Blackboard

Digitally inclusive materials meet accessibility needs through their design and the mode of delivery. 

Using the university’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) you can produce digitally accessible course content.

• Use course blogs, discussion forums and journals functions to create new ways for students to engage with course content;
• Produce course material using a variety of media, for example podcasts and videos;
• Use library-supported e-books within reading lists where possible to increase access for students

Blackboard Ally

Ally is a built-in accessibility tool for Blackboard. It is able to do 3 things: 

1.  Give any document uploaded to Blackboard an accessibility score;  
2. Provide guidance on how to improve the accessibility of documents uploaded to Blackboard;
   
3. Enable students (and yourself) to download documents in alternatives formats.
   

Panopto

Using the University’s lecture capture tool you can record lectures while you are giving them. You can also use the desktop recorder to make videos or narrated presentations any time that suits you. The software will also allow you to stream yourself live. Using Panopto means that: 

• Students who are unable to access the physical learning space can attend lectures and view lecture material at a different location;
• Students on a blended learning or distance learning courses can attend lectures from wherever they are at whatever time suits them;
• Students can be engaged through the comments and discussion features of Panopto;
• Students who prefer to learn by watching videos can use the lecture recordings to be more effective in their revision; 
• Barriers to participation for disabled students who experience difficulties in lecture scenarios as a result of sensory impairments, specific learning difficulties, memory and processing issues, social and communication difficulties and mental health concerns are removed. 

Office 365 

There are useful guides on how to create accessible documents produced by Microsoft. 

• Make your word documents accessible to people with disabilities;

• Make your presentations accessible to people with disabilities;

On all Office 365 programs you can use the Accessibility Checker to find accessibility issues. 

Sensus Access

SensusAccess provides Inclusion Technology that allows students and staff to automatically convert documents into a range of alternate media including audio books, e-books and digital braille. The service can also be used to convert inaccessible documents such as image-only PDF files, JPG picture and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations into more accessible and less tricky formats.

Tips for achieving digitally accessible resources

• Use best practice guidelines for creating inclusive documents when creating from scratch;
• Identify unsuitable course documents and recreate them, or work with the library to source inclusive alternatives;
• Where possible use readily available resources/online resources for core texts;
• Produce course material using a variety of media;
• Organise layout and appearance of Blackboard modules so that they are consistent across courses;
• Incorporate accessibility into planning.

Helpful links

• Sensus Access training; 
• Microsoft Accessibility information;
• Accessibility in Windows 10;
• JISC: Rich media as assistive technologies;
• JISC: Rich media on your VLE - an accessible policy?.

Learning takes place within a learning space. These learning spaces can include

• Classrooms or lecture theatres on a campus
• The library 
• Meeting or social spaces 
• Blackboard
• Virtual meeting or social spaces
• Online access to books and journals via the internet, online library catalogue and e-books

Blackboard Collaborate

Blackboard has a number of collaboration tools that can allow you to communicate and collaborate with your students online. The in-built Blackboard Collaborate tool can enable you to

• Meet with students or groups of students who are unable to attend meetings or seminars;
• Record those meetings for review by those attending and not attending;
• Provide a secure online meeting space for group work that does not require all students to be in the same place; 
• Bring guest lecturers, specialists, and other professionals into your classroom who students may not otherwise get the opportunity to meet. 

Additionally Blackboard discussion forums and Blackboard blogs can help students to work together online. 

Audience Response Tools

Audience response tools allow students to contribute anonymously and silently, and when used within a learning space can widen student participation. The university’s supported audience response tool is Vevox. 

Using Vevox students can

• ask questions; 
• answer questions; 
• engage in discussions;
• complete quizzes and check learning.

Tips for achieving a digitally inclusive learning space

• Follow the university Mobile Devices in the Classroom policy allowing students to use technology such as laptops, tablets and mobile devices for learning in the classroom;
• Record lectures live, or pre-record material;
• Vary pedagogy to suit the needs of a variety of learners and use technology to support this e.g. using a partially flipped classroom approach;
• Be aware of and engage in the use of technology to create online learning spaces;
• Organise layout and appearance of Blackboard modules so that they meet with the Module Minimum Requirements Policy and are consistent across courses to help students navigate in the digital space. 

Helpful links

• Information on assistive technologies from the Disability Service;
• Information on the accessibility of web browsers;
• Lecture capture using Panopto;
• Using Blackboard Collaborate;
• The University of East Anglia guidance on Inclusive Learning and Teaching. 

Blackboard

Digital tools can increase student access to formative and summative assessment, and to important feedback. 

You can use the functions available within Blackboard to set up assessments in the form of:

• Blogs
• Journals
• Wikis
• File upload submissions (a wide range of file types are supported)

Panopto

Students submit audio and video assignments to the Panopto cloud. 

• Use the comments feature within Panopto to leave voice or written feedback for your students on their work.
• Use Panopto to create talking mark schemes or record general feedback for classes on their assessments.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint can be used to record narrated presentations for formative or summative assessment. Presentations with narrations can be saved as a video file and then uploaded to Panopto. 

Turnitin

You can use the Peer Review feature within Turnitin for formative and summative assessment tasks. 

• Use the peer review function within Turnitin to allow students to provide feedback to each other for formative assessment purposes.
• Use the voice comments feature within Turnitin as well as the written comments area to leave feedback to students on their work.

Tips for achieving digitally inclusive assessment and feedback

• Use Blackboard to keep your module content well organised within folders and only create assessments within the Assessments Folder; 
• Use the comments function within Turnitin to record audio feedback for students, or use Panopto; 
• Diversify assessment methods away from written assignments, for example use narrated video presentations, portfolios, wikis, journals or blogs;
• Build flexibility and equivalencies into assessment, to allow students to submit through a variety of media to meet the same criteria;
• Produce and use a talking mark scheme for formative and peer assessment.

Helpful links

• JISC Inclusive Assessment;
• JISC Making assessments accessible: Considerations and requirements for organisations when designing accessible and inclusive assessments;
• QAA framework on assessment;
• The University of Plymouth 7 Steps to Inclusive Assessment.