Inclusivity by design in Virtual Learning Environments Dan Clark University Learning Technologist | University of Kent www.kent.ac.uk/elearning

Accessible Information Adviser Introductions (i) Accessible Information Adviser Ben Watson Part of the Student Support & Wellbeing team Working alongside all content creators Advising on best practice Providing training and guidance Locating and obtaining ‘alternate formats’ Various University-level committees relating to inclusivity, accessibility and EDI

Introductions (ii) University Learning Technologist Dan Clark Part of the E-Learning team Working alongside academic colleagues Supporting the use of our core learning technologies (particularly the VLE) Providing training and guidance Assessing needs and guiding development Various University-level committees relating to learning and teaching and digital strategy

This session Accessibility and inclusivity at the University of Kent The legal backdrop to our work The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations (2018) Challenges and opportunities Further Higher Education Digital Accessibility Working Group (FHEDAWG) Kent Digital Accessibility Working Group (KDAWG) Our work in practice Web auditing “Good Moodle Guide” Blackboard Ally & VLE audit Future plans and recommendations

Inclusivity at Kent: A Background Building-in inclusivity and accessibility by design Inclusive Learning Plans (ILPs) & individual adjustments Part of the programme and module approval process JISC supported Opportunity, Productivity, Engagement, Reducing barriers, Achievement (OPERA) project Development of the Kent Inclusive Practices (KIPs) scheme www.kent.ac.uk/studentsupport/accessibility/inclusive-practice.html Regular auditing of resources, content and processes Training, workshops and CPD events

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations (2018) Regulations require us to ensure that web content and mobile applications comply with accessibility standards, including Virtual Learning Environments. www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps Key dates: New websites must meet standards by 23 September 2019 Existing websites must meet standards by 23 September 2020

Challenges and Opportunities Accessible Virtual Learning Environments report [Policy Connect, 2018] www.policyconnect.org.uk/appgat/research/accessible-vles-making-most-new-regulations Notable recommendations for FHEIs Develop multi-departmental working groups Training and awareness raising Develop accessibility statements Undertake accessibility audits of their VLE

Challenges and Opportunities Accessible Virtual Learning Environments report [Policy Connect, 2018] www.policyconnect.org.uk/appgat/research/accessible-vles-making-most-new-regulations Notable recommendations for FHEIs Develop multi-departmental working groups Training and awareness raising Develop accessibility statements Undertake accessibility audits of their VLE

Challenges and Opportunities Accessible Virtual Learning Environments report [Policy Connect, 2018] www.policyconnect.org.uk/appgat/research/accessible-vles-making-most-new-regulations Notable recommendations for FHEIs Develop multi-departmental working groups Training and awareness raising Develop accessibility statements Undertake accessibility audits of their VLE

Further Higher Education Digital Accessibility Working Group (FHEDAWG) Sector-wide group Ben Watson – University of Kent (Co-chair) Robert McLaren – Policy Connect (Co-chair) Alistair McNaught – JISC (Co-chair) Abi James – University of Southampton/AbilityNet (Co-chair) How best to respond to the challenges Sharing practice, knowledge and resources “Our aim is to develop shared resources to help Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) providers to adopt inclusive digital practices by meeting the requirements of the regulations and improve the experience of all stakeholders including staff and students.”

Kent Digital Accessibility Working Group (KDAWG) Mirroring the work of FHEDAWG on a local scale Co-chaired / no one single owner Representation from Information Services, Procurement, Human Resources, Corporate Communications, Student Support & Wellbeing, E-Learning Partnership with Kent County Council

Challenges and Opportunities Accessible Virtual Learning Environments report [Policy Connect, 2018] www.policyconnect.org.uk/appgat/research/accessible-vles-making-most-new-regulations Notable recommendations for FHEIs Develop multi-departmental working groups Training and awareness raising Develop accessibility statements Undertake accessibility audits of their VLE

Training and awareness raising Embedding digital accessibility training into other training programmes Moodle Web editors and writing for the web Bespoke Digital Accessibility e-learning module Pursuing/exploring ‘mandatory’ training Engaging with Professional Services departments (i.e. those normally left out of such discussions)

Challenges and Opportunities Accessible Virtual Learning Environments report [Policy Connect, 2018] www.policyconnect.org.uk/appgat/research/accessible-vles-making-most-new-regulations Notable recommendations for FHEIs Develop multi-departmental working groups Training and awareness raising Develop accessibility statements Undertake accessibility audits of their VLE

Accessibility statements We used to W3C statement generator in the first instance www.w3.org/WAI/planning/statements/generator/#create A positive and proactive statement A resource rather than a purely legal document Questions surrounding non-compliance and known issues Do you need an accessibility statement for every system/platform? Plain English in addition to a technical statement

Challenges and Opportunities Accessible Virtual Learning Environments report [Policy Connect, 2018] www.policyconnect.org.uk/appgat/research/accessible-vles-making-most-new-regulations Notable recommendations for FHEIs Develop multi-departmental working groups Training and awareness raising Develop accessibility statements Undertake accessibility audits of their VLE

Challenges and Opportunities Accessible Virtual Learning Environments report [Policy Connect, 2018] www.policyconnect.org.uk/appgat/research/accessible-vles-making-most-new-regulations Notable recommendations for FHEIs Develop multi-departmental working groups Training and awareness raising Develop accessibility statements Undertake accessibility audits of their VLE (in addition to our web estate)

Auditing (the web) New website template with WCAG 2.1AA standards ‘baked in’ Site Editor platform Mandatory alternative text descriptions and navigational heading structures, etc. Limited editorial control Designed by our Web Development team alongside the Student Support and Wellbeing team Tested by visually impaired students Kent IT Clinic web auditing template KITC students commissioned to audit content on each site migration to the new web template Rolling process of migrating sites to the new template Part of a wider rationalisation project

Auditing Moodle (i) Where do we begin…? Over 3,000 modules Approximately 800 teachers/module conveners and a further 200 people with additional editorial control Twenty-two academic Schools A variety of Kent-specific developments within Moodle Six learning technologists and Ben

Auditing Moodle (ii) Analysed student feedback Most issues related to either module structure or user-generated content Sampled Moodle modules in a range of Schools Clear navigational structure Meaningful naming conventions Consistency across programmes Introduced a Moodle-specific good practice guide The “Good Moodle Guide” Introduced a basic structural template based on the GMG, applied to all new modules Engaged with JISC ”Accessibility Snapshot Report” Valuable outside perspective

What did we discover/uncover? The vast majority of accessibility-related issues related to user-generated content (i.e. scanned PDFs, lack of navigational structures in long documents, hand-written notes, unclear naming conventions etc.) Accessibility “health” varied from module-to-module and School-to-School It wasn’t just students in receipt of an ILP having difficulty Some academic staff felt that inclusive practice was burdensome and time-consuming

Blackboard Ally (i) A plugin that integrates with our Moodle environment Uses machine learning algorithms to automatically provide alternative formats for course content, giving students immediate access to more accessible alternatives, such as; semantic HTML Audio ePub electronic Braille tagged PDF Requires no manual intervention from teachers or administrators

Blackboard Ally (ii) Provides guidance to teachers about how to improve the quality of their content for everyone Delivers top-down analytics on the accessibility “health” of modules, entire Schools and or our entire Moodle estate.

To Bb (Ally) or not to Bb (Ally)…? Cost No Moodle integrations in the UK A move against Kent’s Open Source culture But…. No comparable products on the market Our small pilot group were impressed An opportunity to help shape the product

Workflow for students

Workflow for teachers

The pilot so far Initial 12-month pilot (commenced in September 2018) Rolled out to six Schools in term 1 and remaining Schools in term 2 Feedback being gathered from students & staff Interviews with academic staff Focus groups with students Module evaluation survey

Content Data (i)

Content Data (ii)

Consumption Data Alternative formats by type

Initial findings Average accessibility score is 69% The average for all BB partners is 35% Different disciplines, different issues Targeted guidance and training Highlighting ‘unusual’ practice CLA scans and copyright An issue to be addressed by publishers? Concerns around policing and targets But…it’s no panacea

So, what next? Regular reporting to KDAWG Broad suite of areas to look at (auditing, procurement, third party tools, training, etc) Web template migration project & auditing Further analysis of Blackboard Ally data Targeted training and guidance Student-led VLE audits Joint student/teacher focus-groups Templates / “baking in” inclusivity Refinement of our accessibility statements

Conclusions No single approach, strategy or tool will address the issue Take a proactive and positive approach The aim should be to mainstream inclusivity so that it feels natural Getting senior management support is key Utilise the expertise from around your institution

Thanks for listening! Any questions? www.kent.ac.uk/elearning www.kent.ac.uk/studentsupport/accessibility/inclusive-practice.html digitalaccessibilityregulations@jiscmail.ac.uk D.R.Clark@kent.ac.uk B.Watson@kent.ac.uk