A journey to towards digital accessiblity case study

Accessibility legislation has been a cornerstone of my work at Central Saint Martins (CSM), deeply influencing my approach and initiatives. The Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, along with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), have provided a framework that guides my practice in ensuring digital inclusivity. 

My journey into the world of digital accessibility began during my MA in Digital Media Design. A pivotal moment came when I discovered a podcast that illuminated the profound impact technology can have on disabled individuals. This experience sparked my commitment to embedding accessibility into all aspects of my work, recognising its potential to transform lives. 

I am also influenced by my positionality, as I have moderate dyslexic traits. Technology features such as spell check and text-to-speech tools are vital to me. 

At UAL, a creative arts institution, we have a slightly higher percentage of students declaring disabilities, particularly neurodiversity. I believe we have not only a legal obligation to make our content accessible but a moral obligation too. Doing so also has much broader benefits. 

Task

One of the main challenges we face is that staff have never been trained to create accessible documents for students, leading to ingrained habits and ways of working that need to be updated. I work toward empowering academic teams to make content on Moodle accessible. This involves not just the platform itself, but also how we populate and use it.

Action

In response to these regulations, I have developed and delivered regular staff development sessions focused on creating accessible documents using Word, PowerPoint, and PDF. These sessions have been crucial in raising awareness and building competency across the institution. 

Understanding the constraints on staff time, I also created asynchronous resources, including an accessibility guide on my blog and practical guidelines for making Moodle content more accessible. These resources support staff in integrating accessibility into their work at their own pace. 

Moreover, I was integral in the initiation of working groups: the CSM Accessibility Action Group and the UAL Accessibility Best Practice Group. These groups aim to foster a collaborative approach to accessibility, sharing best practices and driving continuous improvement across the university. 

Results

These initiatives have significantly elevated the conversation around accessibility at UAL. Engagement has expanded beyond individual departments to include entire teams, such as the UAL Awarding Body, the CSM Quality Team, and the BA Fine Art team. This widespread involvement highlights a growing recognition of the importance of accessibility across the institution. 

Reflections

I am proud of our achievements in raising awareness of digital accessibility so far, but it often feels like we are only scratching the surface. Especially at those time we organise a university-wide training sessions, yet only two or three people attend. It feels like we are moving a mountain. However, there are rewarding moments when we can engage the entire team, which feels like a significant victory.

For some time now, I have felt the need to gain the attention of senior management at the college. With the support and buy-in from senior managers and program directors, we would be able to mandate training for larger groups of staff and potentially reach hourly-paid academics as well.

One strategy I am working on as part of the CSM Accessibility Action Group is to produce a report for presentation at the College Academic Committee. Unfortunately, due to other work priorities, progress on the report has stalled. I believe it is time to resume work on it to address the challenges we face in reaching staff for digital accessibility training.

I would also like to share my thoughts on teaching students digital accessibility. Recently, I was in a meeting with a BA Graphic Communication Design student who needed assistance sharing an audio file she had created for her critical studies report. One of the submission requirements was to produce a designed digital or printed copy of the report, and this student went above and beyond by creating an audio file to make her essay more accessible. She had said she also wanted to add alt-text to her images, but hadnt had time to investigate how to do that. Her efforts made me reflect on the importance of educating students about digital accessibility.

My next step in this area is to attend the Southampton International Symposium on Teaching Accessibility. This event comes at a perfect time for me, and I am eager to learn how other institutions and accessibility professionals are tackling this important issue.

At CSM, I have two options for reaching our students. The first option is to organise stand-alone sessions for students that are separate from their courses. This would be the easiest approach to implement. The second option is to collaborate with the GCD Stage 2 leader to explore the possibility of embedding a session within the course curriculum. While this second option would allow us to reach more students, it would be more challenging to arrange but could serve as a valuable pilot program. I think ultimatelly it would be good to try both approaches.