Reasonable Adjustments in Online Learning

Perceivable

Students can take the information in a way that works for them, whether that is sight, sound or touch

Operable

How students navigate their way through the content, or how they interact with the content

Understandable

The content is structured in a logical, predictable way

Robust

Content can be accessed on a range of devices and interact with many types of assistive technology

Universal design and standardised formatting

All students

Auslan interpreter on screen instead of the lecturer in recorded lectures

Students who are Deaf (should be negotiated as part of an access plan as some students may argue it disadvantages hearing students)

Live captioning

Students who are Deaf and hearing impaired

Videos and timed tasks that allow stopping and restarting

All students, especially those with disabilities that impact on ability to sustain concentration or result in fatigue

Captioned videos

Students who are Deaf and hearing impaired.  Automatic captions available through YouTube should not be relied on.

Captions have been found to enhance the learning of all students, even those students without disabilities (Taylor, 2005)

Downloading of  videos embedded in recorded lecture as a separate file on the learning platform

All students as it allows for an easy review of video content

Transcription of audio visual material as a separate text file

All students as it allows for students to check spelling, acronyms, new terms and difficult phrases and provides a significantly smaller file size to download compared to the original video.

All materials provided in a version suitable for screen readers

Blind, vision impaired, Learning Disabilities

Alternative assessment tasks that break up the course requirements

All students, students with anxiety and students with fluctuating medical and mental health conditions

Detailed description of assessment tasks (more than is usually provided) in a Word document (or multiple word documents)

All students, students with Learning Disabilities, students with anxiety

Alternatives to timed assessment tasks, with emphasis being placed on completion of tasks and formative learning tasks instead.

All students, especially those with anxiety, mobility disabilities, acquired brain injury, some fluctuating medical conditions and learning Disabilities

Consideration of alternatives to virtual group tasks.

All students

Consistent formatting and use of headings etc in all uploaded documents

All students, It can assist any student using eReading software to easily navigate the content of the document by providing an psuedo index created from the heading structure. This is particularly important for students who rely on screen readers to access content.

Alt Tags – adding descriptions of images

Students who are blind or vision impaired, other students who rely on screen readers

Colour coding that includes the name of the colour in all functions, formatting and downloadable documents

Students with colour vision deficiency, students with learning disabilities, students with vision impairment

Consideration of how to present hyperlinks. 

Example of correct convention: For more information about incorporating course content in online courses, view Online Learning links formatting (not a real link)

Students who use screen readers

Audio description

Students who are blind or vision impaired, students with Acquired Brain Injury

Consistent formatting, use of fonts and colours, with sufficient contrast

Students who might experience screen fatigue easily, such as students with some medical conditions such as MS.

Captioned video file where the course coordinator/lecturer goes through the syllabus and/or course requirements

All Students, especially students with Learning Disabilities

Early posting of course materials/outlines (before the course start date) so that students can negotiate alternatives through an adjustment to their access plan

All students

Inclusion of learning supports such as glossaries, spell checkers, highlighters, predictive text capability and sentence starters

All students, especially those with Learning Disabilities

Supported tutorial for how to navigate the site, the functionality and, where necessary, negotiate modifications and alternatives

All students

Allowing sound files instead of written papers for some tasks

Students who have mobility disabilities or neurogenic conditions that affect dexterity

Translation of Turnitin reports into plain text

Students who rely on screen readers

Assistance or alternative strategies (such as emailing to lecturers) with lodging assignments in online ‘dropboxes’

Students who rely on screen readers, students with disabilities affecting dexterity and students who rely on voice command software

Virtual groups

All students, as contacting and ensuring equitable contributions are extremely difficult for virtual groups.  Students with anxiety and fluctuating conditions find group tasks particularly difficult.

Live online discussion groups that are voice or text only

Students with anxiety.  Students with fluctuating conditions, students whose disability has less impact at certain times of day, making coordinated access difficult.

Tasks involving use of additional technology platforms (such as wikis for example)

Many students who have disabilities are already operating more than one technology in order to access the course and complete their studies and learning a new platform under deadlines can create inequitable pressure.  Further, some conditions such as acquired brain injury may require a longer learning process that cannot be accommodated in this instance

Inability to accommodate breaks in study without having to repeat the entire subject

Students with fluctuating conditions.