Online Teaching

Can I still get adjustments to online learning? How should I request this? Our infographics will get you up to speed.

Image text is available in alt-text as well as in plain text at the bottom of the page. If this information could be made more accessible to you, don’t hesitate to contact us at Disabled@cambridgesu.co.uk , via Facebook or Twitter!

Update: there is the possibility of auto-captions through Zoom, but this is a paid option and the quality is not as good as with Meet or Teams, so we have chosen not to endorse Zoom as an accessible option on this front.

Online teaching. Summary of guidance given to lecturers and supervisors by the CCTL and DRC

Sources CCTL: https://www.cctl.cam.ac.uk/teaching-remotely/teaching-remotely-guides DRC: https://www.disability.admin.cam.ac.uk/remote-teaching-and-learning-resources-overview LibGuides: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/reading/home Email templates: www.disabled.cusu.cam.ac.uk/email-templates/ Equality Act information: https://rb.gy/y2kowf Twitter: @CambridgeDSC Facebook: CambridgeDSC

Sources

CCTL: https://www.cctl.cam.ac.uk/teaching-remotely/teaching-remotely-guides

DRC: https://www.disability.admin.cam.ac.uk/remote-teaching-and-learning-resources-overview

LibGuides: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/reading/home

Sensus Access: https://www.disability.admin.cam.ac.uk/create-alternative-format-document-sensus-access

Template emails: www.disabled.cusu.cam.ac.uk/email-templates/

Twitter: @CambridgeDSC

Facebook: CambridgeDSC

Plain text:

Summary of guidance given to lecturers and supervisors by the CCTL and DRC

Key Points

Lecturers and supervisors should factor in your needs when planning their online learning, if
lecturers/supervisors are unsure how to accommodate you, they should just ask you!
You should be able to use any accessibility technology/assistance as normal.
As always, remember that the University is legally required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ which
are anticipatory under the Equality Act*
*source: https://rb.gy/y2kowf

Video Platforms

The University Governance and Compliance Division formally endorses Teams and Google Meet.
These are both supported by UIS, so every student has an account. Zoom is not supported by UIS.
The DRC recommends Teams, as it is the only one that records with its captions and creates a
transcript. Google Meet has live captions, but you need an extension to make a transcript; Zoom
does not have auto-captions at all – manual captions or third-party software is needed.

General Tips for Teaching Staff:

Lecturers/supervisors should have backup plans for when connectivity issues arise.
The DRC and CCTL have tips for supervisors/lecturers to be accessible in online teaching such as:

avoid patterns on clothes/background
avoid shadows or hands covering their face
use unambiguous language as it is harder to pick up on nonverbal cues
be based in a room with soft furnishings or carpet to avoid echo

CCTL also recommends that lecturers/supervisors should ask for your feedback about their online
teaching, and make clear how they are trying to improve.

Supervisions

Not all platforms are accessible; supervisors should be flexible if their choice isn’t suitable for you.
As online supervisions can be more difficult for disabled students, the DRC recommends supervisors
should:

allow you to record
offer rest breaks/the option to leave
offer audio-only supervisions
write out questions in the chat
give time for you to process responses

CCTL advises supervisors have a framework for discussions, such as specifying who should answer a
question or giving an order to speak.
There are further recommendations in the DRC guidelines for supervisions with disabled students

Lectures

The DRC reminds lecturers that some students may have undisclosed disabilities, so they should be
accessible by default, because it helps all students.
Live lectures should be recorded, but CCTL currently recommend pre-recorded lectures instead, as
they provide flexibility. Your note-taker should be given access to lectures.
The DRC recommends panopto for lecturers, as it produces automated captions and transcripts;
Powerpoint also has live captioning functionality.
Departments/faculties may have their own guidelines for lectures.
There are further recommendations in the DRC guidelines for creating accessible recorded lectures

Online Readings: Lecturer Guidance

Lecturers should ask what makes a document accessible for you, but the general DRC guidelines are:

12-14 point sans-serif font, i.e. Arial
Avoid italics/all capitals
Plain, solid colour backgrounds, i.e off-white with dark text
Images/graphs need labels/alt-text
The DRC also recommends using Word and its accessibility checker.

To ensure book scans are accessible for screen readers, CCTL recommends they:

Enable optical character recognition on Adobe Acrobat DC or 11
Export PDFs of images into a Word document or use SensusAccess to convert JPEGs into
accessible formats

There are further recommendations in the sources linked at the end

Online Readings: Things you can do!

If you have an inaccessible resource, SensusAccess can be used to convert them into different
formats – it can turn PDFs or JPEGs into text or audio files.

Tips to make reading on screens easier:

Use an e-reader or mimic one with the Adobe Digital Editions app
Use the reading ruler extension on Chrome that highlights the line you are reading
Use Text-to-Speech software, i.e. Adobe Acrobat, SpeakIt
There are more tips are in the LibGuide for reading on screens

How to get accessible teaching

If teaching could be made more accessible for you, you should email the relevant teaching staff
asking for adjustments, and if they are unresponsive/obstructive, you can get in touch with the DRC.
The DSC has template emails to help with asking for this (and for other situations too!):
www.disabled.cusu.cam.ac.uk/email-templates/

Although these templates refer to an SSD, you don’t need one to ask for reasonable adjustments
under the Equality Act if you are disabled!