the MSOR group met in Bath yesterday with presentations on using VLEs for blind maths students
Martyn from the OU presented and has put his material on his blog http://martyncooper.wordpress.com/ - could be a useful contact?
Dr John Conway
Principal Lecturer / Chair Research
Director, MSc International Rural Development
Disability Officer
Royal Agricultural College
Cirencester, Glos. GL7 6JS
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From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Simon Jarvis [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 22 February 2011 13:10
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Virtual learning environments and screenreading software
Thanks for to everyone for their very helpful (and speedy) responses to this.
I have just come back from a meeting with the team responsible for implementing the new VLE here and the choice will be between the Blackboard version 9.1, version 2 of Moodle and version 2.7 of Sakai. Any feedback about any of the above systems would be much appreciated.
We are lucky enough to have two proficient users of screenreading software in our team, (one who is blind and therefore reliant on SuperNova) but I was at pains to point out that we do not have the resources to road test an entire system, let alone three. I am considering paying some of our VI students to take an in depth look, but that is hardly ideal as they will be busy enough with their own work, particularly at this time of year.
As Simon Morris has pointed out, we are very keen to be involved in training academic staff once the new system is up an running to ensure that what goes on the system is usable.
Many thanks again...
Simon
Alastair Veal wrote:
We were using Blackboard too, and whilst the makers of it claim it is accessible by visually impaired users, it is very difficult to use for screenreader users. Basically it is possible for screenreaders to use Blackboard but to do anything you have work through a complex series of steps that are not obvious. I am a (sighted) JAWS user so I wrote a guide for our students but because Blackboard is customised for each University what I wrote is not necessarily applicable to other Universities.
The best advice I could give would be to get a screenreader user involved at every stage of development in both choice of VLE and choice of customisation options but I dont know how practical that is. If you are not a JAWS user an RNIB course might be a good idea.
Thanks
Alastair
Assistive Technology Adviser
Brunel Unversity
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Simon Jarvis
Sent: 22 February 2011 10:43
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Virtual learning environments and screenreading software
Hello everyone,
I am trying to collate some feedback from our students who rely on screenreading software, particularly blind and visually impaired students, as to the limitations of our current virtual learning environment, (most academic departments here use Blackboard). Queen Mary is about to spend mega money on a new VLE and I want to get some assurances that this cohort of students will be able to use it.
Has anyone got any experiences they'd be willing to share as regards students using any form of assistive software being unable to use their institution's virtual learning platforms?
Many thanks...
Simon
--
Simon Jarvis
Head of Disability & Dyslexia Service
Queen Mary University of London
Student and Campus Services
Room FB 2.30, Francis Bancroft
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Tel: 020 7882 2765
Fax: 020 7882 5223
www.scs.qmul.ac.uk<http://www.scs.qmul.ac.uk>
--
Simon Jarvis
Head of Disability & Dyslexia Service
Queen Mary University of London
Student and Campus Services
Room FB 2.30, Francis Bancroft
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Tel: 020 7882 2765
Fax: 020 7882 5223
www.scs.qmul.ac.uk<http://www.scs.qmul.ac.uk>
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