Ina joint effort to increase the accessibility of online learning resources, a new collaborative consultation has begun. The institutions involved, including Bartiméus, Royal Visio, Robert Coppes, INVOLV (formerly PGOSupport) and Procademy, are working together to make meaningful improvements. The goal of this consultation is to take concrete steps toward an inclusive learning environment that is accessible to all, regardless of digital ability or visual impairment. Procademy is happy to translate the insights from this consultation to its own platform, so that we too contribute to an optimal learning experience for all users.
The consultation was created because of the growing need for accessible online learning resources for people who are digitally less proficient. Despite existing efforts, challenges remain in creating a fully inclusive learning environment.
By collaborating with institutions that have expertise in the field of visual impairment, such as Bartiméus and Koninklijke Visio, Procademy gains valuable insights. This consultation thus provides a platform for sharing experiences and best practices, and enables the participating organizations to jointly work on solutions that can significantly improve the accessibility and usability of online learning environments in the Netherlands.
And sometimes this is extremely practical and specific. For example, the session discussed how to address confusing terminology in the learning environment. Terms such as "Competence" and "My Learning Activities" did not always appear to be clear to users. Reducing terminology to B1 language level, for example, is then a useful exercise to further increase accessibility.
It also emerges, for example, that interactive videos, which require users to click in certain places, can be difficult for this target group with visual impairments. Therefore, it makes sense to pass on these findings to the developers of the training, along, of course, with a concrete proposal to incorporate alternative navigation methods, such as keyboard navigation or spoken instructions.
The collaborative consultation examines various aspects of accessibility, thus paying special attention to the challenges experienced by people with visual impairments.
Therefore, in addition to the examples given earlier, the group is also looking at, for example, providing a clear notification prior to a learning module that is not fully accessible. That way, users know what to expect and any frustrations can be better avoided.
In addition, these sessions will also focus on the accessibility of learning materials from other parties not (yet) affiliated with the collaboration, such as Noordhoff and GoodHabitz. By collecting and sharing concrete feedback with these providers, the goal of this collaboration is to make these platforms more accessible as well.
Again, the feedback is not only aimed at people with visual impairments: for example, one concrete observation is that the lack of so-called skiplinks (being able to fast forward to the next section) sometimes forces students to take in large amounts of already known (or irrelevant!) material. This could be more convenient.
For Procademy , the consultation means a direct opportunity to improve the platform based on valuable feedback from the organizations and experience experts involved. Concrete actions resulting from the consultation can be translated directly into improvements in the software. No surprise then: we too are working on clear terminology in our learning environment. Everything to avoid confusion and simplify navigation. Not only does crystal clear naming help with this, the design of meaningful flexible workflows can also contribute to a more accessible LMS.
Another important achievement is the development of a unified search function within our platform. This search function will not only search the entire learning environment, but also present the search results in a way that is recognizable. In which it is easy to navigate, similar to Google's user-friendly design. This will ensure that users will soon be able to find the information they need quickly and efficiently, without getting lost in a plethora of data.
Herman van Procademy once again explains why Procademy is happy to join the consultation: "We would like to be an involved partner, who also engages with the end user. The reason is very simple: we want you as a participant, trainer, manager and administrator to be happy with our platform. Direct contact just helps with that."
He concludes, "In the ideal world, everyone, regardless of limitations or digital skills, could make full use of online learning resources. Anyone who recognizes that goal and would like to contribute is welcome to join the working group." You can do so by sending an email to support@procademy.nl. The working group meets twice a year.
