ACCESSIBILITY

To begin with let me start by outlining what I understand accessibility to be. I think when the term is first mentioned, people tend to immediately think of making material accessible to those with a visual or hearing impairment, but I think it encompasses much more than that. Accessibility entails making information and materials accessible to all our learners regardless of ability. There are probably three main areas to consider.

Firstly, a teacher has to consider the level of language a learner has. Of course, as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language this is something that is second nature to me now. When I look at online material I am quickly able to assess the level of English language proficiency a learner would need to be able to work with the material effectively. That’s not to say that learners with a low level of English can’t work with some web pages with quite complex language. In some circumstances they can; it may just be a case of grading the task accordingly. With regards to native speaker learners, teachers will also need to consider where the learners are in their language development, as some sites will obviously not be suitable for younger learners as they won’t yet have the language resources to deal with them, and even some adults may struggle with some web content as it may be written in a formal or academic style, which might be challenging for them.

 The second aspect to consider when thinking about content is whether or not it is appropriate from a cultural point of view. I work with learners from all over the world from different cultural backgrounds with varying views of what is and what is not morally acceptable. This, of course, needs to be taken into account when thinking about what web content to use, but as this has to be taken into account when deciding whichever type of material to be used, be it from a course book or an article from a magazine or a newspaper, it just means applying the same common sense approach when choosing online material as one would apply when choosing non-web based material. It is also important to remember when working with podcasts or videos delivered by native English speakers or even if you are asking learners to view web pages written by native English speakers that the type of language used may make them inaccessible. What I mean by that is they will not be delivered or written in International English, which is much more intelligible to non-native speakers, rather they might contain idiomatic or colloquial language, which can be difficult for non-native speakers to understand.

The final aspect of content to think about is the amount of information learners are faced with. As we all know, the web is a massive resource containing so much information that it can be daunting. Because of this, teachers should try and help learners through the maze where possible by leading them to appropriate online resources through the use of tools such as web quests and play lists.

The second aspect of accessibility to consider is format. The most basic point we need to think about is how we are displaying information on a screen. For example, it is widely known that for learners with dyslexia it is preferable not to have black writing on a white background, and having a pastel blue background is better, but I think for the comfort of all learners we need to think about the colour of screens and how the lighting in a classroom might affect whether students can view a screen comfortably. Teachers also need to think about the format of information shown on screen. Too much information or a cluttered screen can be distracting and could actually stop learners from processing the information effectively.

The third point is about speed. Learners, in the same way as teachers, want everything to be quick, so teachers should try and cut down the steps involved in any set task. This could be done by cutting down the steps involved in getting to the desired web pages, by ensuring links are working, by compressing any uploaded images, or by making it easy for students to find information through organising it logically in a wiki or a box account, for example.

Finally, I want to mention something about access. In this country we often take it for granted that learners have access to technology, with the use of smart phones in particular becoming commonplace. However, it must not be forgotten that in much of the world many learners do not have access to basic computers let alone smart phones. If teaching outside of the UK, it goes with saying that a teacher must always consider their teaching context before deciding what approach to using technology in the classroom they are going to take, but I believe this is an issue here in the UK too. It cannot be assumed that all learners have access to technology at home. I think unless the teacher knows for sure that all the learners have access to the technology required to complete the set tasks personally or at home, or that the technology required to complete the task is freely available within the teaching environment, teachers should be very careful about setting tasks involving its use.