Week 8 Activity 2.1 - Alternative Resource in Context

Write a list for yourself of the resources that are used by students in your context.

What media or formats are the resources in?

Printed materials
Online text and images
PDF Documents
Microsoft Office documents
Flash Multimedia
Video

Which students would need an alternative? Which alternatives would be an ideal solution, given unlimited human and technical resources?

Visually impaired students may need large format printed materials. Online text and images should be accessible if they have been produced according to guidelines. Recently created PDF documents should be accessible, where older ones may need to be reformatted. Flash multimedia may need to be accompanied by text or audio descriptions if they have not been included in the file itself. Interactive flash activities may be inaccessible to mobility impaired students. Transcripts or captioning of video should be included for hearing impaired students.

Which alternatives are practical in the context of the learning outcomes?

All of the alternatives mentioned above can realistically be achieved within the institution.

Are the resources readily available for your students at the time they need them?

Recently created resources will be accessible although reformatting or redevelopment of older resources may be required as and when they are needed.

Who in your organisation is responsible for providing alternative formats and any descriptions required?

teaching staff should be producing accessible materials for their students. They can approach the IT Support department (in particular the Web/ELearning Developer or Video/Multimedia Developer for assistance.

Is anyone responsible for checking the quality of alternative format materials?

Senior management are ultimately responsible for the quality of materials produced by their subject departments, assisted and advised by the Web/ELearning Developer within the IT Support Department.

Are there any copyright issues?

Copyright issues may exist when reproducing or making adjustments to third party content.