{"id":7400,"date":"2019-05-14T19:00:14","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T16:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/?p=7400"},"modified":"2019-05-13T09:20:28","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T06:20:28","slug":"why-how-design-accessible-elearning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.efrontlearning.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/why-how-design-accessible-elearning.html","title":{"rendered":"Why and how to design accessible eLearning"},"content":{"rendered":"
Theodore Roosevelt once said: \u201cBelieve you can and you\u2019re halfway there.\u201d But what is the other 50% for learners? It comes down to an accessible learning management system (LMS) and flexible content, so that all your employees can enjoy the benefits of learning. Which is why organizations like Worldwide Web Consortium have published accessibility guidelines for content and authoring tools.<\/p>\n

But creating accessible courses seems like hard work, right? Wrong. There are actually many powerful reasons to design your training with accessibility in mind<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Why your courses should be disability friendly<\/h2>\n

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one billion people<\/a><\/strong> (that\u2019s 15% of the world!) live with some type of disability<\/strong>. Dyslexia alone affects around 10% of the population to some degree, making it one of the most common forms of learning challenges today.<\/p>\n

In other words, the chances are pretty high that you\u2019ll have at least one disabled learner in every training group. And as a training professional, it\u2019s your responsibility to ensure that everyone<\/em> experiences training in a positive and engaging way<\/strong>. The solution? Accessible online training.<\/p>\n

Accessible eLearning courses have many benefits across a variety of disabilities. Better audiovisuals assist with hearing and visual impairments, of course. But the simple act of being able to learn online means that those with mobility challenges can bypass the travel arrangements and crowded workshop rooms that usually go with training, too.<\/p>\n

The best part, though, is that accessible eLearning design is good for everyone<\/strong>. Making learning disability-friendly opens up a world of opportunity to disabled learners, while also helping your team as a whole.<\/p>\n

What you need to ask first is how disability-friendly your courses are<\/strong>. If you answered \u201cnot very\u201d, or you\u2019re not really sure what that means, then you\u2019ve come to the right place. Here are the top tips for designing accessible eLearning courses.<\/p>\n

7 eLearning accessibility best practices<\/h2>\n

Accessible learning sounds great, right? So let\u2019s make it happen for your online courses by following these easy best practices.<\/p>\n

1. Provide options for disability disclosure<\/h3>\n

Not all disabilities are easy to spot<\/strong>. For example, dyslexia is a reading impairment that affects many people. And epilepsy is only evident when the person has a seizure.<\/p>\n

The point is, you can only know for sure that a learner has a disability when they disclose that information. Which is why eLearning is so great.<\/p>\n

Include<\/strong> disability options for learners to select<\/strong> when first accessing an online course. This ensures that they get the appropriate content and learning design they require.<\/p>\n

2. Remove barriers for visually impaired learners<\/h3>\n

Achieving eLearning accessibility means that your content has been designed so that anyone can use it. Including those with visual impairments, like blindness or photosensitive epilepsy. Here\u2019s how you can adapt your design<\/strong> for these learners:<\/p>\n