Accessibility Learning
WCAG-compliant courses that everyone can use
Are your elearning courses available to everyone?
Or are some elements difficult – or impossible – to access for people with different abilities?
Accessible e-learning from Marshall Elearning
We offer two accessible e-learning options.
Both options can help you meet the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and ensure all learners have a chance to develop with your organisation.
“Thanks to your team for developing accessible versions. Five of our visually impaired staff have used the PDF version to date, and all have said that it was very well developed and were pleased that they had been able to do the training in this manner. The audio version has gone down a storm.”
UCL
Marshall Accessible E-learning system
This is a fully accessible, simplified eLearning tool. Courses are constructed using plain text. This means that for users, the experience of using our eLearning is the same as using an accessible website.
Marshall E-Learning + Alternative Formats
For clients that want an interactive course, we now provide alternative formats by default. A spoken-word audio version is produced in the style of a podcast, giving users a portable and convenient way to learn on their own terms. And a workbook version is downloadable, printable, and compatible with all devices and screen readers.
Looking for a more detailed examination of how to apply the WCAG 2.1 guidelines to eLearning? Read the Marshall E-Learning Accessibility Policy.
Why is accessibility important?
Making e-learning accessible is the right thing to do, from an ethical standpoint. After all, you wouldn’t construct a new office that couldn’t be accessed by some of your employees. So why would you create learning that was off-limits for some?
Beyond the fundamental need to make learning available to all of your colleagues, there are clear economic and legal reasons for incorporating accessibility principles into all of your learning.
A single source of knowledge
From a financial perspective, it makes sense to create a single e-learning resource that can be accessed by all colleagues. The other option is to create an alternative version of the course at a later date – and effectively duplicate the effort and expense.
Compliance gaps
If any of your e-learning is inaccessible, then you may find that colleagues are not receiving the training they need. This can have catastrophic ramifications if the learning has any connection to health and safety, risk, or compliance issues. Employers have an obligation to provide adequate training on topics such as these. Failure can (and does) lead to fines and prosecutions.
WCAG 2.1 – a brief overview
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 build on version 2.0 with the addition of new success criteria designed to support:
- Mobile accessibility
- People with low vision
- People with cognitive and learning disabilities
The accessibility guidelines encourage the use of clear, consistent approaches to formatting content and the use of things like images, lists, tables and links. These approaches are, for the most part, good web design practices, but they are vitally important for people with access needs.
Web content that doesn’t adhere to the WCAG guidelines can be completely unreadable and unusable for many people.
The WCAG guidelines are categorised into four groups. Web content should be:
- Perceivable (can your content be consumed and experienced by everyone?)
- Operable (can all users interact with all features of your content?)
- Understandable (is your content organised clearly?)
- Robust (do all users get the same experience – on all devices?)
