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On-line training portal, facilitates accessibility for all
08/06/2007
Computing and disability specialist, AbilityNet, has gathered together a full range of training resources on one E-learning site – www.abilitynettraining.org – to support people with a disability and those supporting them across education, employment or at home.
This one stop portal offers a low cost learning platform for over 20 courses which range in content from software specific tutorials for those using particular packages such as screen reading solutions, to generic disability-based guidance for those with dyslexia, physical problems or vision impairment making use of the standard keyboard, screen and mouse difficult. The materials are provided with the support of manufacturers and accessibility specialists from across the UK and internationally.
Introductory courses are free such as those dealing with some of the Accessibility Options within Windows for example, or basic guidance on healthy computing, whilst others are highly cost effective for single or multiple use. As a launch offer access to all the courses is available at £100 per user per year which works out as less than £5 per course, and special rates may be available for organisations who want specific combinations of courses. The materials can also be accessed as part of Service Level Agreements which can also include consultancy, assessments and loan equipment.
Learners can work independently at their own pace through the course(s) with the support of an AbilityNet tutor with whom they can have personal contact using voice, text or video in real time. Designed to be fun as well as educational, AbilityNet has integrated multimedia, text, interactive quizzes and journals as well as formal assignments, to teach and test knowledge about the application and use of assistive technologies at work.
Organisations will find the resource an extremely cost effective way of meeting the training needs of staff supporting or using assistive technology and hence complying with Health and Safety or Disability Discrimination legislation.
E-learning can be augmented through complementary activities including on-line discussions, forums and ‘webinars’ – the cyber equivalent of a seminar. Here the trainer can reach and interact with widely dispersed groups, even at short notice, broadcasting material via video or desk top and communicating through text, speech or whiteboard.
Designed to facilitate independent learning, the courses can be accessed ‘on-demand’ and are modular in composition, enabling students to build upon prior training and set their own pace.
The courses integrate perfectly with other forms of learning offered by AbilityNet, both through the open enrolment course programme or in house training for organisations. The blended approach ensures maximum impact on the greatest number of people
Says AbilityNet Operations Director, David Banes: “The cost of training is a major barrier to full compliance with the DDA and the creation of a truly accessible and inclusive workplace.
“Sometimes the expense of teaching an individual to use an adapted computer system may even exceed the investment made in the technology itself; whilst waiting for the required training to take place can be a dispiriting experience when the individual is prevented from doing their job properly in the interim.”
“This one-stop training solution will provide high quality courses on-demand, help rates of staff retention and hardly dent your training budget.”