This is my presentation at #OER20 based on the book chapter Open to Inclusion: Exploring openness for people with disabilities at https://bit.ly/2UlazB6 Book chapter was co-authored by myself, Prof. Andrew Adams (Meiji University, Japan) and Prof. Shirley Williams (University of Reading, UK).

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Open to inclusion: Accessibility
Dr Tharindu Liyanagunawardena

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Plan
• Background
• Accessibility
• Open Content
• Legal and Ethical Questions
• OER Accessibility
• Personas
• Accessibility Awareness

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Begin programming: Build your first mobile game

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Begin programming: Build your first mobile game

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Begin programming: Build your first mobile game

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Accessibility
• Substantial, long-term, physical or mental impairment
• The quality of being easily reached, entered, or
used by people who have a disability
- Oxford Living Dictionary
• Digital Accessibility
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1
- Levels: A, AA, AAA
- Version 2.2 (First Public Working Draft 27 February 2020)

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Open Content
“In particular the availability, accessibility and acceptability of this
mode of teaching [OER] and learning is extremely variable, with
socially excluded groups or communities being those who do not
have much access to such technologies, may find few
opportunities available to them in their circumstances and are
worried that they cannot cope with these new technologies and
ways of learning” (Lane, 2012, p.12)
Lane, A. (2012). Widening participation in higher education through open educational
resources. In Collaborative learning 2.0: Open educational resources (pp. 1-15).

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Legal Frameworks
• To provide equal opportunities to people with disabilities
• Many countries have legal frameworks …
• “Children who have more severe degrees of multiple disabilities and
intellectual disability have no opportunities at all. The Education
System, both state and private, lacks the expertise and the capacity
to deal with these children”
(Ministry of Social Welfare, Sri Lanka, 2003, pp 16-17)

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Enforced Equality Laws
• United States
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Recent High Profile cases:
• MIT
• Harvard
• University of California, Berkeley
• Lack of closed captions
• EdX settlement with Department of Justice in 2015

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Ethical Questions
• London Tube stations 79/270
• 1/5th of disabled musicians had been forced to cancel
gigs  lack of access (survey by AiE)
• How should access be resolved?
• Donations or Crowd Funding?
• Nominal fee instead of Open Access?
• Replace one access limitation by another?
• Disability  Financial means

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OER Accessibility
• Formal courses
• OER not part of formal courses
• OERs are created by …
• On MERLOT’s 450+ OERs have accessibility information
(out of over 80,000)

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Khalid
• 18 Years old
• College student
• Champion swimmer
• Recent accident crossing road
• Into computers and gadgets
• Mostly use sign language
• Can lip read

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Sophie
• 25 Years old
• Trainee accountant
• Musician
• Volunteer music teacher at local elderly home
• Lives in supported accommodation
• Loves concerts
• Screen-reader user

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Arun
• 55 Years old
• Software engineer
• Early retirement
• Wheelchair user
• Adapted computer
• Unable to use a mouse due to MS

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Chamari
• 45 Years old
• Childcare assistant
• Promotion pending on English and
Maths qualifications
• Taking Maths and English lessons
• Difficult time in school due to Dyslexia

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How will they create OERs?
• If Khalid, Sophie, Arun and Chamari
were to create OERs what sort of content
will they create?
• Will these be accessible to each other?

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Accessibility Awareness
• Wide variety of issues
• Accessibility best practices
• Community support
Poster: https://bit.ly/33Nh4Qo

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Questions 
Contributors:
Dr. Tharindu Liyanagunawardena
tharindu@ucem.ac.uk
@Tharindu__
Prof. Andrew Adams
aaa@meiji.ac.jp
@a__cubed
Prof. Shirley Williams
shirley.williams@reading.ac.uk
@ShirleyEarley
Author final version of Open to Inclusion: Exploring openness for
people with disabilities at https://bit.ly/2UlazB6