If you don’t do this already AmazonSmile is a really easy way to shop at Amazon and donate to AbilityNet at the same time, at no extra cost.

It’s really simple - when you shop at Amazon via AbilityNet's AmazonSmile link rather than the normal Amazon site, 0.5% of the sale from qualifying purchases will be donated by Amazon to AbilityNet without any impact on your pocket.

How your donations help us

AbilityNet is the leading UK charity for disability and technology. We support people of any age, living with any disability or impairment to use technology to achieve their goals at home, at work and in education. We do this by providing specialist consultancy, assessment services, free resources and we also have a network of volunteers that provide support to people remotely and in their homes.

As a charity, the revenue from our expert paid-for services is used to support our free services and charitable operations. In choosing to work with or support us you are enabling us to help people with diverse access needs to fully participate in education, work and life - combating isolation and loneliness, and increasing independence. AmazonSmile is a great way to support us with no associated cost and minimal effort. Where someone can donate directly to our cause it is appreciated.

About AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support a charity of your choice every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.co.uk, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as at amazon.co.uk, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your selected charity.

How do I shop at AmazonSmile?

To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.co.uk from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.co.uk to make it even easier to return to and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.

Which products on AmazonSmile are eligible for charitable donations?

Millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations to charities by Amazon. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for smile.amazon.co.uk donation” on their product detail pages. Recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible.

Can I use my existing Amazon.co.uk account on AmazonSmile?

Yes, you use the same account on amazon.co.uk and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.

How do I select a charitable organisation to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?

On your first visit to smile.amazon.co.uk you need to select a charitable organisation to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.co.uk will result in a donation. AmazonSmile will occasionally contact you about donation amounts disbursed to your chosen charity or about the programme.

How can AbilityNet help you with your technology?

We provide a range of free services and resources to help people to achieve their goals.

• Call our Advice and Information Helpline on 0800 269 545. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will discuss any kind of computer or IT problem with you and we will do our best to come up with a solution. We’re open Monday to Friday during UK office hours.
• Request a home visit or remote support from our network of volunteers who can help if you are having technical issues with a device or want support to complete a task using technology.
• My Computer My Way is a free interactive guide to all the accessibility features built into every major smartphone, desktop computer, laptops and tablet device.

The European Accessibility Act is all set to create an equal digital landscape for older and disabled people.

There are an estimated 80 million Europeans with disabilities, and over 190 million older people.

Brexit means we may need to subtract from those numbers those who happen to be living in the UK. 

What is the European Accessibility Act?

The Act aims to “remove and prevent barriers for the free movement of accessible products and services.” 

It will also create standards. Currently, an example of divergent rules is the case of web accessibility, where Member States use different versions of the W3C/WCAG guidelines.

Countries will have three years to enshrine it in their local legislation, followed by a further three years to put it into full effect; ensuring that it is monitored and enforced.

Who will benefit from the Accessibility Act?

It’s a win-win situation. Businesses will benefit from standard rules on accessibility in the EU leading to costs reduction, easier cross-border trading and more market opportunities for their accessible products and services.

Persons with disabilities and the elderly will benefit from: more accessible products and services in the market, accessible products and services at more competitive prices,  and fewer barriers when accessing transport, education and the open labour market.

There will also be more jobs available where accessibility expertise is needed. 

What does this mean for UK businesses?

Now here’s the rub. Resulting from a freeze on the automatic adoption of any new EU directives post-Brexit, the European Accessibility Act may not be brought into UK law. 

We’ll face the bizarre situation where companies creating products for Europe will need to meet higher standards abroad than in their home market.

The freeze doesn't, however, mean that accessibility will slip down the corporate agenda.

As the Act points out, in 2020 approximately 120 million persons in the European Union will have multiple and/or minor disabilities. 

Businesses that don't embrace the purple pound will miss out, as revealed by Scope at last year's TechShare Pro.

Similarly, the recently published ClickAway Pound report reveals that online retailers who don't embrace accessibility could be missing out on £17.1 billion of potential revenue.

That's £17.1 billion compelling reasons for a business to embrace accessible standards.

Learning accessible lessons from the rest of the world

Accessibility needn't be a casualty of Brexit. Implementing legislation is only one means of tackling the barriers created by people and organisations who don’t consider accessibility & inclusive design when building digital services & products. 

Our panel at last year's TechShare Pro conference offered a perspective on this question from around the globe - including the US, Europe, Israel and Norway.

Listen to the TechShare Procast podcast to hear the session. (Transcript available to download).

Are UK citizens with disabilities or impairments of less value than their European counterparts? Add in the mix the fact that inclusive products are more accessible for everyone to use, and it’s easy to predict that Digital UK Plc will lose its competitive edge along with any moral standing it may have had. 

Listen to technology regulations expert, Heather Burns, discuss how the Brexit timing has put paid to the European Accessibility Act becoming UK law...(download transcript)

Related articles:

• Here’s how the government can help disabled people in a digital world
• Technology - helping those with disabilities lead healthier, richer lives
• Inclusive design and the man who fell to earth

Virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri are now part of our everyday lives. It’s as natural to talk to a device and receive a spoken (or on-screen) nugget of info, as it is to whip out our phone to check the weather, Google that thing or listen to music. A new project from the clever guys at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), however, cuts out all that unnecessary need for spoken phrases and responses – that’s so last decade - and, for those who physically can’t speak, this evolution is truly a revolution.

Meet your AI alter ego

Students from MIT have created a prototype device, dubbed AlterEgo, that can recognize the words you mouth when silently talking to yourself—and then take action based on what it thinks you’re saying. No sounds, no lip movements are required. Imagine an interface to your computer, smartphone or virtual assistant that you can seamlessly use wherever you are and however noisy your surroundings – neat. Now imagine that you actually can’t speak (like the very funny and award-winning Lost Voice Guy) – this tech suddenly opens up all the options of natural language commands, text dictation and super-high productivity that is currently available to everyone else.

One of the people we need to thank for this magical new method of human-computer interaction is Arnav Kapur, a master’s student at the MIT Media Lab — a division of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that focuses on the intersection of people and their tech — and author of the paper that outlined their work to date.

Kapur stresses that the device doesn’t read thoughts or the random, stray words that just happen to pass through your mind. “You’re completely silent, but talking to yourself,” he says. “It’s neither thinking nor speaking. It’s a sweet spot in between, which is voluntary but also private. We capture that."

Electrodes on the face and jaw pick up otherwise undetectable neuromuscular signals triggered by internal verbalizations. A bone conducting speaker then speaks the AI output directly into your head, leaving your ears free. Let’s digest that last bit for a second; not only can it pick up unspoken phrases, but the response from your computer, phone or virtual assistant of choice can be silently piped right into your head without your even seeming to be wearing any sort of headphones or earbuds. This truly is the first ‘internal’ AI.

AlterEgo on the TED stage

Enough talking, silent or otherwise, let’s hear direct from the man himself, speaking on the TED stage in June 2019.

Pretty amazing; a swift, silent user interface for all your computing needs. 

My take on this transformative tech

Not yet on the market, it’s unclear just how the MIT boffins (or more likely their venture capital investors) will choose to position this tech. One could readily imagine that a few tweaks would enable it to present itself as a standard Bluetooth headset – it has the usual elements; a microphone and a speaker. Bluetooth speakers and headsets are two-a-penny so this would be supremely simple to do if they chose to.

Instead of the typical physical buttons for play/pause, volume up/down, skip ahead/back and to invoke Siri, say, it could readily employ verbalised commands instead. The device is already processing your silently spoken commands to send as text output to your computer or phone, so why not keep some few phrases aside for the common operations above and, instead of sending the text, just send those equivalent standard Bluetooth device commands instead? Easy. 

Then you could use AlterEgo with Siri or Google Assistant on your phone (and control media etc, of course) just as you can currently do with any Bluetooth device. Amazon certainly wouldn’t want to be left out of the party - so Alexa integration would surely be close behind. 

Whether the feedback from your phone in response to your unspoken commands is purely audio, or whether (as with Siri or the Google Assistant etc) there’s stuff going on on your screen too, is again up for grabs in the implementation. 

There’s such a strong argument for a completely hands-free, eyes-free use-case, however, that one would imagine that would be the primary, futuristically sci-fi application of AlterEgo we’d all want out of the box.

The power of voice-first technology

I’d like to wrap up this brief post with a few links to some of the more recent articles I’ve written on the power and potential of voice technologies and the coming age of ambient computing. There is huge potential to help those with disabilities, or with less support or confidence, to more fully engage with the digital world and be more connected with family and friends. Check them out and, if you want more, there’s plenty more in my post feed:

• Amazon helping the blind with new Echo 'Show and tell' feature
• How the rise of voice is revolutionising our digital lives part 1
• Five ways to stay well with Alexa
• Finally, full hands-free mobile and landline calling from your Echo 
• A new simple way to Alexify everything heralds an inclusive future for all
• Hear, hear! Here's to the woman behind making Alexa inclusive 
   

A Nissan LEAF all-electric vehicle, equipped with all the necessary sensors and systems for full autonomous driving, has just set a new UK record journey of 230 miles across our uniquely challenging mix of roads and traffic – signifying just how viable these technologies are for everyone who either wants or needs to be driven autonomously.

A road trip with a difference

A self-driven car has completed a 230-mile self-navigated journey across the UK, making it the longest and most complex autonomous journey on UK roads. The Nissan LEAF car drove unassisted from their technical centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, to the Nissan factory in Sunderland. 

The journey included a number of different road types; including motorways, complex roundabouts and high-speed country lanes with no road markings, white lines or kerbs. For those of us still thinking of autonomous driving as being some sort of glorified cruise control to keep us a safe distance behind the car in front, combined with a lane-keeping capability that requires well-marked roads, think again.

Photo source: Nissan

Two engineers were on-board, monitoring the vehicle's actions at all times, but the self-driving tech (GPS, radar, ‘light detection and ranging’ – LIDAR - and camera technologies) meant that the car was able to change lanes, merge, stop and start as necessary. It even stopped at several service stations along the way to recharge its batteries.

Photo source: Nissan

Bringing true diversity to driving

As a blind person, I couldn’t be more excited by news stories such as this. The arrival of driverless vehicles to UK streets is inevitable and within our lifetimes – maybe even within this decade. The technology is moving apace – all we really need now is the legislation which, unless it releases the handbrake soon, won’t be in place before the tech is fully baked and ready for our roads.

I’ve written many times about the power of a personalised on-demand driverless future and what it will mean for people for whom jumping behind the wheel isn’t an option today.

Whether you’re able to drive today or, conversely, have no inclination ever to learn or own a car, or you have a disability or impairment that means that passing your test will never be on the cards, we’ll certainly have options when it comes to the road transport of tomorrow. 

This new record is a very tangible illustration of the viability of this tech - and so let’s hope it helps accelerate the wheels of legislation and public acceptance on the road to a greener, more inclusive future for all of us.

A bit more about the project

The vehicle and its impressive road trip was part of the HumanDrive project; jointly funded by the UK government through the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Innovate UK, along with nine other consortium partners.

"The HumanDrive project allowed us to develop an autonomous vehicle that can tackle challenges encountered on UK roads that are unique to this part of the world, such as complex roundabouts and high-speed country lanes with no road markings, white lines or kerbs." - Bob Bateman, Project Manager for Nissan Technical Centre, Europe.

Business Minister, Nadhim Zahawi said: “Safely completing the longest autonomous drive in Britain is an incredible achievement for Nissan and the HumanDrive consortium, and a huge step towards the rollout of driverless cars on UK streets. This project is a shining example of how the automotive industry, working with government, can drive forward technology to benefit people’s mobility - while helping to slash carbon emissions.”

Related articles:

• Blind and roaming in Las Vegas? Get a Lyft
• Accelerating towards a disability-friendly driverless future
• The power of a personalised on-demand driverless future 

The RNIB's Sonali Rai (far left) reflects on developments in making digital multimedia accessible to people with sight loss, in this Guest Blog.

Over time, we've seen momentum build towards making video accessible to people with sight loss including the growth in audio-described content. 

Services like Netflix and Apple+ are providing access tracks across of the majority their original content, with Prime Video following suit.

According to the Ofcom Access Services Report of 2018, about 25 per cent of content was broadcast with audio description on TV in the UK with BBC, ITV and Channel 4 leading the way on their streaming services in addition to linear broadcast. 

Download session transcripts and view additional session content

Shifting expectations around audio descriptions for accessibility

Last year, we celebrated 25 years of audio description on broadcast TV. It is also 15 years since we saw the first UK theatrical release with description, Harry Poter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Steady progress on the delivery of tracks on content has meant that we now have a generation that has grown up with an audio description and that refuses to waste time on content that is not made accessible for them.

What is also helping immensely is that the user group is more vocal now than ever before.

Legislation prompting audio descriptions

Expectation is one of the motivators behind the movement. However, the UK is also benefitting significantly from legislation notably the UK Communications Act of 2003 while the US introduced CVAA (21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 2010).

UK broadcasters have been required to audio describe 10-20 per cent of their programming, depending on their license and other voluntary commitments negotiated by the UK Government, for some time now. Following the launch of US Services such as Netflix and Apple+, which deliver audio description on a large part of their shared US content [because of CVAA], the UK Providers are now in a rush to fix the accessibility of their own non-linear delivery channels.

The recent Ofcom report shows there has been remarkable progress to meet these needs, particularly by ITV Hub and All4.   

Still, most providers attributed the recent progress and increase in accessibility to innovation and meeting user requirements rather than legislation.

Sarah Herrlinger, Director of Accessibility, Apple, mentioned that compliance rarely inspired true innovation with rest of panellists agreeing that viewer experience was paramount in driving the efforts.

However, legislation could also be a great leveller and give those broadcasters that have resisted calls for accessibility and audio description the much-needed push to finally take the plunge.

We need to monitor how much multimedia material is accessible

During our session, we also heard from Nigel Meggitt, Executive Product Manager, BBC, who talked about the need for greater transparency where, in the future, providers would be supporting each other by making their usage data available for the wider industry.

For example, how much of BBC content on Netflix is watched with audio description and subtitles?

If the usage is high, then it might encourage other providers to make their content available with access features as well, and if it isn’t high enough then is there a piece of work to be done to understand the reasons for this lack of engagement? 

In either case, users of access features would benefit from greater transparency.

Supporting viewer experiences

One of our other panellists, Mariana Lopez from the University of York, introduced the AHRC funded Enhancing Audio Description Project.  

While there are many initiatives looking at ways to improve the viewer experience of audio description users, particularly at the role of binaural and spatial audio, Enhancing Audio Description Project was among one of the first back in 2017.

The results were promising and since then several projects have been launched to explore the benefits of AD as a storytelling technique and the narratives that develop from it. It is worth noting here that next-generation audio, which introduces more immersive sound technologies, will be available on consumer devices soon too, so it is no longer a thing of the future.

Apple+ already has AD on the Atmos mix!  

So, the time to act is now.

Audio Description and Video on Demand session video:

Relevant content:

• Full archive of TechShare Pro 2019 content
• Download session transcripts and view additional session content
• Embracing the next-generation of audio

This FREE webinar will focus on how you can ensure you procure accessible solutions for your needs from external suppliers. You’ll learn how Leeds Trinity University has been developing processes for working with partners to ensure online accessibility.

AbilityNet’s Abi James will outline top tips for accessibility checks to make when working with suppliers, and share her advice for how suppliers can provide accessible solutions for their clients.

You'll also receive a brief update on the latest news and advice about the implementation of Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations within universities, HE (higher education) institutions and other public sector organisations.

About the webinar

Claire Gibbons, Project Manager (Digital Team, Marketing and Communications) at Leeds Trinity University will be joining us to talk about accessible procurement at Leeds Trinity University (LTU). The University is coming to the end of an ambitious programme of work to renew its online publishing model through the procurement of a new web Content Management System, a new search solution, and recruiting a new Web Developer. Find out from Claire how accessibility can be built into your public sector procurement processes and website redevelopment projects at every stage, and how to work together with external agencies to ensure accessible products and services for all.
 
Abi James will also be sharing tips for what to check when buying from suppliers and the importance of validating accessibility credentials. She’ll provide advice for suppliers noting the need to understand what clients require from suppliers about accessibility; an understanding of accessibility law and how issues can be fixed.

When will the webinar take place?

Our webinar is FREE to join and will take place jointly with Leeds Trinity University on Thursday 27 February, 1-2pm GMT.

Register now

Who is this webinar for?

• Public sector organisations
• Higher and further education institutions
• Local government and the health sector
• Website owners, digital leaders, IT and procurement specialists
• Suppliers applying for tenders in the public sector
• Web agencies interested in improving accessibility

The webinar will last 1 hour, include live captions, and a question and answer session.

Register for this webinar

Further resources

• Free webinar: Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations November 2019 update
• Blog: Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations: Your questions answered
• Need help with your digital accessibility? Speak to AbilityNet.
• Culture boosts compliance in HE and the public sector

This FREE webinar will offer information and support on how technology can make life a little easier for people after a stroke, and those who are caring for them. 

A stroke impacts people physically and emotionally affecting movement, speech vision and hearing. This can make it more difficult to access and use devices such as smartphones, tablets and PCs. At the same time, access to assistive technology, online support and devices can help reduce the physical isolation that can follow a stroke.

For example, stroke is the commonest form of aphasia. People who are affected by aphasia, have trouble with the four main ways that we understand and use language, including reading, listening, speaking, typing or writing.

Register Now 

Aphasia causes anxiety in 44% of those who suffer from it, according to The Stroke Association.

A stroke can also cause issues of cognitive and physical impairment and is a common cause of anxiety and depression.

Technology can be part of the solution, which is why AbilityNet and the Stroke Association are working in partnership locally, and nationally.

We are running this webinar in association with The Stroke Association and will be joined by members of the organisation's Helpdesk.

About the webinar

When will the webinar take place?

Our webinar is FREE to join and will take place jointly with The Stroke Association on 31 March 2020 at 11:00 am.

What will the webinar cover?

In this webinar, we'll showcase the Stroke Association's online tool My Stroke Guide, which offers information as well as access to peer support from other stroke survivors.

AbilityNet volunteer Lawrence Knight will be on hand to share his experiences of helping stroke survivors find solutions that can help them to adapt, as well as representatives from The Stroke Association's Helpdesk.

We'll also be sharing some top tips for apps that can help with aphasia, apps to help stroke survivors with anxiety, and apps for cognition and memory.

During the webinar, we will:

1. Tell you how we're working together to empower stroke survivors
2. Lawrence will talk about his experiences at Milford on Sea
3. Share details of how you can find support via My Stroke Guide
4. Introduce you to apps to help with aphasia, memory and anxiety

Register Now 

Who is this webinar for?:

• Stroke survivors and their carers
• Stroke survivors who need help to adapt existing technical devices
• Stroke survivors who want to access peer support online

The webinar will last 1 hour and includes a brief question and answer session. At point of registration you will have the opportunity to submit questions you would like our presenters to respond to on the live webinar. Everyone who registers for the webinar will receive access to the recording, including those unable to attend live. We use MyClearText to provide live captioning of our webinar for deaf people and those who are hard of hearing.

Register Now

Guest blog: Verizon Media's Accessibility Lab Manager, Samantha Soloway

Being social comes naturally to the company behind AOL, Huffpost and Yahoo. So does accessibility. The company's accessibility Lab Manager, Samantha Soloway, shares her reflections on the UK's leading networking event for accessibility leaders, TechShare Pro. 

The positive energy of the 2019 TechShare Pro Conference in London was evident from the moment I arrived.

I appreciated that the schedule balanced interesting panel sessions with thoughtful speakers, and also provided breaks during the day that allowed attendees to get to know one another and continue the conversations.

Inspirational leadership at TechShare Pro 2019

Some of my favourite sessions included Caroline Casey, from the Valuable 500, who discussed the importance of companies putting disability inclusion on their agendas.

Casey emphasized the importance of educating companies so they better understand how powerful people with disabilities are and how they should be seen as a value-add endeavour.

Haben Girma’s session also stood out to me. Girma shared how her life experiences led her down a path of disability advocacy which most recently has helped her to become the first Lenovo Accessibility and Inclusion Advisor. Girma said that “disability drives innovation.” To make meaningful changes and drive a11y forward, everyone’s thoughts and ideas are critical, but especially important is the feedback from those with disabilities.

Networking with the a11y community at TechShare Pro 2019

Walking around the conference space, I found that I was meeting and communicating with people throughout academia, the industry and the disability space.

I was impressed by TechShare Pro’s ability to gather and capture the attention of so many different leaders throughout the accessibility community. Having all of these unique voices together helped shape and encourage discussions around the future of a11y and more specifically, that of design, project management, development and research.

At TechShare Pro, all attendees were exposed to a variety of topics to better understand how to drive accessibility across their organizations.

Instead of limiting information to one topic or one discipline, the sessions spanned across all sectors, information was shared to help attendees learn first hand what companies are focusing on.

For instance, as companies continue to create augmented, virtual and mixed reality, a community (XR Access) has formed which is committed to making information accessible to people with disabilities through standards, guidelines and best practices.

The conference also celebrated and provided information about recent technology developments. There were sessions on accessible gaming as well as on the debate around automatic speech recognition for video on demand. It was helpful that TechShare provided exposure to and perspectives about each of the many a11y developments.

Tangible takeaways: learnings from TechShare Pro 2019

Perhaps the best part about this Conference was the tangible takeaways.

Instead of speakers simply providing a high-level summary, they shared how attendees could develop and implement similar programs and changes in their organizations.

I left the Conference still thinking about the panel on building accessibility champions. I learned how champions can serve as proactive connectors simply by disseminating knowledge.

The Conference also provided a better understanding of UK accessibility legislation and insight into international accessibility work.

I am grateful that I was able to not only attend but also present at TechShare Pro. I left having made new relationships, and with many new ideas. Most of all, though, I returned even more inspired to continue working towards making inclusion a reality.

Additional content:

• Samantha's TechShare Pro session video, transcript and slide deck (click on tab Day Two)
   

By: Helen Wilson, Digital Designer at Worcestershire County Council

What is SCULPT? It’s a handy acronym and brief set of explanations that neatly cover the key areas of accessible, compliant content creation.

Helen Wilson, Digital Designer at Worcestershire County Council explains how this easy-to-remember set of rules offers a powerful approach to anyone who drafts documents of any type. 

SCULPT stands for:

• Structure (use heading styles)
• Colour and contrast
• Use of images
• Links (hyperlinks)
• Plain English
• Table structure

Guidelines for everyone?

The Public Sector Accessibility guidelines have highlighted a need to focus on accessible content creation.

Most advice about digital accessibility refers to the Web Accessibility Content Guidelines (WCAG), but many people find these guidelines confusing and too technical - reinforcing the perception of accessibility as a minefield best left the technical team.

And whilst website designers and developers have WCAG guidelines enshrined in legislation, but what about the who create content that is used on websites?

What about local authority staff who create documents or information for residents, or teaching staff who create handouts and guides for their learners on a VLE?

Keep it simple!

Sometimes small changes in a document can make a big difference, as long as the people creating it are aware of the simple things they could do to help.

For example most of us use Microsoft Word to create content, so learning about the built-in accessibility features would make a real difference to our newsletters, reports, handouts for students, instructions, guidance, policies and whatever else we share through our websites...

Back to square one!

But with so many people producing content every day how could I possibly change their everyday practice and make this happen? It’s a huge task! 

Luckily a colleague in the learning and development team at Worcestershire County Council had a strong passion for the same subject and we shared a strong vision of what we wanted to achieve. We held workshops, listened to colleagues, searched Google and created a plan built around two key questions which kept coming up:

• “OK, so what is it I need to do?” and
• “But is it easy to do, I don’t have much time?”

It was clear people just wanted some very simple guidance - they didn’t have time to trawl the internet for a subject they didn’t really understand anyway.

We then met with the Corporate Equality and Diversity Manager at the Council who is blind, she shared her own frustrations about inaccessible content and that she had some requirements of her own for people when creating documents for her. These were some very simple things that made a big difference to her. We discussed what these were and identified six main things that people need to know about basic accessibility when creating information. 

Simple to follow guidance to dispel the myths

With a bit of creative shuffling one evening I ordered them to read the acronym SCULPT. The idea that staff could ‘sculpt’ their content for accessibility. 

The SCULPT six are:

• Structure (use heading styles)
• Colour and contrast
• Use of images
• Links (hyperlinks)
• Plain English
• Table structure 

I wanted this to be something for people to remember, a ‘simple six’ for accessibility, a what to do guide. I wanted to also create an identity, a logo for people to see and remember, almost a brand to relate to and acronym to remember. 

I created a recognisable logo made up of familiar symbols used in digital applications and a bit of creativity too, also a nod in the design to these being bookmarks to remember.

I also created an infographic that outlined the six areas of SCULPT reducing it down to simple headings and language to remember that could be used as posters that could be put up in offices around the building.

Using this we built a SCULPT support area for our staff on our Council intranet, each page having simple to follow guidance to dispel the myth that accessibility is complicated. This is focused on addressing the echoed response “OK, so what is it I need to do?

Our answer now, “what you need to do is follow SCULPT”.

The content to build the guidance already existed out there on the internet, so no need to reinvent the wheel. In fact, Microsoft have some great bite-sized videos to show you how to do it, the videos are no more than 5 minutes long. 

Here is an example of a Microsoft video about hyperlinks we use, it is just two minutes long but really explains the why and the how:

How to create accessible hyperlinks in Word

At two minutes long, this is not complicated, nor is it time consuming to understand, perfect!

Each page of our SCULPT intranet site is also introduced with several examples as to why each area is important and why we do it, not just for accessibility, but for everyone. For example, the ‘C for colour contrast’ page, explains that colour good contrast can help people read content on a mobile phone in bright sunlight with screen glare. This relates to everyone, its not just about impairments or screen readers, it helps with the everyday in our digital world too.

Beyond that the links are to existing content on the web, such as how-to instructions, bite sized videos and guides, this way we had identified and simply organised the useful content that our staff had missed or overlooked on their Google search. 

Reframing Accessibility

Our aim with SCULPT was to reframe accessibility, make it simple, to make ‘accessibility accessible’ and to dispel the myth that meeting basic accessibility requirements is time-consuming or complicated. 

SCULPT is merely the framework to raise awareness of basic requirements and to organise existing guidance in a simple to remember way. It is a framework that can be adopted by anyone that creates content. The logo and infographic are a simple to recognise visual and tool to raise the profile of the acronym of six good practices in any office in any institution that creates content. 

We are presenting our SCULPT initiative at JISC Digifest in March 2020 to support the education community. We are in early implementation at Worcestershire County Council but wanted to share our emerging practice and the difference we are already making even in our early adoption. 

We are planning to weave SCULPT around all our future digital training resources and staff development sessions, keep it high profile with regular tips highlighted in intranet news stories and have a visual in every office so these practices become embedded. Our SCULPT intranet area has also since been expanded for our Comms team to include guidance on accessible hashtags, video creation, and accessible document templates.

We see SCULPT as a timely addition to the web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) to make sure people know that accessibility is the responsibility of everyone, not just the tech team.

SCULPT is only raising awareness of the basics for those everyday document content creators, but everything needs to start somewhere. Hopefully in a few years we can become a beacon of good practice, a huge ambition of ours in the long-term. 

A PDF guide to SCULPT is available to download.

About Helen Wilson, Digital Designer at Worcestershire County Council

I have worked in the digital community for over 20 years as a Digital Designer, Learning Technologist, FE Teacher and more recently in local authority digital content at Worcestershire County Council. The new accessibility guidelines have raised the profile of accessible content creation - website designers and developers have guidance from GOV.UK and WCAG but my focus is on those everyday practitioners who create content. This could be documents created by local authority staff for residents, or handouts and guides created by teachers for their learners on a VLE.  I was involved with the JISC Digital Literacy project some years ago and now have a passion for supporting frontline staff by using guidance to support best practice in a digital world.
Hwilson1@worcestershire.gov.uk 

A call from MIND to AbilityNet's Helpdesk highlights the need for accessible training materials for employees

Recently, I took a call from a local branch of MIND, the mental health charity concerning training materials it had commissioned from a third party supplier. The company was delivering online social care training in a video format.

The call concerned a staff member who was deaf and was unable to access the mandatory online training. Viewing this training without any sound it was clear that a deaf employee would find it impossible to access, particularly as the video didn't have subtitles.

Adding subtitles to video is a relatively easy task. AbilityNet, for example, runs online webinars on a range of topics including digital accessibility, inclusive design and training. For these webinars, we use live captioning via a company called My Clear Text entered by a human being, but there are also automated services available.

Feeling helpful, I called the training company that was supplying video to MIND to find out why there weren't any subtitles, and if it had plans to make its videos more accessible. The answer was no, which was disappointing given that one of their courses is about communicating in different ways, and it mentions hearing loss. 

The company behind the training video boasts it has accreditation from The British Accreditation Council (BAC). The BAC wouldn't comment on a specific organisation, nor would the organisation comment.

The business case for accessibility

Legislation and accreditation is one driver for accessible content but there's a strong business case, too. 

There are 9 million people who are either Deaf or hard of hearing in the UK. Not to mention people who have other disabilities, who have a lot of spending power, which is potentially going unrealised - the so-called "Purple Pound."

Being accessible doesn't only help people who are disabled, it drives innovation, too.  For example, if you have really good hearing but you are watching a safety film in a noisy environment, then subtitles are going to be really useful. With people increasingly consuming media on the go, it's little surprise that 85% of Facebook videos are played without sound.

AbilityNet has a number of experts who can look at how to make your digital content more accessible, and we'd be happy to have a chat to you so you can make sure your content is accessible to as many people as possible.

AbilityNet would always say that if you want to make something accessible, build accessibility in right at the start.  It isn't an afterthought.  Don't ignore the needs of your end-user.