The Learning Loop - May 2024

What do ramped entrances, automatic doors, and well-designed learning content all have in common?

Bingo - They enable all their users to interact with the world (real or digital) in an equitable and accessible manner.

My own journey of learning to build accessible learning content has been quite interesting. I first heard of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) in a webinar many years ago and was immediately hooked. Technology was lagging behind, and a lot of features needed to be hard-coded. I remember a specific instance where our client really wanted a drag-and-drop interaction. The interaction made complete sense in the context. The only issue? Drag-and-drop interactions are not accessible to learners who are unable to use a mouse! We were determined to find a way without compromising the learner experience. Eventually, we built an interaction where learners could drag and drop items by tapping specific keys on the keypad (or any other assistive device) instead of using a mouse. It was beautiful…

There are two main lessons about building accessible content that I’d like to share today. Firstly, disabilities come in as many forms as there are humans. They are visible, invisible, and hidden. Our Director of Learning, Ashley Chiasson, elaborates on that beautifully in her blog post.

Secondly, an accessible solution makes life easier not only for people with disabilities but for all other learners too. As I grow older, I have a newfound appreciation for larger font sizes ??. Many people prefer closed captions and transcripts for various reasons, and alt-texts help search functionality in digital platforms. We have passionate supporters of UDL (Universal Design for Learning) on our team, and I am ever-thankful for that.

In our pursuit of training all our team members on accessibility, I came across a lack of materials on building and testing for accessibility written specifically for interactive learning materials, like SCORM modules. This resulted in our eBook & checklist on accessibility, which we share freely on our website. Find it in this newsletter below, and do use it to ensure your SCORM content is accessible.

Finally, accessibility extends to equity in many ways. As our regular readers might know, Artha is deeply committed to this cause. We are proud to support education for less privileged kids in remote and rural areas so the possibility of building a good future becomes accessible to them. You will find a report on that later.

I sincerely hope you’ll find this edition of our newsletter helpful.

You can read the edition here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/may-2024-arthalearning-mvb0c/?trackingId=B03Po2NySb%2Bk3H6XISApCw%3D%3D

I would love to hear your feedback!

Cheers,

Garima