Authoring Accessible and Inclusive Learning Materials for Diverse Learners

Cursory: As an eLearning content creator, it's essential to prioritize the creation of accessible and inclusive content that caters to the diverse needs of your entire organization. Let's explore how you can craft content that reaches every learner.

Creating Content that is Accessible and Inclusive: A Guide

Accessibility is no longer a passing fad; it has become a prominent consideration for organizations actively seeking eLearning content authoring tools that prioritize accessibility features. This shift is rooted in the recognition that accessible content inherently embodies inclusivity, ensuring that everyone, irrespective of their abilities or challenges, can fully participate. What's the point of creating educational materials, such as an eLearning course or a user-friendly knowledge base, if they aren't accessible to every member of your organization? Accessible content transcends mere utility to provide a genuinely valuable and essential experience while enhancing performance for all.

Developing learning materials can be incredibly confusing, especially for authors who struggle to distinguish what constitutes accessible content. This challenge becomes even more complex when the content needs to not only be accessible but also inclusive. Although these concepts may seem alike, they actually hold distinct characteristics.

Many people will inquire, 'What sets them apart? Why is it of significance? How can we ascertain that our content creation is on the right track?' This leads us to a more profound query: how do we pinpoint the precise definition of accessible educational content?

What Does Accessible Learning Content Entail?

Accessible learning content encompasses materials intentionally created to offer equitable usability for individuals with diverse disabilities and varying access requirements. It involves facilitating everyone's ability to perceive, comprehend, navigate, interact, and contribute without hindrance. This is achieved through consistent adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards and the implementation of automated accessibility scans on your website to identify new technical, content, and mobile accessibility issues. These guidelines ensure that content is free from barriers and aligns with legal obligations, especially for public institutions. Furthermore, it is increasingly recognized as a best practice for any organization striving to embrace principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

How can I produce inclusive educational materials? Many organizations refer to the WCAG standards as a roadmap for creating accessible content, striving to meet the Level A and AA standards in Version 2.1, which are considered the fundamental levels of compliance. A few companies go the extra mile by attempting to conform to the AAA standards, although the W3C acknowledges that achieving Level AAA criteria may not be feasible for all types of content.

The multitude of standards can pose a challenge for organizations and professionals when it comes to embracing accessibility. This article will shed light on addressing the accessibility needs of individuals with varying vision, hearing, motor, and cognitive requirements in the realm of digital access.

Ensure that the text color contrast adheres to the recommended ratios of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, while also ensuring that graphics and interactive elements provide a contrast of 3:1 with their background.

For pre-recorded videos with audio, incorporate captions that not only synchronize with the on-screen actions but also comprehensively describe sound effects, identify speakers, and convey emotions. These captions should be precise and properly punctuated.

Design interactions that are compatible with keyboards and assistive technologies, or offer accessible alternatives and tools for activities that involve drag-and-drop actions.

Additionally, manage dynamic content to avoid causing distractions for individuals with cognitive needs. While this guideline primarily pertains to auto-playing content lasting longer than five seconds, it's advisable to consider its applicability to all dynamic elements. It's important to note that adhering to these WCAG guidelines is just one step towards creating inclusive content, as it doesn't guarantee complete inclusivity.

What Does Inclusive Learning Content Entail? While accessibility is a crucial aspect of learning, it represents just one facet of inclusive education. Inclusive learning, however, goes beyond accessibility by embracing diversity, fostering active participation, and catering to a wide range of learning preferences and needs.

Susi Miller, an expert in eLearning accessibility and the Founder and Director of eLaHub Limited, defines inclusive learning as "an educational approach that offers a warm, engaging, and enjoyable experience for all. It is a form of learning where no one experiences exclusion or a lesser-quality educational journey than anyone else." The creation of inclusive learning content ensures that individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of demographics, sexual orientation, or any distinguishing factors, can actively participate and benefit.

How Can I Develop Learning Content that Fosters Inclusivity?

Although not mandated by WCAG standards, adhering to these suggestions for creating inclusive eLearning content ensures a fair and equitable learning environment for individuals with disabilities.

Furnish an Accessibility Statement for Your Educational Materials

Incorporate an accessibility statement along with contact information, as it is legally required in some cases and underscores your commitment to addressing diverse accessibility requirements.

Opt for Inclusive Language

Opt for inclusive language, like using "select" instead of "click" and "enter" in place of "type."

Minimize Capitalization

According to the Gov.uk, employing all-capital letters increases reading difficulty by 13–18% for learners, and it poses a particular challenge for individuals with dyslexia.

Employ Inclusive Resources Embrace the use of resources that exemplify diversity, equality, and inclusivity. Ensure that the imagery chosen genuinely represents these values, rather than treating them as mere checkboxes. Recognize that creating accessible and inclusive content has the potential to benefit a broad spectrum of individuals, including those with visual impairments, hearing loss, or limited mobility, rather than solely relying on the stereotypical image of a person in a wheelchair.

Upon exploring the distinctions between inclusive and accessible learning content and why they matter, the key insight is that both types of content are inherently vital. It's imperative that all learning materials are crafted with both accessibility and inclusivity in mind.

The Advantages of Accessible Learning Materials:

• The Moral Argument: Enhances an organization's standing by demonstrating social responsibility.

• The Legal Argument: Averts legal complications and safeguards reputation by adhering to accessibility standards.

• The Economic Argument: Companies that comply with accessibility requirements reap financial rewards.

• The DE&I Argument: Validates a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• The Talent Argument: Offers an attractive means of attracting and retaining prospective employees.

What steps can an instructional designer take to enhance their skills in creating accessible and inclusive content? Encourage a learner-centric approach, question existing practices, and drive towards innovation.

Why does the creation of inclusive and accessible learning materials result in enhanced learning experiences?

1. Addresses the Full Spectrum of Accessibility Needs

Inclusive learning content encompasses the needs of individuals with various limitations in vision, hearing, cognition, and motor skills in educational or professional settings.

Ensuring Learning Content's Relevance for the Future With an aging workforce, it becomes crucial to develop learning materials that can adapt to evolving requirements. By creating accessible content now, we guarantee its availability when the need arises.

2.Ensuring Learning Content's Relevance for the Future

With an aging workforce, it becomes crucial to develop learning materials that can adapt to evolving requirements. By creating accessible content now, we guarantee its availability when the need arises.

3. Addresses Unique Cases, Contexts, and Needs

Creating inclusive educational materials can cater to specific situations like migraines, visual impairments, and cognitive challenges. Moreover, video transcripts offer an alternative avenue for learning, catering to individual preferences.

4. Addresses Common eLearning Challenges Through Inclusive Content Creation

Creating eLearning content that is accessible and inclusive can effectively resolve frequently encountered issues in eLearning, including:

• Complex and overly intricate language usage

• Content transitions that cause confusion or disorientation

• Challenging and intricate content navigation

• Slides featuring narrated audio.

How an LMS Supports Authors in Creating Accessible Content ?

At dominKnow | ONE, we consistently introduce tools to assist our clients in accomplishing their accessibility goals.

While authoring content in dominKnow | ONE, any media element lacking accessibility features is immediately flagged. This includes instances such as aural and visual files without transcripts or graphics missing alternative text. dominKnow was a pioneer in introducing the Accessibility tab. This tab allows you to easily add alternative text to images for screen readers and manage whether the element should be included in the tab order for screen readers or keyboards. The Accessibility tab also offers valuable guidance for working with specific types of elements, providing insights into how screen readers interact with the information provided.

Learn how to configure your text elements to enhance their compatibility with screen readers using the Accessibility tab.

Cessation: Assistance empowers designers to create content that prioritizes accessibility and inclusivity in all forms. Shifting this mindset benefits all learners, irrespective of their obstacles and hurdles, ensuring that everyone can succeed. Crafting content that is accessible and inclusive is not only a moral imperative but also a wise long-term strategy. By authoring content that serves as a lasting foundation, it fosters a deeper sense of comprehension, empathy, and cohesion within your organization.

I'd like to extend my appreciation to Susi Miller for her invaluable insights and contributions to this article.