Our vision
The Teaching and Learning Academy’s Accessibility In Digital Educational Design (AiDED) vision is to use the digital learning environment to help all our students improve their life chances. This means:
- eliminating the need for any student to require, request anything to be adapted in order for them to easily access and understand any digital content or complete any online activity.
- supporting our staff so that they can design effective online activities and materials to support the wide diversity of their students with a widening range of approaches.
- all academic and support staff who design and develop materials for our students will be able to confidently apply and make informed decisions about digital accessibility in this work.
- Academics are supported to share this knowledge with their students to allow them to enter the workplace and spread this understanding even wider.
The AIDeD project goes beyond compliance to explore how technology can support all of our students therefore it will run in phases until 2026.
Our values
The Teaching and Learning Academy values related to the AIDeD project are:
- That staff and students develop their knowledge and understanding of the impact digital technology has on access.
- That supporting all of our learners means going beyond compliance to the technical aspect of digital accessibility and towards how we design online materials and activities.
- That informed conversations around digital accessibility should be the norm when designing the curriculum and associated online materials.
- That staff and students have a broader understanding of the relationship between cognitive diversity and the impact different digital design approaches can have on student success.
Our Activities
The Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA) will take the following actions:
- Continue to support the Inclusive and Accessible Digital Environment Working Group and report progress on this project to that group.
- Liaise and communicate with relevant departments across the institution to continue to raise awareness and share emergent understanding.
- Review TLA policies connected with digital learning to encourage staff engagement with the process.
- Develop guidance to support staff and students in digital accessibility design and ensure this guidance is concise, in plain English and easy to access.
- Run training and events to support staff developing understanding and practice.
- Identify best practice across the sector in the area digital design for accessibility that can be applied by staff.
- Identify, disseminate and celebrate staff and students’ work in this area. Explore how the academy project funding can be used in the development of the evidence base and associated practice
- Contribute to sector-wide developments in defining and communicating best practice.
- Equip staff with appropriate tools to be able to assess their own courses for accessibility inclusion and design.
- Develop technological solutions to elements of digital accessibility to save staff time were possible.
- Ensure our Technology Enhanced Learning Digital Estate provide the best Accessible experience
- Monitor and survey staff and students’ growing understanding of digital accessibility.
- Include digital accessibility as part of the teaching observation scheme and the PGCERT.
Measuring Success
The AIDeD project will report on a range of available measures including:
- Regular audit of a sample of sites on canvas
- A periodic survey measuring staff confidence in digital accessibility.
- Case studies demonstrating how the strategy supports teaching, research and engagement.
- Regular dissemination events.
- Analysis of engagement with online guidance.
- Monitoring engagement with accessibility training sessions.
AiDED Resources
Wherever you see this logo on our Technology Enhanced Learning Documentation or Pages, it relates to the AiDED project.
