Breaking Barriers for Learners: Introduction to Accessibility in Learning
- Shannon Webb
- Dec 5, 2023
- 5 min read
Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes
Word count: 1094
Summary: Accessibility in learning is important because it allows everyone to participate in an equitable experience. While designing accessible learning is not always easy, it is a simple choice. This is the first in a series of articles about why and how to implement accessibility in your learning design.
Key Takeaways
Accessibility is important for everyone
Accessible learning starts at the beginning of the design process
It requires thought, knowledge, and effort, but it isn’t hard
There are legal implications if learning isn’t accessible
Accessibility, diversity, and inclusion have thankfully become topics that are more widely discussed in the learning and development community (L&D) in recent years. These aren’t just buzzwords (though some organizations throw them around like they are). Most teachers, professors, designers, and developers of learning experiences have heard of the accessibility requirements and want to be inclusive in their materials, but it’s a huge topic and can be really daunting. Often learning experiences are not accessible because designers and developers feel overwhelmed. This blog series, Designing Inclusive Learning Environments, will introduce you to some of the key components of accessibility, where to find information, and how to add accessibility to your learning experiences.
Why bother?
Accessible learning experiences ensure all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, have equal access to and benefit from educational resources. You may be familiar with the cartoon that shows people of various heights trying to watch a baseball game from behind a fence, trying to depict equality versus equity. On the equality side, all the people receive the same sized box to stand on. Two of the taller individuals are now able to see over the fence, but the third person is still left out. On the equity side, the tallest person has no box to stand on, the second tallest person has one box to stand on, and the shortest person has two boxes to stand on. This results in everyone being able to see over the fence.
This cartoon helps to explain the importance of equity and tries to illustrate the differences between equality and equity. In learning, equity is the goal. We want all learners to have equitable experiences and the opportunity to learn.
If a non-sighted person came across this article and was unable to see the above cartoon and I failed to describe the image and provide alt text, there would be inequitable access to this article and information. It is important that we present information in ways that all individuals can access it. This may mean captions and descriptions for videos, alternative text for images, long descriptions for charts and graphs, etc. There are also many adaptive technologies people can use to help them access information in a way that works for them. By implementing these accessible design elements and technologies, we can ensure all learners can utilize our learning experiences in an equitable way.
Legal Considerations
If all the equity and inclusive ideas don’t convince you that accessibility in learning is paramount to learners’ success, check out the legal requirements in your geographic area. In 2010, the Government of Canada signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), committing to increasing the rights and access for those with disabilities (Government of Canada, 2023). Since then, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) has been developed to address various areas, such as employment, the built environment, information and communication technologies, communications, the design and delivery of programs and services, the procurement of goods, services, and facilities, and transportation. Learning design falls under the design and delivery of programs and services, but reaches all the other categories as well.
Beyond the ACA, which applies to federal organizations, some provinces have their own accessibility standards. Links for each of the different legislation are included below.
Ontario: Accessibility for Ontarions with Disabilities Act (AODA)
Manitoba: Accessibility for Manitobans Act
Nova Scotia: An Act Respecting Accessibility in Nova Scotia
British Columbia: currently in development: Accessible B.C. Act
Knowing the requirements for your location and industry is important, as many of these legislation come with hefty fines should they not be met. As an example in Ontario, AODA fines are recorded as between $200-$15,000 for non-compliance.
If you are designing and developing online learning experiences, then you will need to be aware of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines apply to any online experience (website, eLearning, etc.). Their goal is to provide “a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally” (WCAG, 2023). WCAG have been evolving over the years and, at the time of this writing, are releasing version 3.
Is it hard?
Especially if you are new to accessibility or learning design, this may all sound really hard and the penalties a bit scary. And I won’t lie and say it’s easy… but it is simple. It is simple to just do it - just design accessible learning materials. But, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Knowing what, when, and how to add accessibility into learning can be challenging and requires some expertise. There are technology, time, and budget constraints, awareness, knowledge, and training to consider, and maybe a lack of collaboration or peer review opportunities. Each of these can make accessible learning design difficult.
Accessible learning design needs to start at the beginning of the design process. It is much more challenging to return to existing material and try to review it and implement accessibility standards. Where as if you start thinking about it as you are getting the learning experience design started, you can embed it in an easier way. Creating accessible learning from the beginning also helps with considering visual design options, language choices, and overall a better user experience.
This article series is going to cover some of the basic accessibility considerations for learning design. Things you can learn a little about and try to implement into your existing or new learning experience one step at a time. The series will provide tips, professional development opportunities, demonstrations, and helpful resources as you either get started or continue your accessibility learning.
Conclusion
In embracing accessibility, we pave the way for a future where education is a right - where everyone can access the same information. In the grand tapestry of education, these principles are not mere embellishments; they are essential threads weaving together a fabric that is resilient and adaptive. Commitment to accessibility and inclusion is not just a legal or institutional duty - it is a collective responsibility to provide equitable access to education.
This series is going to look at a variety of accessibility categories as they relate to learning:
Language, text, and fonts
Images, alt text, long descriptions
Colours and contrast
Captions, subtitles, and transcripts
Accessibility audits
I hope you stick around to learn more about accessibility in learning and how you can implement some simple actions to including more of your learners!
In the meantime, if you have any questions about accessible learning or have a learning experience you need reviewed for accessibility, please feel free to reach out to The Learning Designers! We are passionate about transforming learning to be accessible for all learners!
References
Government of Canada. (2023, October 26). Government of Canada. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/accessible-canada.html
W3C. (2023). WCAG 2 Overview. W3.org https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/
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