Rich media and web apps for people with learning disabilities

Slide 1: Antonia Hyde Rich media and web applications for people with learning disabilities

Slide 2: Why isn’t anyone thinking about people with learning disabilities?

Slide 3: They are….but how much?

Slide 4: (Pic removed) That was David. He’s 26, he supports Manchester United. And he’s looking for a girlfriend…He has mild learning disabilities. Thank you for including people with learning disabilities today. Much of the content of this presentation obvious. But that’s the point.

Slide 5: Background information Around 1.5 million people with learning disabilities in the UK, many with a secondary impairment. Learning disability? Almost 1 in 3 people with learning disabilities say they have no contact with friends. People communicate in different ways. No quick fix.

Slide 6: United Response 1,500 people, range of people and disabilities. Independence in the community. Many people do not communicate verbally. Find out how they want to give and receive information… My experience = web development + work with people with learning disabilities + rich media. Personal interest.

Slide 7: The power of rich media offline? Consumers: It can help people with learning disabilities communicate, learn, make concepts real. It can help to organise thinking and memory. Michael (link to video removed) UGC: People generating content. Used in day to day support, people making choices. People with more complex needs having a ‘voice’. DVDs for peer to peer support.

Slide 8: The power of rich media online? Consumers: rich media for news, entertainment, understanding difficult or new concepts etc. Makes things real. Opens doors to the niche, or the unattainable (e.g. literacy issues) Mandy and Landrovers (link to video removed) UGC: contributing to sites for people with learning disabilities but tend to be niche, not ‘mainstream’.

Slide 9: How people are using websites More people with learning disabilities coming online. Often people are accessing websites hand on hand, or with support. Software/hardware may develop? Videos today = people with mild learning disabilities but I would like you to consider more complex needs. David (link to video removed)

Slide 10: What did that mean? Still locking people with learning disabilities out. Many elements of web 2.0 not being accessed but many of those elements could benefit people with learning disabilities.

Slide 11: How could people benefit? Sites for people with learning disabilities ok. Mainstream = work needed. Could increase independence as more elements of life are online. Could network: people use facebook to connect with support circles. Could contribute: rather than receive.

Slide 12: How can we make it better? Order and clarity: for instance adopting a modular approach to site development. Many people with learning disabilities rely on things being presented in ordered ways:

Slide 13: peepo.com

Slide 14: Real life example presentation

Slide 15: How could this approach apply to your discipline as a designer/ developer/ content author/ project manager etc…?

Slide 17: Three areas tested by David 1. Players and layout 2. APIs and user control 3. Things that change

Slide 18: Players and layout Great elements of different players but not coming together as one player for people with learning disabilities. Many people need to take time over what they are doing but don’t want to use assistive technology. Lots of people need to repeat information to understand it. Often there is no option to repeat (slider).

Slide 19: Players and layout: building a player How much control does the user have? Are you giving people the option to repeat? Are the player controls easy to use? Are they in a logical order? Are you thinking about labels and the size of buttons? Volume control? What can people customise?

Slide 20: Players and layout: signposting Embedding: seems to be the preference. YouTube age. But people need to select what they want to receive. Video or audio inline can be impossible if page not dedicated to the subject matter. Can people find it? Graphics can help people with learning disabilities. But they need to be big!

Slide 23: Players and layout What else is on the page? How does this relate to the rich media? Using other applications or other content on the page? Are they distracting? You could use a still – it’s instructive. What are we up to?

Slide 24: Our site

Slide 25: Our site

Slide 26: Players and layout Pressure on video and audio to deliver the goods Let’s not make audio the poor relation.

Slide 28: These sorts of things will help to ensure that people with learning disabilities are accessing rich media. In turn, could open up worlds and untapped markets for people. The more people can do for themselves, the more control and independence people can have. This way of working benefits us all.

Slide 29: APIs and user control User control one of the most powerful things of web 2.0. Content and function are not separate in layout terms. Be explicit about what an application is for. The terminology you use: is it to do with the code and its function or what the user experience is? Controls: big and bold? e.g. ‘Do it’.

Slide 30: Things that change What is changing on the page? Does it need to? Something else happening on the page will almost always be a problem for people with learning disabilities. Ajax is immensely powerful. But we don’t want Ajax and dynamic content to become the new pop up.

Slide 31: Web 2.0 and social media David Last.fm (link to video removed)

Slide 32: Web 2.0 and social media Problem of access: How easy are you making it for people to sign up or find things? Often impossible. Login? Captcha? Search? Problem of contributing: Is it clear when people can change things or contribute? Can they find it? Have you built a help section or FAQs?

Slide 33: Web LD? No, but it can benefit everyone and business sense. At the moment, not benefiting people with learning disabilities but there is some good progress! We support standards and guidelines, but it’s not really about ticking boxes. Real time: people with learning disabilities are online and need access.

Slide 34: Push It We need to be more creative. tick This will make us more accessible. Bad usability can mean no access. Develop from the outside in and inside out. Focus needs to go back to layout and design particularly regarding mashups.

Slide 35: Push It Enable! People can have control, contribute and network. Engage: advocates and self-advocates. IMHO: If we are not considering this group as we develop, we are not being accessible. Future? Would like to see possibility of more useful customisation.

Slide 36: We are thinking about people with learning disabilities. Just not enough…

Slide 37: Dave is laughing. But none of us, as developers and designers wants people to be unable to control things. And ultimately desperate to get off the pages we have created.

Slide 38: More? If this interests you, get in touch. People are doing really good things: advocacy/ self-advocacy groups, voluntary sector, industry professionals, research. antonia.hyde@unitedresponse.org.uk www.unitedresponse.org.uk