My role as Web and ELearning Devloper sits inside the category of "Technical Team" so I also took a look at the Training and Support for Technical Teams section of the TechDis Website. In terms of appying policy my main role is to ensure that the online content that I produce meets accessibility standards (e.g. the school website or multimedia learning materials). I also identify issues with online content that has been created outside of my department i.e. by teaching staff and recommend solutions. If an issue appears to be a common occurence I may make suggestions to senior management regarding communication of potential problems to staff and/or produce training materials to address the problem.
From the TechDis Senior Management Briefing I identified the following quotes which I felt were pertinent the IT Support Department where my role is based.
"... the conflicts were created not by any unwillingness to serve the needs of disabled learners but by territoriality; isolated decision making without a holistic overview steered and supported by senior management."
"Compromises are inevitable but it is important to invite all the stakeholders to contribute to the final decision. In a Learning Resource Centre (LRC), where to place the computers with assistive technology will have implications for the LRC staff, the network manager, IT Technicians, learners support staff and the learners themselves. How the appropriate communication takes place would be unique to every organisation but the following points would be important:
- The communication is timely.
- The communication is genuine, not simply a rubber-stamping exercise.
- The communication is well documented.
- The communication is communicated – to illustrate how accessibility issues have been tackled and encouraging others to get involved in the process. "
No comments:
Post a Comment