Unlocking Potential

Making Published Materials More Accessible

John Sewell

Unlocking Potential

There is a problem

• Published materials specified for courses are not available in a form that some users can access

Unlocking Potential

The People

• Adrian Higginbotham • BECTA Inclusion Team

• Alistair McNaught• TechDis

• John Sewell• TechDis

Unlocking Potential

Inspiration

• Peter NicholsonSound Sense and Vision Charitable Trust and UCLan

• Jo Richler Head of Learning Resources at Wigan and Leigh college

Unlocking Potential

Who’s Problem?

• Those with visual impairment

AND

• People with reading difficulties

• People with movement difficulties

On-line or digital content is inherently more accessible

Unlocking Potential

Current Options

• Look for it as a online resource• Revealweb• The online repository project

• Have somebody read it to you

• Ask the publisher for a digital copy

• Scan,OCR and edit

Unlocking Potential

The Publishers

• Display a natural caution• Tend to be fixated on VI• Some are very conservative• Some see the potential• Looking for advice on the first steps to take

Unlocking Potential

What Format?

• Daisy

• Tagged documents

• Word

• PDF’s

Unlocking Potential

PDF’s

• Publishers are familiar with them

• Using reader 7.0 they are very accessible

Unlocking Potential

The Key factor

STRUCTURE

• Conversions are easy if the structure is there from the start

• And almost impossible if it isn’t

Unlocking Potential

Next steps

• Produce a ‘Benevolent Bill’ for Adobe

• Spread the message on structure

• Provide advice for publishers on how to make content accessible

• Keep pushing the Accessibility is for everybody message