“Can I actually use it?” Testing open textbooks for accessibility

• Amanda Coolidge, Tara Robertson, and Sue Doner

• November 18, 2015

@acoolidge @tararobertson @SueDoner

#opened15 #a11y

BC Open Textbook Project

Connect the expertise, programs, and resources of all BC post-secondary

institutions under a collaborative service delivery framework

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Open Education & Professional Learning

Student Services & Data Exchange

Collaborative Programs & Shared Services

Open Education & Professional Learning

OER Global Logo by Jonathas Mello is licensed under a CC-BY 30 License

Support & promote the development & use of Open Educational Resources

Support the development of effective teaching & learning practices1

Connect the expertise, programs, and resources of all BC post-secondary

institutions under a collaborative service delivery framework

BC Open Textbook Project

40 free & open textbooks for highest

enrolled 1st & 2nd year post-secondary

subjects in BC

2013 – 20 for skills & training

First province in Canada

2013 – AB & SASK MOU

$1 million

2013 - $1 million

Visual notes of John Yap announcement, Giulia Forsythe Used under

CC-SA license

Why are we doing this project?

To increase access to higher education by reducing student costs

To give faculty more control over their instructional resources

To improve learning outcomes for students

Annie Lennox campaigns with Oxfam at the AIDS Conference by Oxfam used under CC-BY-NC-ND license

The Project

Don’t reinvent it by Andrea Hernandez released under CC-BY-NC-SA and based on Wheel by Pauline Mak released

under CC-BY license

Where do they come from?

Faculty Reviews

291/365 by thebarrowboy used under a CC-BY

Reviews > Adaptations

My Adventures Adapting a Chemistry Textbook291/365 by thebarrowboy used under a CC-BY

Publish Many

Write Once

Choices for students (and for adapters)

Old Leather books, by Wyoming_Jackrabbit used under a CC-BY-NC-SA

Day 1 access to resources

“My textbook is…

…back-ordered

…in the mail

…out of stock

…the wrong edition

…on hold until my student loan arrives

…not needed until I decide I want this course”

How often do students start the term

without the resources they need?

Our Numbers

135 Open Textbooks294 Adoptions19 Institutions9,275 Students

$927,200- 1,204,762

open.bccampus.ca

User testing

Timeline

• Mid-November – contacted Disability Service departments to

recruit students

• December 19 –sent testing instructions to students

• January 19—received feedback forms from students

• January 27—in person focus group

• February 27 –published Accessibility Toolkit

Testing open textbooks

One chapter from each of the following:

• English Literature

• Introduction to Psychology

• Introduction to Sociology

• British Columbia in a Global Context

• Introductory Chemistry

Feedback form

For each chapter:

• Content questions

• Feedback on specific items – navigation, layout, text flow, tables,

font, images, links

• Overall feedback

Students said…

“Please continue to consult with the students who are using these

books.”

“Thank you again – it is really a privilege to be a part of this. You all

did an excellent job – the facilitation, the bits and pieces of logistics,

the questions and feedback – great job to all of you!”

Accessibility Toolkit

Our Framework

Accommodation:

• Individualized adaptation

• Often after a course has started

• Should be reserved for specific cases.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

• Pro-active “…elimination of barriers from the learning

environment.”

Accessibility (of digital materials):

• Practical application of UDL & W3C standards

• Pre-emptive removal of barriers to students with a disability

Scope of the Accessibility Toolkit

WHY?• Accessible design is better for ALL learners!

WHO?• Faculty/ID’s/Ed.techs who “may not know what they don’t know”

WHAT?• Best practices for the different types of textbook content.

HOW?• Emphasis on UDL + integration of student personas

WHERE?• Delivered in Pressbooks (same platform used for the Open

Textbooks)

The Outcome

The BC Open Textbook Accessibility Toolkit

http://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/

Inside the Accessibility Toolkit

I. Key Concepts

Introduces developers to the framework:

• Universal Design for Learning

• User Personas

II. Best Practices chapters

Each chapter includes:

• Introduction & context for the type of content

• Who are you doing this for?

• What do you need to do?

Next Steps

Includes:

• Incorporating Toolkit into development process for all new Open

Textbook creators

• French translation online (?)

• Second round of testing open trades modules with trades students

with learning disabilities

Thank you!

http://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/

@acoolidge @tararobertson @SueDoner