The hidden world of everyday accessibility work. Now, I know that title might sound like the opener for a new sci-fi series, but stay with me. Here’s what’s been absorbing my thoughts recently. What do we do when the digital systems and resources in our organisations don’t quite work for our students or staff? Most […]
Excellence in Education The UK’s International Education Strategy (published January 2026) is an ambitious statement by the government to place the UK’s education system, from early years to schools, colleges and higher education, at the heart of the UK’s global engagement. It identifies education as one of the UK’s most important global assets. The aim […]
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 […]
Our last accessibility drop-in clinic featured a few of our Accessibility Community’s Leadership Team introducing themselves and talking a little bit about their areas of practice. You can view the recording and access the transcript on the accessibility drop-in clinic page (March 2021). Following on from this, Miranda Melcher, shares more of her thoughts and […]
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 […]
As the start of the academic year is just around the corner we’ve pulled together some quick reminders and quick wins for you to consider when creating accessible resources, information and/or learning material. How do you make sure your Word documents are accessible? I use inbuilt heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2 etc.) to structure […]
The students leave. The library staff have a chance to breathe, reflect and plan ahead. August is an excellent month to take the opportunity to say ‘Well done’ to those who have made a difference in supporting disabled students. Using a simple online voting tool Alistair McNaught asked the LIS-Accessibility Jiscmail list who they wanted […]
Learning spaces come in all shapes and sizes, just like the people who use them! In the same way that accessible physical spaces are key principles of inclusive design; careful and insightful planning of the digital environment present the same opportunities to anticipate need, to widen access and to address the diversity of prospective users. […]
What if your digital strategy could… reduce the cost of supporting learner achievement provide a framework for addressing new requirements and responsibilities – without increasing the risk of exclusion identify opportunities for technology to extend and improve engagement and encourage innovative teaching practice at the same time The accessibility and inclusion subject specialists help Jisc members find practical, […]
The number of disabled students – or students with additional support needs – is rising. There may be many reasons, but the best reason is that we are becoming more aware of the issues. But ‘more aware’ of the problems doesn’t mean more aware of the answers. In this blog, Alistair McNaught gives some advice […]