Simple tools and techniques are available that help University of Southampton staff make accessible colour choices when presenting text.
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How can we make accessible text colour choices at the University of Southampton?
What one thing can IT staff do to improve accessibility?
What’s one activity that everyone who works in an information technology related field could do to make a difference to digital accessibility? The answer could be right in front of you as you read this: your keyboard.
Read moreHow can we correct captions and create transcripts at the University of Southampton?
Captions on videos benefit everyone. It’s important that captions are accurate and follow good practice. Learn how to improve captions using University tools.
Read moreHow did we make the University’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) submission more accessible?
The process was a great learning exercise and provided hands-on experience for those involved in the principles of accessible documents.
Read moreGamification in Higher Education
Motivating adult learners in continuous and interactive studying is considered as a crucial part in learning process and in distance learning. Therefore, Gamification helps the academics to turn something otherwise dull to an interesting and fun learning experience, tailored to
Read moreReflection: ATHEN STEM Conference: Starting with Math
Recently, I attended a two-day conference where experts shared their best practices, solutions and techniques, for accessing and creating accessible STEM content in higher education. This conference will inform strategies for creating accessible STEM content. The event started at 05:00
Read moreGood use of external resources and reading lists
One of the categories that has been introduced for the 10th anniversary of our Blackboard and VLE Awards is for ‘Best use of external resources and reading lists’. In this blog post, I’ll explore some of the external resources that you could be making use of as well as discussing electronic reading lists.
Read moreFonts – An introduction to Typography
A short exploration of the science of Typography.
Read moreiSolutions Digital Accessibility Community of Practice: what did we do in 2021 and what was the impact?
The iSolutions Digital Accessibility Community of Practice began in December 2020. It aims to share practices, provide peer support, and raise awareness of digital accessibility within the department. Using results from a survey of community members, this post reviews the past year and looks forward to the year to come.
Read moreAccessibility does not impede agility! Six ways that Digital Accessibility maps to Agile Practices
A common misconception is that Digital Accessibility slows down and impedes IT development process, making them less agile. In this post we cover six aspects we learned in our Agile training course and how they relate to accessibility.
Read moreOverview: three ways PowerPoint’s “Design Ideas” excludes your audience, and how to fix it.
PowerPoint’s Design Ideas feature helps us create attractive slides quickly. Unfortunately, some of its suggestions do not follow accessibility best practice, creating barriers that may exclude members of your audience. In this blog post we explain three issues and how to fix them.
Read moreThree ways PowerPoint’s “Design Ideas” excludes your audience, and how to fix it: Part 1 – Setting text in “all caps”.
Text in all caps can present a barrier to readers with dyslexia. Moreover, it slows down reading speed for all. Design Ideas will often set short bullet points in all caps. Find out how to fix this and more.
Read moreThree ways PowerPoint’s “Design Ideas” excludes your audience, and how to fix it: Part 2 – Centre alignment of longer text.
Centre-aligned text can be difficult to read if it spans more than one line in length. This can be a particular barrier to readers with dyslexia
When presented in this way your presentation appears less professional. Design Ideas often centre aligns text. In this article we explain why it’s important to fix this and how.
Three ways PowerPoint’s “Design Ideas” excludes your audience, and how to fix it: Part 3 – Insufficient colour contrast.
Too little contrast between colours will not only make your presentation disagreeable, it also presents a barrier to many. Design ideas will sometimes suggest designs that do not have sufficient contrast between colours. In this article we explain this in more detail and how to fix it.
Read moreSpring cleaning your Blackboard sites: are you environmentally-friendly and accessible?
A new norm- Yes, it’s a phrase that divides the audience. Some of us are weary of the over used phrases (unprecedented, anyone?). Others are excited at the prospect of real change. In education I don’t think we really want
Read moreHow can I use colour accessibly?
The University of Kent runs a successful series of Digitally Enhanced Education webinars. One of which was on the theme of Technology to Develop Inclusive Learning Experiences. I presented “Making it simple to ensure the use of colour is both
Read moreWhy are online forums useful?
Forums are more essential than you would think and they can help your students to engage with the courses. Forums are very useful and play a key role in the online classroom, helping the students connect with each other, and
Read moreArticulate Rise 360
Earlier this month, I was given access to an Articulate 360 license which included a whole load of goodies developed by Articulate; Storyline 360, Studio 360, Replay 360 and Peek 360, Review 360 and Rise 360. From this bundle, I
Read moreFilming ‘for real’ in the new normal
Today, (14th of July) for the first time in over four months, my colleague Sofy Bazzini and I had a real video shoot, in a real location, with real people and real cameras… and it was… odd! This may sound
Read moreUsing webcams and mobile phones for filming
As the saying goes “The Show must go on” …. And throughout this COVID19 pandemic, this saying very much reflects on the work of our academic staff who are doing a sterling job in ensuring that teaching continues, albeit more
Read moreVideo editing tips
In this blogpost, we share a few basics of video editing and some tips that will help with producing videos in the future.
Read morePadlet for student engagement online
Padlet is a virtual pinboard or online post-it board with a unique URL. The interface is straightforward, with customisable layouts, and backgrounds, plus some nice features to increase student engagement.
Read moreThree ways to create an engaging and effective learning experience
Struggling to capture students’ attention? We live in a world where most, if not all of us, use technology all day every day. No matter what subject you are teaching, it’s probable that written or verbal information alone won’t get
Read moreUsing my phone to capture photos and videos
I bought my Samsung Galaxy S8+ phone last March after reading reviews about its ability to take good quality photos and videos. Since owning it, I’ve not really had a chance to test it for producing videos at a professional
Read moreInteract with your students – via YouTube Live
The Digital Learning team have been involved in developing Open Online Courses, in collaboration with various faculties, for the past four years and have successfully completed approximately twenty courses during this time. They are hosted on the Futurelearn platform (www.futurelearn.com/)
Read moreDigital Learning on location: Dale Field course, Wales
Scene setting Following our attendance on the BIOL1001 Fieldcourse in Spain earlier this year (outputs are still in production), the Digital Learning team was invited to attend the SOES2030 Dale Field Marine Biology Fieldcourse in West Wales. Our mission was primarily to capture
Read moreOculus Here we GO!
One of the best things about my job in the Digital Learning team is that I get to play/test new technology to enhance learning. One new emerging technology is the Oculus Go Virtual Reality headset. In the past we have built
Read moreFive Podcasts for Education, Technology and Learning
I’ve been a fan of podcasting since I downloaded my first few shows almost a decade ago, and over the past few years at the University of Southampton, we’ve promoted listening and encouraged academics and students to start their own
Read moreOn location: DigiLearn in Spain
The outdoor ‘office’ At the end of March, members of the Digital Learning Team accompanied staff and students on fieldwork for the BIOL1001 module, Experimental and Field Biology. Students visit the south of Spain for hands-on experience in identifying plants
Read moreWriting for video
Writing for video is a different skill to creating a lecture or a presentation. Videos tend to be shorter than both of the aforementioned and, as such, require a more focused presentation of information. Focus on key ideas One way
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