We’ve talked before about the inclusivity benefits that are hidden in the tools and technologies that we use every day and are often overlooked. This blog by Margaret McKay and Rohan Slaughter describe ways of (i) taking advantage of the Ease of Access features in Windows (ii) how Roaming Profiles set up by the IT […]
Category: Student support
A recent question on the Assistive-technology Jisc mail list (https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=ASSISTIVE-TECHNOLOGY) sparked some interesting debate. Alistair McNaught thought the debate was worthwhile enough to summarise as a blog post. In the process he discovered some weird and wonderful things about redeeming inaccessible PDFs… How are PDFs good for accessibility? If a PDF document has been created […]
Julia Taylor talks about the importance of recording and monitoring data on all learners achievement. Not all learners will be using an online e-portfolio to record their achievement. Some learners particularly those studying on courses with personalised outcomes will want to find ways to record what they have learned and they may wish to use a images, video and even […]
Julia Taylor explains why Technology has a lot to offer learners with high needs. Accessible online delivery can improve access to resources at anytime, from anywhere. It’s easier to find and organise resources and interactivity encourages collaboration and engagement. Digital diversity means people with different learning strengths can benefit from resources created in different kinds of media. […]
We’ve already blogged on supporting reading and using built in browser tools but a question we often get is “What’s the difference between screen reading and text readers (or ‘text to speech’ technology)? Often the terms are used interchangeably but, in reality, they are two different kinds of technologies used in different ways. Margaret McKay helps […]
It’s easy to think that new publishing formats like EPUB3 have made accessibility issues a thing of the past. James Scholes – an expert screen reader user and ebook tester – suggests there’s still a long way to go… It’s no surprise that the eBook revolution has been a boon to many visually impaired people. For […]
Top tips for inclusive practice Technology gives a wide range of opportunities to teach more inclusively: digital content can be accessed and personalised in ways that suit learning needs and preferences. It also allows new pedagogical opportunities for working creatively and collaboratively with richer assessment and feedback opportunities. A few key tips can help maximise the […]
University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day took place on 3rd March 2016. Nurturing our psycho-social as well as our physical health is crucial to our human experience. It impacts on all aspects of our life, including our educational and vocational experience as learners and as employees. In 2013 the NUS carried out a Mental Distress […]
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Writing effectively
Organising information For many students the initial problem is how to organise thoughts into a coherent flow. Mind mapping tools can help structure information effectively in a graphical way. It works well for many learners who struggle to organise content effectively. Mindmapping allows the separation of content from structure so a learner can capture ideas as […]