As learners start back after COVID they will be entering a new hybrid teaching environment. Hopefully, much of it will be familiar and well within their experience and expectations, but there will be challenges, particularly for disadvantaged learners. This will be an ongoing process of developing more inclusive teaching environments that promise everyone the same […]
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 […]
Online collaboration offers learners new opportunities. Alistair McNaught explores the inclusion pros and cons. There are many pros… ‘Collaborative’ is not new; but it’s better now Collaborative approaches have been around since the first hunter-gatherer apprentices worked together to net birds on the marshy shores of Doggerland. But digital technologies have brought new opportunities. Learners […]
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. […]
Disability statistics are stark: Government statistics show Disabled people are around 3 times as likely not to hold any qualifications compared to non-disabled people. They are half as likely to hold a degree-level qualification. 19.2% of working age disabled people do not hold any formal qualification. Compare that with 6.5% of working age non-disabled people. […]
Lecture capture is a subject that often generates healthy discussion (and often debate) across academic communities and over the last few years we’ve seen the emergence of a range of differing approaches. Some institutions have embedded lecture capture into policy in order to adopt a more universal way of embedding anticipatory arrangements as part of […]
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 […]
Jisc is leading the field in learner analytics. It’s never been easier to track and record every detail of a student’s journey, their successes and challenges, their interest and engagement. In this blog post Julia Taylor argues that we must not forget that the aim of learner analytics is to continually improve the student experience – for everyone. […]