Achieving an inclusive online environment requires creating digital spaces that accommodate and meet the needs of students with diverse needs, including those with disabilities. Implementing adjustments can help remove barriers and promote equitable participation in education for all students.
Under the Disability and Discrimination Act (DDA), the university must ensure equal opportunity and access for students with disabilities.
Please contact the ELS ([email protected]) for guidance around the application of educational adjustments in the online environment.
For assistance in developing accessible online materials and implementing educational adjustments, the following resources are available:
- Creating accessible online material
- Time extensions on Moodle
- Making documents accessible
- Captions and online videos
- Subtitles and captioning to YouTube videos
- Education Technology Services chatbot A.I.D.E
- Further Information on Reasonable Adjustments in Online Learning
Guidelines for Accessible Courses
The Portfolio of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Education & Student Experience is dedicated to supporting the university's commitment to creating a learning environment that is accessible to students.
Currently, on-demand support and assistance for assistive technology needs is provided via Teaching Commons. Faculty can drop in or book a session for course design help Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm. A team of Nexus, Education and EDS team members take turns attending to the space: www.education.unsw.edu.au/teaching/teaching-commons
The following guidelines have been created to help you support the student body:
- Design the online learning environment to guide and support student learning
- Ensure online content can be accessed by assistive technology
- Provide text alternatives for media
- Design for the various ways learners access and engage with online content
- Make iterative improvements
A copy of the UNSW Digital Accessibility Guide can also be found here.