am a Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at Birmingham City University (BCU) where […]

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assistive technology Get involved Researching assistive technology

How can we make speech recognition technology work for everyone, including those with the most significant speech impairments?

In our new blog series looking at researching assistive technology, Geena Vabulas (a popular contributor to Assistive Technology Network events) explains why she’s focused on working in a user-centred way to ensure everyone can harness the power of speech recognition. Interested in being a participant in this important project? Find details at the end of […]

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Accessibility Regulations Compliance Alternative formats

How to maintain accessibility and wellbeing practices when staff are stretched

With the expectation that staff absence and self-isolation will continue for the next few weeks, it can be challenging to sustain the momentum of accessibility projects and training. With staff stretched to capacity covering shortages and supporting their students, how can we ensure the work on accessibility and digital inclusion doesn’t get relegated to the […]

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Guest post Productivity/assistive technology

Windows 11: accessibility features get an upgrade

This month we are grateful to our guest Ros Walker, Digital Accessibility Adviser at the University of St Andrews, and member of the Assistive technology network (ATN) steering group. The ATN is a practitioner led community supported by Jisc and TechAbility. In this article, Ros highlights key areas that may be of particular support to […]

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Audio Description Guest post video accessibility

How can we make audio description sustainable?

This year’s assistive technology network (ATN) event looked at sustainable approaches in a time of transformation. ATN steering group member Peter Scorey from the University of Chester ran a popular session on audio description – one of the more complex areas of media accessibility. Peter talks us through his own investigations into what audio description […]

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Accessibility Regulations Compliance Mobile Apps

Mobile apps and accessibility regulations: which apps are affected?

On 23rd June 2021, mobile apps will come within scope of the Public sector bodies websites and mobile applications accessibility regulations 2018. The regulations have been rolled out in stages and this date represents the final deadline. The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) monitors the implementation of accessibility regulations. Formerly, the team was part […]