Simple tools and techniques are available that help University of Southampton staff make accessible colour choices when presenting text.
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Consult | Collaborate | Create
Simple tools and techniques are available that help University of Southampton staff make accessible colour choices when presenting text.
Read moreWhat’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 moreCaptions on videos benefit everyone. It’s important that captions are accurate and follow good practice. Learn how to improve captions using University tools.
Read moreThe process was a great learning exercise and provided hands-on experience for those involved in the principles of accessible documents.
Read moreMotivating 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 moreRecently, 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 moreOne 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 moreA short exploration of the science of Typography.
Read moreThe 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 moreA 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 morePowerPoint’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 moreText 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 moreCentre-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.
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 moreA 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 moreThe 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 moreForums 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 moreEarlier 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 moreToday, (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 moreAs 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 moreIn this blogpost, we share a few basics of video editing and some tips that will help with producing videos in the future.
Read morePadlet 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 moreStruggling 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 moreI 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 moreThe 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 moreScene 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 moreOne 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 moreI’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 moreThe 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 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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