Skills for Access

External Resources

Here we provide a collection of useful resources related to the topics of multimedia, learning and disability. These include links to useful web sites of organisations and individuals involved in the area, related research projects, and also information on books that have been found by the Skills for Access team to be highly relevant.

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Category Listing

• Organisations and Individuals

  Links to the web sites of organisations and individuals involved in web accessibility, disability, multimedia and learning. Most of these sites have very useful resources referred to elsewhere in the Skills for Access site.

  AbilityNet

  AbilityNet is a UK charity supporting uptake of information and communication technology by disabled people. They provide a range of information relating to accessibility and technology, including advice on accessible web content authoring, information about assistive techologies and accesibility features of operating systems and software.

  Accessify.com

  Accessify is a UK-based site dedicated to web accessiblity, and includes regular news updates from the field. It is related to Accessify Forum - www.accessifyforum.com - an extremely lively and popular on-line discussion forum where all things web accessibility-related are discussed.

  CEN-ISSS

  CEN-ISSS is the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) Information Society Standardisation System (ISSS). The work being done by CEN-ISSS includes the 'E-learning' and 'Design for All' activity strands, both of which have seen research and developments of specifications relevant to the field of accessible e-learning multimedia.

  CETIS

  CETIS is the UK's Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Standards, and acts as a focus for information and activity relating to learning technology and standards. CETIS has a very active Accessibility Special Interest Group.

  Digital Media Access Group

  The Digital Media Access Group (DMAG), partners in the SKills For Access project, is a consultancy and research group specialising in accessiblity and usability of digital media, from web sites to software to e-health systems to interactive digital television. DMAG is based within the Division of Applied Computing at the University of Dundee, a world-leading centre in research into information and communication systems for disabled and elderly people.

  DO-IT, University of Washington

  The Seattle, US-based DO-IT project (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology) has been involved in a number of initiatives to support disabled people in education and employment. They provide a range of information on many topics, including accessible web design and accessible distance learning.

  IMS Global Learning Consortium

  The Consortium's aim is to support the development and use of learning technology across the world, through the development of technology specifications. There is a very active group looking at the role of learner accessibility requirements and how learnning technology can best support accessibility.

  Joe Clark Media Access

  The web site of Joe Clark, leading advocate of accessible web and broadcast media, with a strong focus on multimedia and web typography.

  Learning Development and Media Unit (University of Sheffield)

  The Learning Development and Media Unit (LDMU), partners in the Skills for Access project, provides a range of learning and teaching development activities at the University of Sheffield and offers expertise in e-learning and multimedia resource production.

  National Centre for Accessible Media

  The National Centre for Accessible Media (NCAM), based in Boston, US, has a wide variety of tutorials, resources and examples on aspects of accessible online multimedia authoring. NCAM also developed the free MAGpie captioning and audio description tool.

  Techdis

  The national advisory service to the UK Higher and Further Education Community on disability, technology and learning.

  W3C Web Accessibility Initiative

  The Web Accessibility Initiative of the W3C produces guidelines promoting accessible web content design, and provides a variety of other resources supporting accessible design.

  WebAIM

  The Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM) project, based at Utah State University, has developed a rich set of resources on web accessibility, including a number of tutorials on multimedia and accessibility.

• Projects

  Research projects and initiatives in fields related to e-learning, accessibility and multimedia. We include here links to other projects supporting inclusion in education for disabled students, some of which were funded under the same initiative as Skills for Access.

  Creating Accessible Resources for Staff (CARS)

  The CARS Project "will produce high-quality, flexible, user-friendly resources to enable University staff teach and support disabled students effectively".

  DART Project (Loughborough University)

  Focusing on Engineering and the Built Environment, the DART (Disabilities: Academic Resource Tool) Project seeks to enhance the experience of disabled students by offering academics a means to assess their current level of provision as it affects disabled students, and by offering clear advice and guidance on how to provide a more accessible curriculum. The project provides access to Case Studies detailing the experiences of disabled students in Higher Education, and a web-based auditing and diagnostic tool offering a data-base that provides bespoke advice and guidance on making the curriculum more accessible.

  DEMOS Project - Online Materials for Staff Disability Awareness

  This project "developed an online learning package aimed specifically at academic staff and examined the issues faced by disabled students in higher education." It includes a useful and detailed guide to accessible web site design.

  i-Map Project (Tate Gallery)

  i-Map is The Tate's project to enhance the accessibility of visual art to people who have impaired vision. i-Map uses text, animations, audio and tactile diagrams to introduce works by Matisse and Picasso.

  Improving Provision for Disabled Psychology Students (IPDPS)

  "The project aims to facilitate an improved learning experience for disabled students studying psychology at university, by providing evidence-based information and guidance to staff and potential and current students." It includes a selection of case studies of students with specific impairments recounting their experiences.

  SMIRK (University of Hertfordshire)

  SMIRK is "a tool for capturing, producing and then sending audio-visual presentations over the internet". It uses Synchronised Multimedia Integration Language and supports the addition of accessibility features such as captions.

  Strategies for the Creation of Inclusive Programmes of Study (SCIPS)

  SCIPS "offers strategies for promoting inclusive teaching, learning and assessment within Higher Education programmes of study. It sets out the key subject specific and generic knowledge and skills as defined within Subject Benchmark Statements, identifies potential challenges that students may have with their learning, and suggests strategies for overcoming these that can be built into programmes of study."

  Teachability (University of Strathclyde)

  The Teachability project promotes the creation of an accessible curriculum for disabled students, by providing publications (online and printed versions are available) relating to accessiblity and the learning environment. Topics include creating accessible e-learning, accessible course design and structure, accessible lectures, seminars, placements and field trips, and accessible assessment.

  TILE - The Inclusive Learning Exchange

  This Canadian project is "a revolutionary learning object repository service that responds to the individual needs of the learner. TILE provides the authoring tools, repository architecture, and preference schema needed to support this learner-centric transformation."

  Video Active

  Based at Glasgow Caledonian and Lancaster Universities, Video Active is the successor project to Click and Go Video, and aims to promote the use of streaming video in an educational environment, through running workshops on effective use of video, and commissioning case studies in best practice.

• Useful books

  The Skills for Access team's choice of publications supporting aspects of accessible web, multimedia and e-learning design, including books on related subjects, such as web standards and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Where available, links lead to information about the book written by the author(s), or by the publisher.

  Building Accessible Web Sites (Joe Clark, 2002)

  Joe Clark's book on web accessibility, giving a thorough, if individual, account on accessible web design strategies. Reflecting the author's particular area of expertise, it is particularly strong in its coverage of graphics, multimedia and accessibility.

  Constructing Accessible Web Sites (Jim Thatcher et al, 2002)

  A multi-author book, providing a useful grounding in most aspects of web accessibility, including in-depth information on assistive technologies and their behaviour, accessible HTML techniques, and a very useful review of web authoring tools and their support for accessibility. Other than a chapter on Macromedia Flash accessibility, it has less material on multimedia accessibilty than other similar publications.

  Designing Web Usability (Jakob Nielsen, 1999)

  Nielsen is most associated with the subject of usability, and in this heavily illustrated book, discusses the key concepts of usability applied to web design, with a chapter devoted to accessibility.

  Designing with Web Standards (Jeffrey Zeldman 2003)

  Zeldman's important book on web standards covers the arguments for following standards, and the story behind why web standards have thus far been poorly supported both by designers and by browser and web technology developers. He discusses the key standards that support effective web design, and provides details on browser support, and techniques for avoiding browser-specific problems.

  Eric Meyer on CSS (2002)

  Eric Meyer is one of the leading authorities on Cascading Style Sheets, and in this book he uses a number of different projects to introduce and demonstrate in practice the key concepts of web design with CSS. A follow up book, More Eric Meyer on CSS (2004), is also now available.

  Maximum Accessibility (John Slatin and Sharron Rush, 2002)

  Slatin and Rush's book on web accessibility takes a holistic approach to accessible design, and particularly benefits from Slatin's personal experiences as a blind web user. The section on multimedia is strong, underlining multimedia's importance to the authors in enhancing accessibility of informaton and experiences.

  Reusing Online Resources (ed. Allison Littlejohn, 2003)

  This book concentrates on strategies and challenges for effective development of e-learning resurces that can be reused for different teaching purposes, in different circumstances and environments. It includes a chapter dedicated to developing and reusing optimally accessible e-learning resources.

  Teach Yourself CSS in 24 Hours (Kynn Bartlett, 2002)

  This book gives an effective introduction to the concepts and techniques of Cascading Style Sheets and, from an accessibility perspective, the author has used his expertise in the area to show how CSS can be used to enhance the accessibility of web content.

  Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities (Mike Paciello, 2000)

  The first book to specifically and solely deal with the subject of web accessibility for disabled people, Paciello's book still provides important background reading, even if there have been significant technical and social advances in the field since it was published in 2000. (NB This link leads to Amazon UK's page for the book).