Resources

These resources consist of the following sections: Tutorials, About disabilities and Useful links. The Tutorials identified from external resources are aimed at self-directed learning. A variety of websites have been selected to compile the About disabilities section. The Useful links have been selected to provide either a starting point or further information.

Please contact Angela Ashpole, Information Accessibility Advisor, if you wish to include additional resources.

Tutorials

• AbilityNet: customising a computer
• Adobe Accessible Flash tutorial
• Freedom Scientific's Accessibility and Usability
• GCF LearnFree.org - free tutorials for many of the standard Office applications and much more besides
• iBooks Author: How to make your iBooks accessible
• JISC TechDis Toolbox - written primarily for those with disabilities or difficulties, but useful for just about anyone who wants to gain or improve on the skills most valued by employers, e.g. technology, planning, teamworking etc.
  
• JISC TechDis Accessibility Essentials Series provides clear tutorials for creating accessible Word, PowerPoint and PDFs
• Lexdis: students' experience of e-learning
• RNIB: slide layout and design for presentations
• Web Aim: accessibility from a user's perspective
• WebAim: PDF accessibility
• W3C: How to make presentations accessible to all
• Accessibility of Blackboard 9.1 (used for NILE) - including video clips of a JAWS user interacting with some of the learning tools

About disabilities

• JISC Techdis - SimDis - a collection of simulations which attempt to emulate a range of disabilities
• Watch Words - deaf awareness for teachers
• Department of Health: What is a disability
• Autism and Asperger Syndrome - National Autistic Society
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
• RNIB: about sight loss
• RNID: information and resources for deaf and hard of hearing people
• Specialist services provided by Deafblind UK
• British Dyslexia Association: about dyslexia
• Dyspraxia Foundation: Further/Higher Education
• Epilepsy Foundation: what is epilepsy? and Epilepsy Action: Education professionals
• Mental Health Foundation: introduction to mental health
• Mobility impairment: Scope: cerebral palsy and associated impairments, about Muscular Dystrophy and about Multiple Sclerosis
• Speech impairment: Afasic - unlocking speech and and language and The British Stammering Association

Useful links

Within the University

• Access Ability Team and the support and services for disability
• What are Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
• ELSA: Extra Learning Support and Assistance
• The University's Mental Health Adviser service
• Northampton Assessment Centre - independent Disabled Students' Allowances (DSA) assessment centre at Park Campus, open to all higher education students
• Equality and Diversity
• Recording Policy on electronic recording of lectures by students
• Designing modules for accessibility (PDF 161KB)
• Guidelines for creating accessible video
• See examples of transcripts used on video case studies of international students

External to the University

• Six surprising bad habits that hurt dyslexia users
• JISCs 'Effective Practice in a Digital Age' bitesize videos explore how 4 universities use technology (blended learning) to enhance students' learning experiences
• Disability and the Equality Act 2010
• RNIB's Accessible information
• RNIB's top 5 software tips
• Strategies for Creating Inclusive Programmes of Study (SCIPS) including disability etiquette
• Lasa Knowledgbase: Web 2.0 & Accessibility for Disabled Users
• The Open University's Identifying accessible websites and web documents
• JISC Techdis: Web2Access helps understand range of access issues.