Teaching accessibility in the digital skill set
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Southampton Education School
Abstract
Digital technologies have revolutionised daily life. Yet capacity for accessible tools and services has not kept pace with demand, resulting in the digital exclusion of disabled people and ageing populations. Disability affects more than one in five people in the UK, 13.9m people (Family Resources Survey, 2016/17). Rates of internet use among disabled and older people remain lower than those of the general population. 22% of disabled adults having never used the internet (ONS, 2017). Globally, this digital divide is even more pronounced. However, despite the social cost and a trajectory of growing demand, we lack a detailed understanding of the teaching and learning characteristics (the pedagogies) of accessibility education and how digital accessibility can be effectively taught and scaled. 'Teaching Accessibility in the Digital Skill Set' will address this urgent issue.
The project proposes an ambitious programme of research to: 1) establish a new body of knowledge that will enhance the teaching competencies of digital accessibility educators and professionals. 2) broaden engagement with evidence-based pedagogy among accessibility professionals to create new learning and teaching networks. 3) establish accessibility education as a research field.
Previous work by the PI suggests that teaching accessibility requires a unique mix of interdisciplinary theoretical understanding, procedural knowledge and technical competence. The pedagogic challenges reflect a rapidly changing technological context, lack of formal curriculum and struggles for visibility beyond a sub-group of Human Computer Interaction. Many learners self-teach, reliant on Web Standards guidance that prescribe limited pedagogic practices. Contrary to inclusive practices, they encounter one-size-fits-all teaching. This research shifts the focus from a limiting what works discourse to a learning ecology. It connects accessibility with advances in pedagogic research in inclusion, disability studies and related disciplines. It benefits from being based in the Centre for Research in Inclusion (Southampton Education School), a centre of excellence in pedagogic research, and capitalises on accessibility expertise at the University of Southampton and links to the World Wide Web Consortium UK offices in the Web Sciences Institute.
The research is articulated through four workpackages (WPs). WP1 will investigate the push/pull factors (policy, resourcing, research, politics) and dominant discourses shaping digital accessibility as an educational field through reviews of competence frameworks, accreditations, directives and other literatures. WP2 will discover the explicit and implicit teaching approaches, learning theories and values that characterise accessibility at a community level using dialogic methods with leaders in academia, government, industry and the third sector. WP3 will deliver a typology of pedagogy for teaching accessibility, inclusive of pedagogy in action using ethnographic case study at leading sites of learning. WP4 develops 'impact residences', using Participatory Action Research in a range of professional settings to identify and stimulate innovative process in the applied design and delivery of accessibility education.
Impact will be via: 1) Knowledge exchange and co-production, collaborating with stakeholders and potential research users throughout the project; (2) wider accessibility community engagement, inclusive of disabled people's organisations (3) Creating a platform for future research through high profile virtual and face to face events.
The project proposes an ambitious programme of research to: 1) establish a new body of knowledge that will enhance the teaching competencies of digital accessibility educators and professionals. 2) broaden engagement with evidence-based pedagogy among accessibility professionals to create new learning and teaching networks. 3) establish accessibility education as a research field.
Previous work by the PI suggests that teaching accessibility requires a unique mix of interdisciplinary theoretical understanding, procedural knowledge and technical competence. The pedagogic challenges reflect a rapidly changing technological context, lack of formal curriculum and struggles for visibility beyond a sub-group of Human Computer Interaction. Many learners self-teach, reliant on Web Standards guidance that prescribe limited pedagogic practices. Contrary to inclusive practices, they encounter one-size-fits-all teaching. This research shifts the focus from a limiting what works discourse to a learning ecology. It connects accessibility with advances in pedagogic research in inclusion, disability studies and related disciplines. It benefits from being based in the Centre for Research in Inclusion (Southampton Education School), a centre of excellence in pedagogic research, and capitalises on accessibility expertise at the University of Southampton and links to the World Wide Web Consortium UK offices in the Web Sciences Institute.
The research is articulated through four workpackages (WPs). WP1 will investigate the push/pull factors (policy, resourcing, research, politics) and dominant discourses shaping digital accessibility as an educational field through reviews of competence frameworks, accreditations, directives and other literatures. WP2 will discover the explicit and implicit teaching approaches, learning theories and values that characterise accessibility at a community level using dialogic methods with leaders in academia, government, industry and the third sector. WP3 will deliver a typology of pedagogy for teaching accessibility, inclusive of pedagogy in action using ethnographic case study at leading sites of learning. WP4 develops 'impact residences', using Participatory Action Research in a range of professional settings to identify and stimulate innovative process in the applied design and delivery of accessibility education.
Impact will be via: 1) Knowledge exchange and co-production, collaborating with stakeholders and potential research users throughout the project; (2) wider accessibility community engagement, inclusive of disabled people's organisations (3) Creating a platform for future research through high profile virtual and face to face events.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit from this research?
1. Disabled and older people and others currently excluded from digital services by inaccessible tools and services (e.g. people with low literacy)
2. Universities (and disciplines such as Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience Research, Web Development, Human Factors and Design)
3. UK Government and public sector organisations
4. Digital business and industry
5. Charities and third sector organisations
How will they benefit from this research?
Achieving the aims and objectives will deliver a series of practical benefits to multiple stakeholders. At one level, the research engages teachers of accessibility and related communities, networks and associations from the outset, ensuring they are fully consulted at every stage of the research and engaged in the dissemination of findings. As the research also uses novel dialogic 'methods that teach' immediate impact will come from research activities that promote reflection and are designed to create learning communities (via Expert Panel Method, Case Study and participatory Impact Residencies) in varied locations.
Moreover, the study will spur and contribute to debates about capacity building for accessibility, creating and sharing a knowledge base (a typology of pedagogy for accessibility, articulated through an accessible, interactive portal and database) to substantiate accessibility education as a field of research. By identifying and developing the pedagogies that are unique to accessibility education, direct beneficiaries of the research will be universities (in terms of enhanced teaching quality, graduate employability and career-readiness) and UK government, industry, and NGOs (in terms of the fostering the effective workplace learning to meet moral, legal and commercial imperatives for accessible digital services).
While digital accessibility benefits all technology users, indirect beneficiaries of the research are foremost disabled and older people, alongside other digitally excluded groups. To this end, across the study, key impacts will be:
1. Skills development for training and capacity building in academia, the public, private and third sector. Accessibility educators will have a substantial body of knowledge to call upon as they develop their teaching.
This will enable:
2. Increased graduate and workforce capacity for the development of accessible digital tools and services, resulting in robust digital services that foster a competitive and democratic digital economy and reduce digital exclusion.
How will the study provide opportunities to engage with the research?
The PI is establishing networks with gatekeepers and facilitators, including an advisory group members representing AbilityNet, The Paciello Group, the British Dyslexia Association, British Computing Society, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative and academia. The group will be regularly consulted, alongside wider stakeholder engagement via a Launch Event to provide opportunities for stakeholder interface to inform the research. Other means of generating impact include:
1. A project website to publicise the research to stakeholders and wider publics.
2. A virtual one-day conference to report early findings, develop community knowledge exchange and establish new learning networks.
3. A f2f one-day conference to promote pedagogically-informed strategic capacity building and act as a platform for future research.
4. 4 journal articles, 3 papers in conference proceedings, generating academic interest and underpinning the pursuit of accessibility education agenda.
5. Evidence based briefings and resources (quick guides, expert video interviews) for non-academic audiences, e.g. using industry media to stimulate ongoing dialogue.
6. Case studies, accounts of Impact Residencies and a typology of pedagogy for accessibility, to make the research readily useable by teachers and researcher
1. Disabled and older people and others currently excluded from digital services by inaccessible tools and services (e.g. people with low literacy)
2. Universities (and disciplines such as Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience Research, Web Development, Human Factors and Design)
3. UK Government and public sector organisations
4. Digital business and industry
5. Charities and third sector organisations
How will they benefit from this research?
Achieving the aims and objectives will deliver a series of practical benefits to multiple stakeholders. At one level, the research engages teachers of accessibility and related communities, networks and associations from the outset, ensuring they are fully consulted at every stage of the research and engaged in the dissemination of findings. As the research also uses novel dialogic 'methods that teach' immediate impact will come from research activities that promote reflection and are designed to create learning communities (via Expert Panel Method, Case Study and participatory Impact Residencies) in varied locations.
Moreover, the study will spur and contribute to debates about capacity building for accessibility, creating and sharing a knowledge base (a typology of pedagogy for accessibility, articulated through an accessible, interactive portal and database) to substantiate accessibility education as a field of research. By identifying and developing the pedagogies that are unique to accessibility education, direct beneficiaries of the research will be universities (in terms of enhanced teaching quality, graduate employability and career-readiness) and UK government, industry, and NGOs (in terms of the fostering the effective workplace learning to meet moral, legal and commercial imperatives for accessible digital services).
While digital accessibility benefits all technology users, indirect beneficiaries of the research are foremost disabled and older people, alongside other digitally excluded groups. To this end, across the study, key impacts will be:
1. Skills development for training and capacity building in academia, the public, private and third sector. Accessibility educators will have a substantial body of knowledge to call upon as they develop their teaching.
This will enable:
2. Increased graduate and workforce capacity for the development of accessible digital tools and services, resulting in robust digital services that foster a competitive and democratic digital economy and reduce digital exclusion.
How will the study provide opportunities to engage with the research?
The PI is establishing networks with gatekeepers and facilitators, including an advisory group members representing AbilityNet, The Paciello Group, the British Dyslexia Association, British Computing Society, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative and academia. The group will be regularly consulted, alongside wider stakeholder engagement via a Launch Event to provide opportunities for stakeholder interface to inform the research. Other means of generating impact include:
1. A project website to publicise the research to stakeholders and wider publics.
2. A virtual one-day conference to report early findings, develop community knowledge exchange and establish new learning networks.
3. A f2f one-day conference to promote pedagogically-informed strategic capacity building and act as a platform for future research.
4. 4 journal articles, 3 papers in conference proceedings, generating academic interest and underpinning the pursuit of accessibility education agenda.
5. Evidence based briefings and resources (quick guides, expert video interviews) for non-academic audiences, e.g. using industry media to stimulate ongoing dialogue.
6. Case studies, accounts of Impact Residencies and a typology of pedagogy for accessibility, to make the research readily useable by teachers and researcher
Publications
Coverdale A
(2024)
Digital Accessibility Education in Context: Expert Perspectives on Building Capacity in Academia and the Workplace
in ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing
Horton S
(2021)
Empathy Cannot Sustain Action in Technology Accessibility
in Frontiers in Computer Science
Horton S
(2022)
Building an Accessible Digital World
in Computer
Lewthwaite S
(2020)
Teaching Accessibility in Computer Science and Related Disciplines: A Systematic Literature Review and Narrative Synthesis Protocol
in Social Science Protocols
Lewthwaite S
(2020)
Accessible at last?: what do new European digital accessibility laws mean for disabled people in the UK?
in Disability & Society
Lewthwaite S
(2023)
Researching Pedagogy in Digital Accessibility Education
in ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing
Lewthwaite S
(2023)
The Routledge International Handbook of Disability Human Rights Hierarchies
| Description | Findings for work package 1 (WP1) relate to two domains in digital accessibility education: policy and research. Policy analysis (Lewthwaite & James, 2020), and forthcoming theory work (Lewthwaite & James, in-print) show that recent changes to the regulation represent a step-change in the accessibility capacity of public sector digital services in the UK and Europe. However, progress is complicated by the complex relationship between standards, disability discourses, and factors such as compliance culture in education and the digital professions. The impact of Brexit and regulatory complexity across bodies suggests that a lack of supra-level oversight may undermine efforts to establish a robustly accessible digital public sector. A systematic literature review using principles of open science and Cumulative Literature Review (CLR), has delivered re-usable methods (Lewthwaite, Coverdale & Butler-Rees, 2020), to assist methodological development of the field and introduce qualitative narrative synthesis as a robust approach to pedagogic literature in computer science. Review findings indicate limited pedagogical culture within a small research literature, largely characterised by reflective accounts of individual teaching practice with one course or student group. We find three core tenants in digital accessibility education: pedagogy addressing conceptual understanding (e.g. attending theories of dis/ability, disability awareness); procedural knowledge (e.g. strategic decision making, ordering and ways of doing accessibility) and technical skill (e.g. techniques applied at the level of code/technology). Within and across these three areas, specific pedagogic approaches, strategies, and tactics are particularly salient. For example, the use of experiential learning and learning-by-doing bridge procedural and technical domains through practice. These findings, and evidence of increasing research activity and sites of developing pedagogic culture inform the questioning strategies and analytic frameworks subsequently deployed in WP2. Expert panel research (WP2) with leading international educators in academia (n=14) and industry (n=16), have been completed across two waves of data collection, individual interviews, and online group forums around the data. Findings were tested and extended with experienced educators (n=20). Data establish important pedagogic content knowledge in accessibility, and key themes informing WP3 and the architecture of our typology of accessibility pedagogy. WP2 results suggest five thematic dimensions that are the developing foci for ongoing research: 1) socio-cultural dimensions of teaching accessibility in context. 2) Teaching with, through and about disability - how teachers contextualise disability and express values associated with human-centred approaches, disability-first perspectives, and contentions in the use of simulations. 3) Issues unique to accessibility relating to the design and structuring of content - sequencing, structuring, training across multiple roles, and specialized training for specific roles, as well as how teachers support learner progression. 4) Teaching approaches, incorporating project-based learning; creative and narrative teaching; collaborative learning, mentoring and peer-learning; and didactic approaches. 5) Learning approaches cohering around self-directed and informal learning. Next, we are developing the research design to deepen insight. New lines of enquiry suggest value in collapsing boundaries between workplace and academic digital accessibility education, and the need to move from accounts of accessibility focussed on individuals, to accounts that recognise capacity building as a shared endeavour, across workflows, roles and disciplines. Current international case study research is ongoing, but has already demonstrated new insights into previously unexplored areas. In particular, experiential informal learning has been found to develop communication and cross-role collaboration competencies that are underserved in formal education. |
| Exploitation Route | Our theory of change identifies how study outcomes can be taken forward by others. Foremost, we seek to provide an evidence base, and practical tools for educators in higher- and workplace- education to use to reflexively enhance and deepen their teaching approaches, strategies and practices, evidenced through our publications, resources and emergent typology. Importantly findings have already informed W3C Accessibility Curricula and supporting resources, ensuring research-led approaches are embedded in internationally leading resources for accessibility educators. Our work also seeks to develop and promote sustained pedagogical culture, by raising the profile of accessibility education, and building networks and communities of practice in this field. Further, we are committed to using and developing open data sets and methodological resources, to allow the reuse of our approaches and, where possible, our data sets. The team continue to deliver evidence-based insight to policy makers and media nationally and internationally, to enrich global conversations on accessibility for our digital world. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education |
| Description | Teaching Accessibility engagement activities (May 2019-March 2023) have striven to engage academic stakeholders (teachers of HCI and related disciplines that incorporate accessibility), digital professionals in industry and the public sector as well as policy makers, disability advocates and disabled people's organisations. In higher education, academic stakeholders have been engaged through the Institute of Coding and ED-ICT international network and wider digital professional communities - inclusive of industry and third sector organisations - through community-orientated events such as the London Accessibility Meetup (regional network); Inclusive Design 24, the HigherEdWeb Accessibility Summit (online global events) and AXSChat (global Twitter forum) and the UK Government's Digital Accessibility MeetUp (national professional network). Research methods have also established participatory research communities around data through expert panel methods, focus groups and case study research, using methods that promote dialogue, communal understanding and pedagogical culture. In these activities, focussed on educators in a range of settings, the project has sought to achieve three key impacts. First, to increase awareness of pedagogy, learning theory and pedagogic principles. Second, to develop the pedagogic vocabulary necessary to reflect upon and inculcate pedagogical knowledge. Third, to share evidence-based concepts, theories and approaches rooted in research synthesis of the literature (WP1, WP2). Dissemination through live presentations has reached audiences of >1000. Videos and podcasts have been accessed a further 950+ times. Social Media activity has resulted in conversations on the teaching of accessibility involving 350 people, with sharing activity through wider Twitter networks reaching over 20 million. The enthusiastic response and engagement of audiences suggests a strong appetite for evidence-based practice in the development of teaching capacity in accessibility, and gestures to the ways in which Teaching Accessibility is spurring and informing international conversations about pedagogy and education in digital accessibility. The team has also sought to increase knowledge of key legislative drivers for digital accessibility beyond digital accessibility communities, to inform policy makers, disabled people, their organisations, disability advocates and scholars. A context-rich policy analysis (Lewthwaite & James, January 2020) fast-tracked in Disability & Society, has brought clarity on the impacts of new accessibility regulations in the lives of disabled people, with implications for education and training. This paper lays out the analytic foundations for subsequent interdisciplinary research papers that broach digital accessibility, disability studies and education. It also shines a light on a complex and dynamic bureaucratic aspect of digital governance with real-world impact. The paper has been requested by, and shared to, colleagues at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology amongst others, demonstrating the ways in which the Teaching Accessibility project is gaining national profile and informing strategic conversations about digital accessibility and education. This has been consolidated through contributions to NGO reviews of Assistive Technology Education for front line professionals (2022), Government reviews for the UK Disability Strategy (2020) and DCMS review of private sector website accessibility (2021). In the third and fourth year of the project significant international impact is being generated through involvement in the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's Education and Outreach Working Group: Curricula Taskforce (2022), collaboration with the US-based TeachAccess Initiative, through international events and a new Frontiers journal research topic (2023), and engagement with networks such as LIRNEasia. Our projects' evidence based series of Quick Start Guides for teachers are being shared across international professional, teaching and learning networks. Challenges for the project relate to the capacity of a small team to undertake methodologically rigorous, excellent research whilst ensuring necessary engagement with accessibility communities and the ability to take full advantage of opportunities for strategic impact at a policy level. In 2020/2021/2022, COVID-19 has created further challenges and complexity. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | BEIS Scoping Roundtable for Review of Research Bureaucracy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/boost-for-uk-science-with-unlimited-visa-offer-to-worlds-brightes... |
| Description | Department for Culture Media and Sport review on Private Sector Website Accessibility |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | According to the authors of the report: "The overview of expertise and academic research was used to provide a number of teams within Government with a summary of expert insights to inform their response to the National Disability Strategy. The team who benefited from the overview said that it had provided them with valuable and nuanced insights into understanding this topic." |
| Description | ESRC review of Data Driven Research Skills |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | This work has informed the ESRC PhD Review, and ESRC investments in research methods skills and capacity building for UK Social Science. Working with steering group colleagues, Sarah Lewthwaite has also co-authored the commissioned research report to ESRC-UKRI 'Scoping the skills needs in the social sciences to support data-driven research skills across the academic career life course', to be published with the ESRC response in May 2023. This will support ongoing work by the research council to promote the development of research skills from post-doctoral through to advanced career-levels, across the social sciences. |
| URL | https://esrc.ukri.org/skills-and-careers/scoping-the-skills-needs-of-social-sciences-to-support-data... |
| Description | Invited expert: Internet and Website Accessibility consultation workshop for forthcoming Strategy for Disabled People Disability Unit, Cabinet Office, UK Government |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://disabilityunit.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/02/the-national-strategy-for-disabled-people/ |
| Description | Mentor Lead for Knowbility's Accessibility Internet Rally |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Knowbility's Accessibility Internet Rally is a leading accessibility competition in which Web Developer teams work with non-profit organisations to develop accessibility websites and services, supported by Mentors, and judged in competition. This is done to promote and develop web accessibility skills, understanding and expertise in developer communities and collaboratively develop accessible websites and services for non-profit organisations. In 2021, 20 teams of developers and non-profit organisations (inclusive of disabled peoples' organisations, faith groups, museums and charities) collaborated, representing India, Europe and North America. Mentors, co-chaired by Horton, coached teams in techniques and practical skills, deepening conceptual understanding in their teams. |
| URL | https://knowbility.org/programs/air |
| Description | Provided invited feedback on the Universal Design in the University Curriculum (UDUC) curricular resources database. |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | https://www.uduc.org/find-or-contribute-a-resource/ |
| Description | Report: Assistive and Accessible Technology Awareness and Training for Front Line Professionals |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.policyconnect.org.uk/news/assistive-and-accessible-technology-awareness-and-training-fro... |
| Description | W3C WAI Curricula on Web Accessibility: Content Author Modules |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Since it's launch in September 2022 (5 months, to March 2023), the Content Author curricula has been accessed 2,420 times. |
| URL | https://www.w3.org/WAI/curricula/content-author-modules/ |
| Description | W3C WAI Curricula on Web Accessibility: Designer Modules |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Since its launch in February 2022 (12 months to March 2023) the Designer Curriculum has been accessed 7,060 times. |
| URL | https://www.w3.org/WAI/curricula/designer-modules/ |
| Description | #AXSChat Interview podcast/video and Twitter Chat |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | In February 2020, Sarah Lewthwaite (PI) and Angharad Butler-Rees (Research Fellow, 2019-2020) were interviewed about the Teaching Accessibility project for the weekly AXSChat podcast (40 minutes) and captioned video by industry leaders Neil Milliken (Global Head of Accessibility, ATOS) Debra Ruh (Ruh Inclusion) and Antonio Santos (ATOS). This prefigured a one-hour Twitter chat scheduled for Europe/US timezones, focussed on the teaching of accessibility as part of the weekly #AXSChat programme. The podcast (iTunes) registered 100 listens. For the Twitter Chat, six research informed questions were set by Lewthwaite & Butler-Rees, each published at 10 minute intervals by the @AXSchat account (9,168 followers) to spur informal dialogue and thinking about accessibility learning journeys, to begin public discussions about how accessibility is taught and begin a public debate about what constitutes 'good' teaching and learning in this sphere. Overall, the #AXSChat campaign (inclusive of promotion of the podcast and subsequent TwitterChat) was highly successful. #AXSChat registered 988 mentions. Circa 200 people created original content related to the conversation (totalling 362 original mentions, with reach of 464,667 impressions). Within this, Lewthwaite's Twitter account received 248 mentions, with Butler-Rees receiving 170. Resharing/retweeting activity across the #AXSChat chat and podcast campaign (616 reshares) resulted in a reach to a global public of 20,946,572 people. The event sparked interest from digital professionals and accessibility practitioners at various levels, across the UK, Europe and the USA. Impact included the development of new lines of reflective discussion within the accessibility community on Twitter. Knowledge of the study at the study's aims were widely disseminated to new audiences, nationally and internationally as the research team disseminated research-led and evidence based messages about accessibility education in response to Chat questions, and in dialogue with Chat participants. Chat participants highlighted training and education activity the project team were previously unaware of as well as indicating the importance of educational resources, such as mentoring and apprenticeship which will be discussed with stakeholder groups with a view to developing the project methodology. The research team gained Twitter followers and subscribers to the project newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.axschat.com |
| Description | CNN Health expert interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Media interview with CNN Health journalist Jen Christensen on accessible typefaces, informing and responding on recent changes to the US State Department's communications typeface in early 2023. Dr Lewthwaite is quoted multiple times in the resulting article 'Changing fonts can make reading easier for some, even in State Department Memos' on the CNN website (6/2/2023), highlighting the impact of typeface for disabled people, and drawing attention to principles of accessibility and inclusion for everyday life. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/06/health/font-change-state-department-wellness/index.html |
| Description | Conference presentation - HigherEdWeb 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Horton and Lewthwaite presentation to HigherEdWeb Accessibility Summit (online) attended by 95 US and International conference delegates and amplified via twitter for a further 154 engagements. Returned evaluations of the session were highly positive and suggested ongoing impact for participants: This was a helpful presentation. It will definitely help me in my current role to provide accessibility training at my workplace. Delegate comments included: "Thank you so much. As someone with no formal training in pedagogy and 40+ years experience training, it was really nice to learn how to talk about this, and the examples helped me tie the ideas to my own experience" and "This was a helpful presentation. It will definitely help me in my current role to provide accessibility training at my workplace." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://events.highedweb.org/a11ysummit21 |
| Description | Conference presentation, Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Academic paper 'Positioning and sustaining accessibility expertise and teaching in the Computer Sciences and the digital university' presented by Coverdale and Lewthwaite to the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) International Conference on Research into Higher Education: (Re)connecting, (Re)building: Higher Education in Transformative Times, 6-10 December 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://srhe.ac.uk/arc/21/SRHE2021-0530.pdf |
| Description | Discussion Catalyst for LIRNEasia Expert Forum on policy-relevant research on disability and ICT |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Lewthwaite was an invited expert and Discussion Catalyst at LIRNEasia's Expert Forum on policy-relevant research on disability and information & communication technologies (ICTs). The two-day event with participants from industry, academia, third-sector organisations and policy makers, dealt with how policy and innovations can work together to promote inclusion and accessibility focused specifically on the Asian contexts of Nepal, Myanmar, India and Sri Lanka, alongside broader global insights. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://lirneasia.net/2022/03/day-1-lirneasias-expert-forum-on-policy-relevant-research-on-disabilit... |
| Description | Institute of Coding - Invited talk, workshop and panel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Lewthwaite (PI) delivered an invited talk (20 min) and short workshop (25 min) and joined an expert panel (30 min) for Q&A during a one-day forum 'The Accessible Curriculum' organised by the Institute of Coding. The event addressed teachers, lecturers & education professionals, learning technologists, disability service manager, and designers and developers of educational products and services (both private and public sector). Lewthwaite's talk discussed the rationale, aims and early findings from the Teaching Accessibility study, alongside a workshop encouraging reflective practice for trainers and educators. 'The Accessible Curriculum' event explored both inclusive education and the 'Accessible Curriculum' in relation to visible and non-visible disabilities, from two perspectives: 1. Are students learning to develop digital products and services that are accessible by default? Questions include: Who are the users and what are their needs? How can the content and delivery of digital /coding curriculum be improved? [and the Teaching Accessibility led contribution] What is the pedagogy of accessibility? 2. Is our educational offer accessible? Questions include: What are the barriers to learning for disabled people? How can we improve access to, and experience of, digital education? The Forum generated lively discussion, advice and case studies to inspire and support educators and employers who are new to this field, and want to improve the accessibility of their offer. Community members were invited to bring and share their own knowledge and experience. Lewthwaite joined contributors including: Neil Milliken (Global Head of Accessibility, Atos) Molly Watt, (Accessibility and Usability / UX Consultant) Paul Smythe (Head of Accessibility, Barclays) Emanuela Gorla (Barclays), Lucy Ruck (Business Disability Forum), Gareth Ford-Williams (Head of Design, BBC) and Richard Eskins, (Manchester Metropolitan University). Study-focussed impact included the further development of research stakeholder and participant networks and led to further high-profile dissemination activities (such as the February 2020 #AXSchat podcast and Twitter chat) with pedagogic leaders. Discussions of diverse learning and teaching environments also led to subsequent methodological advancement by the team, to extend methods activity in later work packages for inclusion of online and blended case studies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://instituteofcoding.org/events/the-accessible-curriculum-an-institute-of-coding-forum/ |
| Description | International 'Accessibility Teachers' Coffee Hour' for Global Accessibility Awareness Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised and delivered a Teachers' workshop for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, 20th May 2021, in collaboration with the TeachAccess Initiative (USA). Participants engaged in structured discussions and breakout rooms to discuss the challenges of teaching accessibility, and strategies to overcome these challenges. During the event, participants were also encouraged to share resources via online documents, building networks, awareness and pedagogical culture. Twenty four participants joined from Europe (UK, Ireland, Austria, Portugal and Spain), the USA and Australia, from a range of educational institutions and disciplines including Education, Computer Science, Engineering, Design and Management. Professionals were also represented from Higher Education Academic Disability Support and Accessibility Consultancy (third sector and industry). Emergent networks and connections from the event have led to further collaboration with Teach Access, and international academics for a new Research Topic on accessibility education in Frontiers of Computer Science / Frontiers of Psychology (See Awards/Recognition), as well as additional contributions to the Universal Design in the University Curriculum (UDUC) curricular resources database at the University of Colorado, USA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Interview for Science Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Lewthwaite (PI) was interviewed for a contribution to the Science Magazine careers article 'Inclusivity for all: How to make your research group accessible'. The piece was included in online and US print editions (print circulation circa 130,000, online readership circa 400,000). Science is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. The piece builds on a series undertaken by Science about developing inclusive research environments for disabled researchers and has led to ongoing conversations within the Teaching Accessibility research team and with the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship team as to how the Teaching Accessibility study can effectively disseminate inclusive research practices more widely with a view to future publications and media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemag.org/features/2020/01/inclusivity-all-how-make-your-research-group-accessible |
| Description | Invited conference presentation - TechAccess Oklahoma |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Horton online presentation and interactive session to 100 delegates at TechAccess Oklahoma, USA. The session titled: 'Your Role in Making a Web for Everyone' explored different roles in digital accessibility, inclusive of education and pedagogic components, and considered the tools and learning resources available to help digital practitioners to meet their accessibility responsibilities and build capacity.. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://techaccessok.org/2021-schedule/ |
| Description | Invited conference presentation at biannual Government Accessibility Meetup |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation on building understanding and fostering accessibility skills in teams at the biannual Government Accessibility MeetUp, hosted by Government Digital Service. Talk delivered to an audience of 150 digital professionals from a range of public bodies (including ONS, NHS England, Cabinet Office, Home Office, Police College, Welsh and Scottish Government etc). The talk sparked interest and lively discussion on several pedagogic topics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2021/01/21/november-cross-government-accessibility-community-meetu... |
| Description | Invited panel presentation - 5th Ed-ICT International Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Lewthwaite (PI) presented research from the Teaching Accessibility study during a panel session (10 minute presentation, 40 minute panel discussion) at the 5th Ed-ICT International Symposium. The symposia have explored the role that ICTs-including computers, mobile devices, assistive technologies, online learning, and social networking sites-play or could play in creating barriers and mitigating disadvantages that students with disabilities in post-compulsory education experience both generally and specifically in relation to social, emotional and educational outcomes. The Leverhulme funded network has also examined how practices of educators and other stakeholders can craft successful and supportive relationships between learners with disabilities and ICT. At this event, conclusions were debated and evaluated with a UK academic and stakeholder audience, which also strove to identify, develop and evaluate new opportunities for research and practice in the field. Impact included the widening of study networks including expert stakeholder and advisory group recruitment. Further to this, plans for the international dynamic of the Teaching Accessibility study and conceptual lens were developed in conversation with international experts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited presentation to London Accessibility Meetup |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | London Accessibility Meetup is network of over 3000 digital professionals in industry, the third sector, academia and policy based in the London area. Meetups are scheduled monthly for evening talks with two speakers and discussion on different aspects of digital inclusion and accessibility. Sessions are broadcast live, with captions. Sarah Lewthwaite (PI) presented early research findings from WP1 to circa 100 network members at the 29th meeting, with video from the event being publicised and streamed to a wider audience through the London Accessibility Meetup YouTube Channel (also available via the Teaching Accessibility website 'resource' page). Following streaming, video of the event has been viewed 246 times to date. The talk (30 mins) outlined the challenges of teaching accessibility and introduced pedagogic concepts such as Pedagogic Content Knowledge to helpfully articulate how educators can develop their teaching skill set and emergent educator identities to recognise the importance of both learning and teaching within the accessibility community. Early findings from systematic literature review work (WP1) were discussed, with key relevant messages drawn out in light of changes to legislation and audience interests. The following Q&A (15 minutes) involved lively positive discussions with network members, leading to new avenues for research participation, recruitment for expert stakeholder events and resulting in invitations to present to wider digital professional audiences in industry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/HqIbnRK3xzE |
| Description | Invited presentation to London Higher Education Digital Accessibility Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | One-hour online presentation and discussion by the Lewthwaite, scheduled as part of Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2022 programme hosted by Westminster University on behalf of the London Higher Education Digital Accessibility Working Group. The session, titled: "Teaching accessibility as a shared endeavour: answering key challenges in the building of accessibility culture" dealt with specific challenges in Higher Education for an audience of academics and university professionals from HEIs across London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Invited presentation to Teach Access Membership |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Lewthwaite presented research from the Teaching Accessibility project to Teach Access, at an online membership meeting (11/11/22). The 30+ Members present include academics and industry professionals advocating for, and engaged in accessibility education across the USA. There was a warm and enthusiastic response from the audience, who commented on the strength of the methodology, and the importance of the project and the importance of the projects findings and resources for teachers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://teachaccess.org |
| Description | Invited presentation: Accessing Higher Ground Conference, USA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Joint online presentation with speakers Daniel Montalvo (Accessibility Education and Training Specialist, W3C) and Sarah Lewthwaite entitled 'WAI Curricula: build, compare and select courses on web accessibility' to the 25th Accessing Higher Ground conference, Colorado, USA. The 1-hour session blended a presentation introducing the new WAI curricula (led by Montalvo) with an evidence-based presentation on the pedagogic issues at stake for delivering that curricula (led by Lewthwaite), with time for discussion and questions from the online and Colorado audiences. This successful collaboration between W3C and the Teaching Accessibility project, with video publicly available by request. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation of conference paper - 19th International Web for All Conference (Web4All 2022) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Andy Coverdale presented a paper 'Teaching accessibility as a shared endeavour' online as part of the communications track at the 19th international Web4All conference with Dr Sarah Lewthwaite and Sarah Horton. Following the presentation, the authors answered several questions from chair and attendees. The presented paper was shortlisted for the Intuit best communications paper award at the conference (see publications). A video recording of the session is available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap-wNUw9wdM (starts 31.40), and has been shared to the ACM Special Interest Group on Hypertext and the Web (SIGWEB) subscriber audience of over 200. The paper was well received resulting in an invitation to the authors to submit a paper for a Special Issue of the journal ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS) https://dl.acm.org/journal/taccess, and to report on their research in a forthcoming issue of the ACM SIGACCESS newsletter (Autumn 2022), raising the profile of the research across multiple special interest groups, and with professional and educators across the ACM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3493612.3520451 |
| Description | Presentation to Centre for Research in Inclusion |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation by Lewthwaite, Coverdale and Horton to Centre for Research in Inclusion at Southampton Education School, University of Southampton. Sharing methods, emergent findings and insights with academics and postgraduate students. Talk entitled: Teaching Accessibility in the Digital Skill Set. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation to Inclusive Design 24 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Inclusive Design 24 (ID24) is a 24 hour online event for a global community of digital professionals, third sector and academic practitioners involved in the shared project of inclusive design. 24 presentations are given across 24 hours, as presenters from different timezones give their talks and answer audience questions. Presentations are live-captioned and streamed through YouTube live, and are available after the event through the ID24 YouTube Channel. Sarah Lewthwaite (PI) presented (30 mins) messages from educational pedagogic research for accessibility educators and also relevant to all who have a stake in accessibility communication. Research was articulated in an action-orientated format with examples from accessibility teaching and training materials, with a view to developing teacher/trainer competencies and confidence and explicitly developing viewers pedagogic repertoire (using visible pedagogic tactics and strategies). This was followed by in depth Q&A (15 mins) with questions submitted via Twitter from around the world. Video from the event has subsequently been viewed 982 times and is available through the ID24 YouTube page, as well as via the Teaching Accessibility study website. Twitter commentators described the talk as 'enlightening', 'useful', 'fascinating, inspiring' with the presentation included in 'ID24 highlights' by People for Research and summaries by Casey Lottman. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://inclusivedesign24.org/2019/ |
| Description | Presentation to the British Sociological Association annual conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Lewthwaite presented to delegates in a parallel session at the BSA 2021 on 'Dichotomies of disability and ageing in the teaching and discourses of digital accessibility' in the Sociology of Education strand of the virtual conference themed 'Remaking the Future'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://britsoc.co.uk/media/25408/ac2021_abstract_book_draft.pdf |
| Description | Quarterly Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The first Teaching Accessibility newsletter was circulated to 75 subscribers in January 2020, growing to 120 subscribers in January 2021, to 165 in 2022. Content updates readers on the progress of the study, new video resources (for example from ID24 and London Accessibility Meetup), engagement opportunities, open access publications, and highlights wider events and resources in accessibility education, including for example, new high-quality literature on teaching and inclusion in assistive technologies and accessibility. Impact is suggested by an 20% click-through for linked project resources. The newsletter now circulates at regular intervals. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022 |
| URL | https://us20.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=a135bdf48d62efd53852fe32f&id=ff813075e7 |
| Description | Research presentation to Southampton Education School Seminar Series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On the 1st November 2022, Sarah Lewthwaite and Andy Coverdale presented on findings from WP2 'Expert perspectives on Teaching Digital Accessibility in Computer Science and the Workplace' in a 1-hour seminar, to Southampton Education School, the Social Science Faculty academics and postgraduate students. The blended presentation was live, broadcast and recorded, reaching an audience of 80+. The presentation resulted in lively Q&A and invitations to Sarah Horton to deliver an accessibility workshop within the Centre for Research in Inclusion (completed 8th Dec 2022) to 15 doctoral and academic colleagues, and informing the developing accessibility strategy of the School. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/0xCi_x2Bj9s |
| Description | Teaching Accessibility Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In June 2019, the Teaching Accessibility project website was launched, primarily for audiences including teachers of accessibility in higher education and industry. The site details the aims and rationale of the research and the methods used (with a view to participant audiences). Information about team members, how to contact the team, new and forthcoming events, as well as a repository for study resources (publications, video, podcasts) are available for teachers, trainers and educators. Reading lists and bibliographies of relevant literature are also available, with a view to building audience knowledge of the wider fields. The website has led to 100+ subscriptions to the study's quarterly newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| URL | http://teachingaccessibility.ac.uk/ |