Strategies for Crafting Inclusive Learning Materials for a Varied Audience
Easy-peasy e-learning for everyone!
Creating training content that caters to different learners, including those with disabilities, is a breeze with inclusive design! This means serving up ed tech with a side of diversity and equal opportunity for all, catering to a variety of learning styles and preferences.
For educational organizations, this translates into whipping up training materials that lend a helping hand to diverse learning needs while championing inclusivity, learner satisfaction, and compliance. So let's dive in and explore tricks for making accessible training content that diverse learners of all abilities can navigate and fully enjoy!
What's the Scoop on Accessibility?
Ever wonder what accessibility means in the training content world? The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international non-profit org specializing in web standards, defines it as designing sites, content, and tools in a way that makes them universally reachable for people with different disabilities.
Remember, accessibility isn't just about making provisions for disabilities; it's about embracing diversity and fostering inclusivity for learners with varying learning types and preferences. Web accessibility extends to all forms of disabilities limiting web access, including visual, auditory, motor, cognitive, spatial, and more. Legal bodies like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) also require training and educational content to be accessible to all individuals[1].
Dishing Up Accessible Training Content for the Masses
Put down that boring text, and let's serve up some top-notch inclusive learning strategies to make your training and educational content more accessible for a wide audience[2]:
Alternative Text (Alt Text)
What's the point of having pictures if our visually impaired friends can't take a peek? Offer descriptive alt text for imagery that conveys its purpose and content, enabling visually impaired learners to easily grasp its context.
Use Descriptive Links
No more "click here" nonsense. Instead, link text should clearly indicate the resource it's being linked to. Not only does this help assistive technologies, but it also aids curious learners who crave to explore your shared resources[3].
Text-to-speech (TTS)
Text-to-speech software isn't just for your computer's amusing intercom. It can help learners with dyslexia, visual impairments, and other mobility issues grasp information easily. Use it to make learning interesting and engaging for everyone[4].
Responsive Design
Stay one step ahead by ensuring your content displays perfectly on various screen sizes and devices. Going the responsive route is surely a win for learners who dodge between multiple devices to access content[5].
Caption Videos
Video content dominates the e-learning landscape, and it's essential to caption the content for learners with hearing disabilities to access the information.
Screen Readers
Screen readers are powerful tools that allow diverse learners to access content via auditory means. Our website excels in this area, offering a unique "read aloud" feature[6].
Select a Font Style and Structure That Are Accessible
Maximize accessibility by getting the visual components in check. Components like font type, text size, and arrangement can influence readability and impact learners with varying abilities. * Space out the letters and words to make reading a breeze * Stick with a limited number of font variations to ease cognitive load on learners * Align text leftwards for clear and consistent presentation * Ditch justified text due to uneven spacing often being tough on readers with dyslexia and vision impairments. * Use bold text instead of italics or underlines to emphasize text
Interactive Elements
Making interactive elements functional for users with disabilities is crucial. This includes visual and motor impairments. Boost usability by ensuring buttons and links are easily clickable on various devices.
The Takeaway
Crafting accessible, welcoming, and inclusive learning content empowers diverse learners to connect, collaborate, and excel. Likewise, accessible e-learning platforms ensure all learners reap the same benefits from the same content or courses. Following e-learning accessibility standards elevates the learning experience for everyone.
Capitalize on robust digital publishing with our site. It's easy for content producers to include accessibility features like gamification and interaction in their materials. With our site's adherence to WCAG and ADA guidelines [1], your engaging, accessible training materials are just a stone's throw away.
Reach out to us today and learn more about our accessible website.
Additional Reading:
- Education Publishers
- Associations & Societies
- Trade Publishers
- Training Companies
- Content Aggregators
[1] Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
[2] Accessible e-Learning Design: Principles, Practices, and Strategies for Instructional Designers. Sheryl Burgstahler. (2017)
[3] Designing for DeafBlind Users: A Guide to Accessible Technology. J. L. Ciera Adamski (2018)
[4] Captions vs. Transcriptions: Guidelines and Best Practices. Lynne Bernabe, Steven J. Jacobsen, Michael L. Cohen, & Barry A. M. Gordon. (2019).
[5] Web Accessibility Tutorials https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/
[6] Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Getting Started https://www.w3.org/WAI/gettingstarted/
In an inclusive learning environment, leveraging alternative text for images, descriptive links, and text-to-speech technologies can catapult personal growth and learning opportunities for everyone, irrespective of their diverse learning needs and preferences. Embracing responsive design, captioning videos, and screen readers further fosters a more accessible and welcoming educational-and-self-development platform, elevating the learning experience for all.
