Skills for Access

Author

Claire Allam, Producer, University of Sheffield

Key multimedia technology

CD-ROM; Audio; Video; Macromedia Director

Specific Issues/Key Terms

Multimedia production for users with limited or no knowledge of computers; Multimedia production for non-readers; using multimedia to enhance text; users with English as a second language.

Introduction

We were commissioned to produce a series of multimedia CD-ROMs to provide the data for a research project on the usefulness of e-learning as a method of providing information to Somali Women on health issues and health care provision.

Project Aim

The Somali Health Programmes is aimed at a target audience which is not, in general, very familiar with computers. In many cases, the women taking part can speak little or no English, nor can they read or write. The majority speak Somali, fewer read or write it. Thus, the accessibility issues were challenging.

Technology Used

The package is delivered on a laptop using Director and ways had to be found to make the program easy to use, and to provide a robust and straightforward way of navigating. It was decided to use only the keyboard for any interactions between the user and the program. The keys used in navigation and for interactions were colour-coded (coloured stickers were fixed to the top of the keys on the keyboard), and the whole laptop was securely 'locked' so that no other interactions could take place accidentally. To move to the previous or next screen the user was required to press the red or green key (see Example 1).

Example 1: A screenshot showing a quiz from the dental care module

The second screenshot shows a page from the Dental Care module where the student was asked to select the healthy food items from the pictures using the appropriate colour on the keyboard, this plays the appropriate audio feedback.

Example 2: A screenshot showing another interactive quiz from the dental care module

In the next example an animation was used to illustrate vaccination against Tuberculosis. Again an audio track was provided to guide the student through the animation.

Example 3: A screenshot from the tuberculosis module

In this final screenshot an interactive quiz with audio feedback was used again to highlight ways of preventing depression.

Example 4: A screenshot from the mental health module

Accessibility Design Objectives

Given the target user group, the project encountered accessibility challenges that may not appear to be caused by a conventional perception of 'disability', but nevetheless were very similar in nature to more recognisable barriers. For instance, the package was audio-led to cater for the fact that many women could not read or write in Somali or English. We produced both English and Somali versions. Audio prompts guide the user through every stage. The screens have a simple, bold layout with colourful visual clues, and all actions take place using a number of colour coded keys. Simple quizzes test user comprehension along the way.

Project success

Current informal feedback from the research project indicates that the women have reported no problems using the package, and that they find it useful, informative and enjoyable. Wear and tear on the paper stickers on the keyboards indicate that the women are demonstrating it to their children and friends, so the package is being well-used!

Reflections

This was quite a challenging project in many respects, and was time-intensive. Working on a product that is made available in two languages significantly increases the workload, particularly if one (Somali) is not nearly as concise as English. The implication for the video-clips for instance is that we had to have a short English language version one and a much longer Somali language one. Audio-led learning packages are also quite frustrating to work on because the audio clip needs to finish playing quite often before the next prompt can be accessed, and that is very time-consuming when testing a package.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is thinking yourself into the mindset of the group of people you are trying to include. In this case, it meant having to make the navigation as obvious as possible, and include visual and aural prompts. Another factor that proved difficult was that we were required to produce information that was at a much simpler level than we usually do. We had to be very aware of 'information overload' and write in very simple and unambiguous language. We also had to pay particular attention to cultural practices and protocol - it's not much use providing a purple key if there is no word for purple in Somali!