Join us on Wednesday 27 May 2020 at 11am (BST) to learn about the Accessibility Maturity Model for Higher and Further Education.

In our free webinar, we'll outline how to use the AbilityNet and McNaught Consultancy Accesibility Maturity Model for Higher and Further Education. Developed based on Alistair McNaught's existing model, this new model can be very useful for kickstarting work towards the accessibility regulations and also in engaging senior stakeholders in driving the cultural change that needs to accompany practical ‘to do’ lists for meeting accessibility regulations.

On the webinar, Helen Wickes of AbilityNet will provide an update on the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations, and Ben Watson from the University of Kent will join us to describe the very successful OPERA project at his institution, the principles of which were based on our model's approach. 

Register for our webinar: 'Accessibility Maturity Model for Higher and Further Education'.

About our HE and FE Accessibility Maturity Model

Why do we need an accessibility maturity model? Very simply, a maturity model helps make accessibility visible to your entire organisation.

Every institution will have people who are passionate about accessible practices, but in some organisations it may be a librarian, and in another it could be the IT manager, or the head of e-learning. Maybe it will be the head of department whose own child has a disability. The issue is that the accessibility good practices in one part of the organisation can be undermined by lack of accessibility awareness in another.

So, the maturity model provides a framework, or big picture, that helps an organisation see where their own gaps are. This helps you with determining priorities and strategies.

Learn how to use the maturity model: Register for our webinar.

NB - Those that register for the webinar will receive a recording, even if unable to attend live.

Further resources

• Access our services for higher and further education institutions
• Download your copy of the Maturity Model 
• Guest blog: music, art and accessible teaching and learning
• Webinar playback: Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations - Procurement
• Podcast: HE and Public Sector on the TechShare Procast

In this time of physical distancing, technology has become an essential lifeline, especially for older people. They are more likely to be lonely and isolated- and to need extra help to use their technology*. 

Technology can help people to gain or regain their independence by allowing them to shop or bank online when they are unable to do so in person. It can prevent isolation, as the internet can connect people to family and friends.

AbilityNet believes in a digital world accessible to all. We have a network of 300+ volunteers across the UK that support older people and disabled people with their technology, helping them to gain IT (information technology) know-how and achieve their digital goals. Although we’ve temporarily suspended our in-person home visit volunteer services, our volunteers are still able to help through phone calls, email and other communication methods.

Helping clients with technology during the lockdown

During this time of COVID-19, volunteers have been going to extra mile to support our clients, notably 70-year-old Janette from King Edward in Banff.

Janette contacted us when her laptop lost power, and she was unable to access essential services, including shopping. She rang our FREE Advice and Information Helpline (0800 269 545), and we redirected her call to our County Co-ordinator for Scotland, Chris Grant. 

Determined to get Janette back online, AbilityNet volunteer Chris Grant contacted Everest Technology in Aberdeen. The firm confirmed it had the accessory in stock, but the challenge was getting it to Janette who lives 45 miles from Aberdeen. 

Chris put in a call to AbilityNet volunteer Jeanette Bradley who suggested contacting North East Rides Volunteers Service (NERVS). NERVS is a not-for-profit charitable organisation founded to help the NHS by providing a free motorbike courier service. NERVS collected the adaptor and drove it from Aberdeen to our client Janette’s home.

Photo credit: nervs.org.uk

AbilityNet County Co-ordinator Chris Grant said it was a challenge that required some creative thinking:

“When the call came in, we had to think completely out of the box. Janette was in desperate need for the technology. I called Jeanette Bradley who suggested getting in touch with Everest and making the call to NERVS to pick it up and deliver it to Janette. I’m very grateful to the team at NERVS for their assistance especially Ross Bradley.”

Chris and our team of volunteers will continue to support Janette with her technology, but there’s also a level of general care involved, and upon finding Janette has been spending an excessive amount getting taxis to deliver groceries he spoke with Grampian Assistant Hub via Aberdeenshire Council. The latter are now arranging food to be delivered. Janette is grateful for the help she has received:

“Getting back on the PC was vital to me, especially as I live so far out in a remote area. I was paying £50 for a taxi to bring me food,” she said. 

We know this is just one example of the many ways charities, organisations and individuals are making a difference during these difficult times.

Please know we are here to help if you or someone you know could benefit from support with their technology to stay active and connected through this crisis and beyond.

*More lonely, more isolated

Recent figures show that there are at least 13.9 million disabled people in the UK. Even before the Coronavirus emergency, they were much more likely to feel the effects of social isolation. In a recent survey by Scope:

• Half of disabled people of working age said they “always or often feel lonely.”
• 1.2 million older people said they felt “chronically lonely.”
• 45% of pension age adults are lonely.

Need more help?

• Call our Freephone helpline during UK office hours on 0800 048 7642
• Request free tech support from our IT (information technology) volunteers

Helplines are supporting people with their mental health during this period of physical isolation. 

The British Red Cross, for example, has launched a coronavirus support line to help people affected by the pandemic. People from the charity’s psychosocial and mental health support team are offering practical and emotional support. 

We’ll hear from a member of the British red Cross helpline team, among others

Norman McKinley, British Red Cross executive director of UK operations said: “We want to make sure that people are getting the help they need. Our volunteers are taking calls from people who are struggling to get hold of medicines or food – especially those who are shielding at the moment.

“Our volunteers are all trained in psycho-social skills. They can provide a listening ear, practical advice and can quickly redirect people to organisations in their local area that can help. Having someone on the end of the phone when you feel most alone can be a lifeline in times like this.” 

• Watch a [recording of our webinar on how to find physical support using the internet, which includes information from the British Red Cross.

People working on the support line have supported people with other disasters including the Grenfell Tower fire. 

Call 0808 196 3651 to speak to a friendly British Red Cross volunteer.

The Silver Line: Supporting older people 

For older people The Silver Line (in partnership with Age UK) offers information, friendship and advice to older people, open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

All calls to The Silver Line helpline (0800 4 70 80 90) are free and confidential, and you can call for information, friendship and advice. 

The service can signpost callers to local groups and services or can offer regular friendship calls for older people who may be experiencing loneliness during lockdown – or at any time. 

How AbilityNet can help

AbilityNet believes in a digital world accessible to all. During the lockdown, our helpline is still here to support disabled and older people to adapt their technology.

Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will discuss any kind of computer problem and do their best to come up with a solution. We’re open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.

You can call AbilityNet’s helpline on 0300 180 0028.

Please note: calls to our helpline number cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number and count towards any inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls, and AbilityNet does not receive any money from these calls.

We also have online tools designed to help. 

We have a range of factsheets that talk in detail about technology that might help you, which you can download for free and My Computer My Way. A free interactive guide to all the accessibility features built into current desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Guest blogger Dr Dominique Thompson is an award-winning GP, young people’s mental health expert, TEDx speaker, author and educator, with over 20 years of clinical experience caring for students. Here she shares her tips for young people coping with the unpredictability surrounding and created by COVID19 or just to help you through the twists and turns of life.

Life is always unpredictable, but it’s fair to say that it has probably never been more so in our lifetimes. I often tell the students that I give talks to that ‘life is not a straight path- it is wiggly’! We can be going along just fine, and then, sometimes when we least expect it, life can take a massive zig-zag and lead us in a completely different direction.

To not just survive but thrive in life, we need to be able to cope when life goes round an unexpected bend.

I spent most of my career as a GP talking with students (about 78,000 of them at the last count), and much of that time was spent trying to help them, wherever I could, to deal with tricky or emotional situations. 

So for this blog, I wanted to pull out three consistent themes which I believe may help young people to focus on and maintain their wellbeing, even in the most unpredictable of times. These are not COVID19 specific themes, though they should be helpful now, they are useful for anyone who wants to build their life skills, be resourceful, and feel able to cope when life gets difficult or takes an unexpected turn.

1. Build your safety net

One of the best ways to care for ourselves is to be connected to other people who care about us. Family, friends, teachers, tutors, health care workers, and work colleagues, are all people we can weave into our safety net of support. If we need to build or strengthen our network with more people, we might choose to volunteer, or start a new job, or meet them online through shared interests.

It can take time to ‘find our tribe’ in life, but slowly and steadily we can build up support from those who share our ideas and values, our view of the world, or even our strange/ niche hobby.

• Watch AbilityNet's webinar on how to access internet-based learning

2. Find a purpose

Having a purpose in life is vital for wellbeing, but it is also really important to remember that it takes time (sometimes decades) to find our ‘life’s’ purpose, whereas we can much more easily create a daily purpose.

This is particularly important when life is as challenging as it is at the moment. We need to be able to get up each day and have a reason to put our feet on the floor, get out of bed and get going. Having small projects, helping others, being creative or getting things ticked off a list can all give you a sense of daily purpose.

You might like to create a mood board online of your ideal room décor, you might decide to get physical with wood, hammer and nails, you might clean bits of your home that have never seen daylight, or you might help a neighbour who is struggling, thus giving yourself a nice happy boost too.

All these things and many others can restore some motivation, and keep you going till we come out of the other side of this strange global event.

Having done this for COVID19, you will then be better prepared for the next time life is difficult.

3. Don’t be afraid to mess up

We all like to do well or even be the best at stuff, but it is those who fail regularly and mess up who learn the most. So the advice here is about not being afraid to try new things, make mistakes, and explore new activities or ideas.

It is also about not being too anxious when doing everyday stuff, whilst worrying that you will be judged or criticised.

• Read about 7 apps, which will help reduce anxiety at university

Lots of us worry about what others will think of us (that’s normal) or that we might get things wrong (very normal), but the key here is to not to let it stop you doing the things that you want to. Mistakes are a normal part of learning,  so it can be helpful to accept that you might get it wrong, but give it a go anyway.

Whether it is trying a new fashion look, hairstyle (aren’t we all right now?), sport, recipe, creative writing style, then just go for it (but try not to end up in A&E at the moment). Watch YouTube videos for advice, video chat with friends whilst you do it, or share your efforts online when you’re ready to, but make yourself one promise- that you will learn from your mistakes, not let them stop you taking good risks in life. 

So I hope that with these 3 themes to live by, you will feel confident to try new things, motivated to keep going one day at a time, whilst staying connected to your support network, as we all live through this bizarre era and come out the other side in a few months’ time. Life will always be wiggly, but hopefully, you will now feel more ready to zig-zag!

• Recently I have recorded some brief videos (called #DomIn60Seconds) to offer advice and support, on a whole variety of topics which may feel relevant to young people, and I have also written a series of short guides for students on mental health, and succeeding at university. I hope you will find them useful!

How AbilityNet can help disabled students

• Factsheet: How to get Disabled Students Allowance
• Inclusive Technology for disabled students
• Top three ambient apps to improve focus and help you study
• Four game-changing apps every student needs at university
• Accessible spoken content hacks for hearing impaired students

In this time of increasing uncertainty and change, web accessibility and inclusive marketing is more important than ever. 

As organisations take steps to limit travel, cancel or postpone face-to-face appointments and replace in-person events with virtual ones, it’s vitally important that the information you produce online can be accessed and understood by every website user. It’s also critical to ensure your comms don’t alienate or leave anyone behind.

On 21st May (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) our very own Robin Christoperson, Head of Digital Inclusion here at Abilitynet, will be joining Texthelp and Radley Yeldar for a webinar on inclusive digital comms. We'll look at the case for building accessible and inclusive websites and digital campaigns and advice on how to do it.

If you are working to improve your digital comms, boost your brand reputation, and build more inclusive marketing and digital experiences please register to attend live, or to receive the recording/slides.

Register now for 'Making essential digital communications accessible and inclusive'
 

Older people and disabled people are amongst the worst hit by the coronavirus lockdown – they are more likely to be suffering from loneliness and need extra help to use their tech. That's why we're highlighting their freephone helpline and a network of police-checked IT volunteers who can provide free one-to-one support to help with all sorts of tech problems.

We are also running AbilityNet Live! - a series of free online events about staying safe online, staying connected, getting the most from your smart speaker which is being supported by Amazon, RNIB, REd Cross, Microsoft and many other organisations.

More lonely, more isolated

Recent figures show that there are at least 13.9 million disabled people in the UK. Even before the Coronavirus emergency they were much more likely to feel the effects of social isolation. In a recent survey by Scope:

• half of disabled people of working age said they “always or often feel lonely”,
• 1.2 million older people said they felt “chronically lonely”
• 45% of pension age adults are lonely.

Sarah Botterill is from AbilityNet and says that their services are vital to make sure that we don’t overlook the very people who need the most help:

“We’re seeing technology bring us together in amazing ways in these difficult times, with families and friends using online calls to stay connected. Lots of older people and disabled people are really confident about using their phones or tablets, but many of them need extra help when using tech to stay in touch – which is adding to their sense of loneliness and isolation."

“Up and down the country we know that concerned relatives are trying to get their family connected, trying to get them on Skype or Zoom calls or sharing news on WhatsApp. But even when they have a smartphone or tablet what people really want is someone they can call when they need help - someone they can trust who will be patient and not baffle them with jargon."

"That's why we're highlighting our freephone helpline on 0800 048 7642 - anyone can call that and ask any tech question, no matter how trivial it may seem, and it's backed up with a network of IT volunteers."

Patient, trustworthy tech support

AbilityNet IT volunteers have been helping people in their homes for over ten years, and they don’t just fix it and run away – they show people how to do things for themselves and help them feel more confident and independent. They also help them find ways to connect with family and friends, such as getting on Facebook, or using Skype, playing online games or sending emails.

“We are proud to have a network of extremely patient, highly experienced tech support volunteers,” says Sarah Botterill. “They are used to dealing with all sorts of techie questions from people of all ages, And that's why their motto is that no problem is too small for them to deal with, whether it is setting up a new tablet supplied by the family, getting rid of viruses or simply getting the broadband working.”

AbilityNet Live! Free online events for disabled and older people

AbilityNet Live! is a series of free online events, specially developed to answer questions for disabled people and older people who are working or studying from home, or want to stay connected to family or friends. Upcoming sessions include:

• How to access online learning to stay motivated and learn new skills
• How to take care of your mental health while working or studying from home
• How disabled people can use Alexa and other smart speakers to stay connected

Need more help?

• Call our Freephone helpline during office hours on 0800 048 7642
• Sign up for events and view recordings of previous events at www.abilitynet.org.uk/live
• Request free tech support from our IT volunteers

Communities and charities are coming together in a time of coronavirus (COVID-19). The internet brought together the global community, and in this time of crisis can help older, disabled and vulnerable people access the physical, practical and emotional support they need during this time of crisis.

As part of AbilityNet's response to COVID-19, we've launched a series of weekly webinars under the umbrella of AbilityNet Live! designed to help people at home, and those are working from home.

In our recent webinar, we heard from leading charities including Age UK, the British Red Cross, RNIB and Stroke Association as well as COVID-19 Mutual Aid UK to find out how they're providing local support. Here are five things we learned.

1. Local support during COVID-19

Access to local support is just a couple of clicks away. We heard from COVID-19 Mutual Aid UK.

The website grew out of a local support group in Lewisham and now acts as a central listing as to where your nearest COVID-19 support group is; simply enter a postcode or your town or street name into the search box and it will reveal the local groups.

You can contact these via email or in some cases, WhatsApp or connect directly via COVID-19 Mutual Aid UK. 

Help varies according to the local group; some will collect medicines while others will deliver food in rural areas where there are few shops. 

The Stroke Association's local support groups are also embracing technology to continue providing support. For more information, visit the Stroke Association's website, or email clubtogether@stroke.org.uk.

Similarly, Age UK is providing co-ordinated support at a local, and a national level, as is the British Red Cross. 

• Watch a recording of our webinar to find out more about how to find local support using technology

2. Tackling social isolation

Helping isn't just about practical acts. The charities are also embracing the need for community, and to look after people's mental health during this time. We heard about a variety of befriending services. 

These are existing services, but social contact has never been more critical than in this time of physical distancing. 

A number of the charities have befriending and helpline services for those who may feel lonely during this time. Age UK has joined up with The Silver Line, which is available to call anytime on 0800 4 70 80 90.  Age UK's Call in Time is a befriending service which will match you to someone who will call for a half-hour chat. 

Stroke survivors can match to someone who knows a lot about stroke through its befriending service, and you can connect to online forums via My Stroke Guide.

• Watch AbilityNet's webinar with the Stroke Association to find out more about how technology can help stroke survivor

You can also find local support groups using Facebook.

• With help signing up to Facebook or any other technical support we continue to operate our helpline on 0300 180 0028 or contact us about remote support. 

3. Apps to help those with visual impairments and sight loss

The RNIB actively embraces technology that can help bring greater independence to people with visual impairments, or sight loss. It has teamed up with former AbilityNet Tech4Good Award winner Be My Eyes, making it the first sight loss charity in the UK to partner with the global app.

The app has millions of sighted volunteers. Those with sight loss can use their camera to get help, which could be as simple as asking whether what's in front of them is a tin of beans or a tin of spaghetti hoops.

You can find out me in the founder's Ted Talk.

It isn't the only app of its kind, and RNIB has been reviewing others on its website, including neighbourhood app Next Door.

RNIB is also offering a free subscription to RNIB Newsagent so you can download newspapers and magazines to keep up with the latest news or to read about your favourite hobby.

4. Staying safe

While accessing help, it's important you keep yourself safe. COVID-19 Mutual Aid UK will not keep any of your details after your request is fulfilled. 

It's also important you don't let volunteers into your home. It's a health risk during this time of COVID-19.

Technology also comes with some risks and Age UK is offering information about watching out for scams on its website.

You can also sign up for our future webinar Staying Safe online when we'll be joined by a security expert with over 30 years of experience staying one step ahead of the scammers. 

5. Mental and physical wellbeing

All the charities we shared the webinar with are keen to spread kindness during this unprecedented time. The British Red Cross has a kindness manifesto and has been delivering colouring books as a part of its wellbeing packages in the community.

Age UK groups have been coming together and having virtual coffee mornings, and running virtual book clubs so there's still plenty of activity even if the groups can't physically meet up. 

People are also sending letters, and writing stories. 

Physical health is just as important and Sport England has workouts you can do at home.

Other useful links from the webinar

• British Red Cross Kindness Appeal
• RNIB Sightline info
• Be My Eyes App
• Staying Put book, written by Mick Trotter
• Getting government support if you are a vulnerable person
• Silverline-helpline for older people

How AbilityNet can help 

AbilityNet has a range of products and services that can help you make tech more accessible including consultancy, design reviews, auditing and user testing. 

AbilityNet provides a range of free services to help disabled people and older people.

Call our helpline. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will discuss any kind of computer problem and do their best to come up with a solution. We’re open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 0300 180 0028.

Please note: calls to our helpline number cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number and count towards any inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls, and AbilityNet does not receive any money from these calls

Arrange some remote support. We have a network of AbilityNet ITCanHelp volunteers who can help if you have technical issues with your computer systems. They can come to your home, or help you over the phone.

We have a range of factsheets which talk in detail about technology that might help you, which can be downloaded for free. You may find our factsheets talking about voice recognition and keyboard alternatives useful.

My Computer My Way. A free interactive guide to all the accessibility features built into current desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

• Free webinar
• 1pm BST, Weds 8 April 2020
• Register for free now
• Part of AbilityNet Live

With a sudden rise in the use of online meetings such as Zoom and Teams there are lots of top tips about hosting such meetings, from dealing with small children creeping about in the background to making sure you turn off the camera when taking a comfort break.

What is more difficult to find are top tips to ensure that disabled people studying or working from home can participate in meetings and be productive as their colleagues.

This free webinar will explain the key things to think about to ensure that disabled people can access and participate in online meetings and study. It will cover the basics for any accessible online meeting, as well as specific tips for Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

• It will be of interest to anyone who hosts meetings in a business, charity or university setting.
• It will feature automatic live captions.
• It will be recorded and shared with anyone who registers.

Panelists include:

• Robin Christopherson, AbilityNet
• Adam Tweed, AbilityNet
• Ghizzie Dunlop, UWE
• Michael Vermeesch, Microsoft
• Alistair McNaught, McNaught Consulting

Register for free now

At a time when isolation is a genuine concern, we must heed the revised advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and move from referring to ‘social distancing’ and instead use the term ‘physical distancing’.

It seems like semantics, but ‘social distancing’ is a phrase that triggers our minds to think of isolation, solitude, loneliness.

It suggests that this challenging period is one in which we are alone.

The truth is for many of us, this period of ‘physical distancing’ has made us re-valuate the importance of social closeness, and the seemingly trivial bonds we have with others have become conspicuous in their absence.

• Read our tips on ten ways technology can help you to stay connected
• Access detailed instructions and information about using WhatsApp to stay in touch with family and friends

Staying connected through technology

However, we live in an age like no other. The technology we have at our fingertips plays a crucial role in enabling us to remain socially together despite the need to stay physically apart.

It wasn’t that long ago when communication, especially with grandparents and parents, was a phone call, a one-on-one conversation and an “I’ll go get your father” handover.

Now we have video conferencing with multiple participants, parents and grandparents who have tablets and smartphones to hand and are comfortable with using them.

• Register for our FREE webinar on Keeping in touch using technology. We’ll be joined by Action for Carers and Care for the Carers. 

We can set a laptop on a table and join our family for Sunday lunch without being in the room. We can meet our colleagues online for a coffee break and a chat, grin at the ping of the notification that someone is reaching out rather than roll our eyes at the interruption. 

We are not alone, the groups we belong to, our ‘tribes’, our families, have not disappeared, and although we may be physically apart, we’re still socially connected, we’ve merely migrated online.

AbilityNet: Helping you during the Coronavirus Pandemic

To ensure we stay connected in this time of crisis AbilityNet is:

• Launching AbilityNet Live weekly webinars to help older and disabled people, and employers and employees remain connected 
• Working in partnership with a range of organisations including Action for Carers, Age UK, Care for the Carers, Citizens Online and Stroke Association 
• Continuing to offer our FREE technology Helpline for older and disabled people at home who need support 0800 269 545
• Providing remote support via our volunteers (call our Helpline for details)
• Offer our FREE online resource My Computer My Way, a self-help guide to adapting technology for older and disabled people
• Highlighting our FREE factsheets, these include everything from what devices can help to use the accessibility options in your operating system