Readers who work in further and higher education (FE/HE) across the UK may be familiar with JISC, also known as the Joint Information Systems Committee, (1) and the work this organisation carries out in supporting the education sector. However, the work carried out by JISC and the associated advisory services might be helpful for a wider range of people working in a range of different industrial sectors.
JISC is a UK wide consortium supporting innovation in the use of ICT for education and research. The JISC Board and its Sub-committees are senior managers, academics and technology experts working in UK further and higher education. These experts determine JISC's programme of work to reflect the present and future needs of the education and research communities.
JISC inspires UK colleges and universities in the innovative use of digital technologies, helping to maintain the UK's position as a global leader in education. As well as providing the JANET network to the UK educational establishments, and co-ordinating advice and consultancy on innovation in learning and teaching, JISC also supports a range of services that provide expertise, advice, guidance and resources to address the needs of all users in FE & HE.
JISC Services Share Knowledge Rather than Reinventing the Wheel JISC have 13 local Regional Support Centres (RSCs) dotted across the UK to support local FE & HE institutions, These RSCs are multi-disciplinary teams of 6-12 people based in lead institutions in 13 locations throughout the UK and support the building of e-learning capacity in FE and small HE institutions.
RSC staff are primarily facilitators and knowledge brokers working closely with other RSCs, and with the wider JISC community including other national and regional agencies and partners. They are able to provide access to a vast range of services including advisory services to the sector. One of these is JISC TechDis service which offers resources, materials and techniques, coupled with advice and guidance to assist practitioners and managers to provide an accessible and inclusive experience for students and staff in UK education. (2)
Although the RSCs have a mandate to support identified FE & HE institutions, there are many wonderful resources and initiatives which have been created and distributed by JISC TechDis and the RSCs to support inclusion, and these are available for people to take advantage of regardless of the sector in which they work.
Making better use of what you already know Many people approach the task of creating accessible resources with some trepidation and consider this something best undertaken by those with particular levels of IT skill, or knowledge of accessibility issues. It is easy therefore to forget the important role we can all play in making small changes to the ubiquitous resources that we all use on a day to day basis, in particular with documents created within Microsoft Office Suite.
With this in mind, TechDis have created their Accessibility Essentials Series (3) which provides essential techniques people should adopt to ensure the creation of accessible electronic information. This series provides easily understood guidance on making MS Word more accessible by making small but significant changes to the way documents are created. It also provides practical information, and top tips about how to personalise a document by amending the look and feel into a style which suits the reader. This will be of particular benefit to people with specific barriers to access (such as visual impairment, dyslexia, motor difficulties), and also those with specific learning/reading styles.
The series also highlights techniques to create accessible PowerPoint presentations both for projection and wider use (for example, when a presentation is made available online), along with hints and tips on how to present to an audience in an accessible manner. Finally, guides on making the most of Portable Document Format (PDFs) have been designed to provide step-by-step information to enable anyone creating PDF documents do so in a more accessible manner. These hints and tips will benefit those who create PDF documents using scanned materials or word processed documents, or receive a PDF version of publicity materials from a graphic designer.
If not me - who? If not now - when? Historically in many organisations inclusive practices were created explicitly for people with disabilities and were the responsibility of disability officers. JISC believe his perception is unhelpful for two reasons:
It may fail to recognise the spectrum of accessibility needs which goes beyond people with declared disabilities
It may fail to recognise the very significant role that well informed staff e.g. lecturers, administrators, web designers, marketing staff, librarians or technicians, can bring to the end user's experience of the service being delivered.
Nowadays with equalities legislation firmly in place, (4) providing accessible resources should not belong solely to support specialists any more than accessibility or inclusion should belong exclusively to people with a disability. TechDis offer guidance and advice to a range of disciplines including those with responsibility for strategic developments, information services, marketing, admissions, learning and teaching and the development and maintenance of built environments. (5) An example of this is the work TechDis have been undertaking with library and information specialists groups over several years. Libraries have a critical role in accessibility because:
they are a key support for independent learning
they play a significant role in signposting different types of resource to staff and learners
they are instrumental in obtaining text books in alternative formats.
An overview of these resources can be found at http://www.techdis.ac.uk/getlibrary (6) which incorporates their work with The Publishers Association offering a guide to obtaining publications in alternative formats7 and also the Publishers Look Up 8 website, designed to provide contact information for the appropriate individuals when requesting electronic versions of texts for each publisher and imprint
The last few years have also seen a growth in the development of Web 2.0 and open source/shareware resources, and this has also been a driving force in providing a wider range of access solutions to many people. An excellent resource recently published by TechDis known as Web2.0 Access9. This resource will help those using Web 2.0 to make decisions about the accessibility and usability of resources for users.
Given the current economic downturn, free resources to support inclusion can help provide enabling technology solutions that previously would not have been available in the arena of the commercial market. This can be particularly helpful for those who cannot afford expensive software or for those who may not be eligible for financial support via Access to Work in employment situations or Disabled Students Allowance in higher education. Equally many people may benefit from additional support these technologies offer not because they are disabled, but because they have alternative styles of working or learning (or because they have literacy or language support needs).
The TechDis get free software initiative (10) groups free enabling technologies into genres or functions that reflect the learning process (e.g. reading tools, recording tools, alternative interfaces). AccessApps is an initiative supported by the JISC RSCs and JISC TechDis and takes this model a step forward by highlighting portable enabling technologies. This initiative consists of over 60 open source and freeware Windows applications, running from a USB stick. AccessApps provides a range of functional solutions to support writing, reading and the development of organisational skills providing resources which might assist users with sensory, cognitive or motor difficulties.
These portable technologies run directly from an external drive (e.g. USB stick) without needing to be installed on the host computer. This means that someone who needs to use text-to-speech software, change screen colours, magnify the screen or use an alternative mouse/keyboard could carry their software around in their pocket for use wherever they happen to be, and are not limited by the restricted access often in place in their institution.
The use of freely available portable applications also offers people the opportunity to trial some assistive technologies and assess their suitability prior to accessing commercial applications. Some people will need more sophistication and functionality than free versions can provide. However by trying these, they may establish a clearer idea of what they want to look for in a commercial version and can make informed intelligent choices. Access to these resources also empower staff in a wide range of supporting roles in an educational or employment scenario to actively find solutions for people who have difficulty accessing information in traditional ways.
Realising the Benefits - Sharing Effective Practice JISC services also help promote best practice and share knowledge to support inclusivity by highlighting case studies from across the sectors that uncover or develop good or innovative practice in inclusive learning and teaching. Some examples include:
RSC Scotland South & West Best of the West case studies (11)
RSC Scotland South & West RSCtv Broadcasts (12)
RSC Yorkshire and Humber Excellence in Inclusivity portal (13)
QIA Excellence Gateway Case Studies
RSC Online Inclusion Ning - a lively forum with a range of interest groups and resources (14)
Margaret McKay is the eAdvisor for inclusion at JISC RSC SW Scotland. Previously, she worked for the Glasgow College of Building and Printing (now Glasgow Metropolitan College) where she was responsible for setting up the Support for Learning Division.
Margaret started her professional career as an occupational therapist and worked with Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire and ultimately Renfrewshire Healthcare Trust and in collaboration with the Scottish Association for Mental Health.
She served as Vice Chair of Renfrewshire Association for Mental Health and as a member of the Scottish Branch Committee of SKILL: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities.
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Readers who work in further and higher education (FE/HE) across the UK may be familiar with JISC, also known as the Joint Information Systems Committee, (1) and the work this organisation carries out in supporting the education sector. However, the work carried out by JISC and the associated advisory services might be helpful for a wider range of people working in a range of different industrial sectors. 
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