Online learning presents accessibility challenges. It also offers opportunities. Designing eLearning that meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) can be challenging. But online learning can give learners significant control. That benefits all learners, particularly people with learning and cognitive disabilities.
There are two main types of online learning: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous learning online is more similar to in-person learning because the instructor teaches in real-time. In asynchronous learning, users access the content at their convenience and it is possible to allow users to self-pace. This article focuses on asynchronous online learning.
Benefits of asynchronous eLearning for people with disabilities
The ability to access eLearning at any time benefits anyone who is busy. It is particularly beneficial to people with disabilities. Many people with disabilities do not have access to reliable transportation services. This can make getting to an in-person course difficult. Asynchronous eLearning has added benefits for people with chronic pain and flare-ups because they can choose when to complete the training.
Another benefit of asynchronous eLearning is the learner’s ability to control the pace of the course. Learners who need something repeated do not have to ask a live presenter to repeat themselves. The learner can simply press a button to replay any part of the content as often as needed. All people benefit from the ability to pause and focus on content. But it is especially beneficial for people with learning and cognitive disabilities.
Advanced developers of interactive asynchronous eLearning modules can create opportunities for individual interaction. Interacting with learning material rather than passively consuming it benefits all learners. This is particularly true for people with learning and cognitive disabilities. While a live instructor can try to interact with the audience, their ability to interact with each learner is limited. If there are interactive elements to an eLearning course, all learners have access to all of them.
eLearning can also include the ability for the learner to customize their experience. This could be based on their current knowledge and the reasons that learners are taking the training. This customization can eliminate potential distractions by decreasing the amount of irrelevant content. This helps learners with cognitive and learning disabilities focus. Like the other opportunities, it benefits all learners.
Meeting the accessibility needs of people with learning and cognitive disabilities
High-quality visuals and animations help keep all learners engaged. They support comprehension for learning and cognitive disabilities.
High-quality visuals and animations help keep all learners engaged, but they are particularly important to learners with learning and cognitive disabilities because they aid in comprehension. For example:
- When describing a process, showing a path with each step helps the learner follow along.
- represent rules by placing permitted activities on one side of the slide and prohibited activities on the other.
It is important that the images directly relate to the text or voice-over or they will be distracting.
Interactive slides
Interactive slides benefit people with cognitive and learning disabilities. For example, suppose a developer made an eLearning module about caring for various pets.
Pet owners need to do many things to take care of a dog. Having one long voice-over describing all of the tasks would overwhelm the learner. But having each task on a separate slide would be disjointed. Consider an example: training about caring for pets. A developer could have one interactive slide about each animal.
Having all content about each animal on one slide helps the learner organize their understanding. But one long audio clip about everything a dog needs would be a lot to listen to. Instead, the developer can have a slide with several buttons, one for each task a dog owner needs to do. The buttons will break the voice-over into more digestible sections.
Customizing the user experience
eLearning developers can customize their user's experience based on any number of factors. For example, developers can make adjustments to consider the learner’s previous knowledge or reason for taking the training: personal or professional. These tweaks can reduce the amount of potentially distracting irrelevant content.
The ability to customize online learning benefits users with cognitive and learning disabilities, especially those with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An eLearning training can include the ability to bypass mastered content. Or a few questions about the learner’s needs might determine which content a learner sees.
Meeting the accessibility needs of people with sensory disabilities
Like all web content, eLearning must be accessible for people with sensory disabilities such as being hard of hearing, deaf, low vision, blind or colorblind.
All audio content of eLearning content must be captioned and include a transcript. This meets the accessibility needs of people who are hard of hearing or deaf. It can also benefit others, such as those still learning the specific language of the training. Let learners turn the captioning off, as some learners find captions distracting. However, captions must be on in the beginning..
Users must be able to use the training using only a keyboard. This means ensuring that your content's tab or focus order is logical and consistent. Tabbing should take the learner to interactive elements on the slide and to the course controls. The tab order of the controls should always be the same, and the controls, usually the next button the user is most likely to use, should be first.
Visual content must also have sufficient contrast, especially text. It must also have alternative text for users accessing your training using a screen reader. How you provide a text alternative will vary if multiple images are on a slide.
It may make sense to provide each image with its own alternative text. The focus order should take the learner through the visual elements of the screen in a way that facilitates their learning. A progress diagram is a good example of when it might make sense to do this. The screen reader user can tab through the process in sequential order.
However, sometimes it makes the most sense to provide a single text alternative to the entire slide. Providing alternative text to each element might result in a disjointed learning experience for a visually complex slide. Animated slides are good candidates for using one narrative alt text description. Web developers typically aim to keep the alternative text short. But a single narrative describing the whole slide is sometimes best in eLearning.
Conclusion
Asynchronous eLearning presents both challenges and opportunities for people with disabilities. While eLearning developers must work to make their content accessible, there are potential advantages for people with cognitive and learning disabilities. To develop accessible eLearning:
- Use relevant high-quality visuals
- Use the structure of the course to help learners understanding
- Allow users to customize their learning to their needs
- Caption and transcribe all audio content
- Ensure the users can navigate the content using only a keyboard
- Use sufficient color contrast and do not rely on color alone for meaning
- Provide alternative text for all visual elements
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