Caroline Mathiasen is a hearing impaired graduate student in the UK, in this blog she talks to Margaret McKay about her experience using assistive technologies to support her during her education. About me I lost part of my hearing when I was a young baby. Around sixty per cent of my hearing, to be more […]
Author: Jisc accessibility and inclusion
On 23rd of September 2018 a new EU Directive came into force in the UK. The new regulations mean that public sector websites and mobile apps will need to be accessible to all users, especially those with disabilities. The regulations will remain part of UK law regardless of our future relationship with the EU. So new […]
In this blog Margaret McKay explores the role of the British Sign Language National Plan 2017 – 2023 and the part that it can play in further legitimising British Sign Language (BSL) as an indigenous language in Scotland and on a wider basis across the UK. Through a language lens, not a disability lens The […]
I tweeted last week about the tiny percentage of publishers who provide accessibility information about their products. Since then, preparing for Thursday’s course on e-books and disabled readers – what to look for in accessibility statements, I started studying the accessibility statements that do exist. It has been a salutary experience. At the risk of […]
The negative effects of technology on young peoples mental health are often written about. Education has become more technology focused, more remote and less personal. But is technology always bad news? Julia Taylor focuses on some of the ways that technology could support better student mental health. Why should we worry? Universities and colleges have a […]
Universities and colleges have a legal obligation to provide resources in accessible formats to print disabled students. However, many of the e-book platforms they subscribe to have limited accessibility or are tied-in to scarcely accessible third-party tools like Adobe Digital Editions. So it is not unusual to need to get the raw file from the publisher […]
Tech Lounge is a new social learning project created by the digital team at Gloucestershire College. Husna Ahmed a Digital learning Coach at Gloucestershire College talks about their ‘relaxed’ approach to supporting inclusive teaching skills. We invite staff across the college from different departments to attend a relaxed conversational session to discuss digital tools that […]
So what is a digital classroom? And how does it work? More particularly – how might it work for my disabled students? Alistair McNaught explores some of the issues and oppportunities. Introduction Traditional, didactic, methods of teaching can create significant barriers for some students. Where teaching resources are mainly a monoculture of text and learning activities […]
Sarah George is a Subject Librarian at the University of Bradford. She was made a National Teaching Fellow in 2017 – and her accessibility remit contributed significantly to that recognition. Here she gives a personal take on e-book accessibility and accessibility activism via research and evidence. I am an academic librarian at the University of Bradford, covering the subjects […]
Invitation to a New Year Resolution… As the last days of 2017 draw in, Alistair McNaught looks at plans for the 2018 e-book accessibility audit. This will be simpler than the 2016 version but – we believe – more effective. In this season of peace and goodwill to all, we’re looking for an audit that […]