1 00:00:01,380 --> 00:00:06,380 Why everyone benefits from accessible teaching 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:12,700 STEP 1: THE DEMAND FOR ACCESSIBILITY 3 00:00:12,709 --> 00:00:16,097 Accessibility is an important issue - also in a digital world. 4 00:00:16,197 --> 00:00:18,673 As early as 2016, the European Union decided 5 00:00:18,700 --> 00:00:20,608 that in all public institutions, 6 00:00:20,908 --> 00:00:24,655 - including the universities of the EU member states - 7 00:00:24,655 --> 00:00:28,804 Requirements for accessibility should be implemented. 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:32,958 In short, it is a matter of ensuring that all digital courses 9 00:00:33,958 --> 00:00:37,575 at university are accessible without outside help. 10 00:00:37,801 --> 00:00:44,168 Accessibility in digital teaching is initially aimed at people with disabilities. 11 00:00:44,168 --> 00:00:50,532 11% of students in Germany have a health impairment that affects their ability to study. 12 00:00:50,532 --> 00:00:53,213 That's about 300,000 people. 13 00:00:53,349 --> 00:00:58,098 These include, but are not limited to, impaired hearing or vision, 14 00:00:58,098 --> 00:01:02,622 Speech impairments, chronic somatic diseases such as 15 00:01:02,622 --> 00:01:06,788 allergies, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy or rheumatism 16 00:01:06,788 --> 00:01:10,838 Mobility impairments and mental illnesses. 17 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:15,436 There are also students with color vision deficiency or color blindness. 18 00:01:15,662 --> 00:01:19,221 Around 9% of the population are affected. 19 00:01:19,417 --> 00:01:24,080 Only for a few students is their impairment immediately recognizable. 20 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:29,230 In many cases, accessibility is also important for older people. 21 00:01:29,546 --> 00:01:33,685 At German universities, almost half of the 40,000 guest auditors 22 00:01:33,685 --> 00:01:38,468 are 60 years or older - and the trend is rising. 23 00:01:39,330 --> 00:01:44,280 These figures make it likely that every university lecturer 24 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,704 will sooner or later teach students with disabilities. 25 00:01:48,805 --> 00:01:51,385 STEP 2: WHAT DOES ACCESSIBLE DIGITAL CONTENT INCLUDE? 26 00:01:51,610 --> 00:01:55,561 Digital content such as the university website, 27 00:01:55,561 --> 00:02:00,206 online courses, videos, presentations and text documents 28 00:02:00,206 --> 00:02:02,788 should be prepared and made available in such a way that they 29 00:02:02,788 --> 00:02:07,670 can be used independently even with a handicap. 30 00:02:08,221 --> 00:02:12,833 Specifically, this means providing videos with subtitles, 31 00:02:12,833 --> 00:02:17,753 writing down or verbalizing audio and image material 32 00:02:17,858 --> 00:02:23,480 or to provide texts, video recordings and minutes of web seminars and lectures 33 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,181 in an accessible form. 34 00:02:26,181 --> 00:02:29,119 This enables students to prepare for class 35 00:02:29,119 --> 00:02:33,419 or to rework any missed content 36 00:02:33,419 --> 00:02:36,234 - for example on the Moodle platform. 37 00:02:36,822 --> 00:02:39,448 An example to clarify: 38 00:02:39,779 --> 00:02:46,031 When designing graphs, work with levels of brightness instead of color variations. 39 00:02:46,031 --> 00:02:49,220 In particular, avoid red-green contrasts, 40 00:02:49,220 --> 00:02:53,929 as these cannot be easily recognized by people with color vision deficiency. 41 00:02:54,390 --> 00:02:58,709 To illustrate how the eyesight differs: 42 00:02:58,814 --> 00:03:02,783 People with normal eyesight recognize a 47, 43 00:03:02,783 --> 00:03:06,071 People with red-green color blindness a 17 44 00:03:06,071 --> 00:03:10,359 and people with color blindness cannot perceive a number at all. 45 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:16,254 In addition to clear guidelines for accessible digital teaching, it is also 46 00:03:16,254 --> 00:03:22,344 important to show the willingness to respond to the individual needs of the students. 47 00:03:23,645 --> 00:03:26,641 STEP 3: EVERYONE BENEFITS FROM ACCESSIBLE TEACHING 48 00:03:26,666 --> 00:03:30,722 Accessible digital teaching is essential for people with disabilities. 49 00:03:30,813 --> 00:03:34,824 But it's also helpful for people who cannot concentrate well, 50 00:03:34,824 --> 00:03:38,854 or who were temporarily unable to attend due to illness, 51 00:03:38,929 --> 00:03:41,590 for senior students and for students 52 00:03:41,590 --> 00:03:44,564 whose mother tongue is not German. 53 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,086 Subtitles for videos are handy for both non-native speakers 54 00:03:49,086 --> 00:03:52,952 as well as for mobile use without headphones. 55 00:03:53,253 --> 00:03:59,204 Teaching material with a clear layout, a well-structured course 56 00:03:59,204 --> 00:04:02,886 and an organized discussion are also helpful for everyone. 57 00:04:03,353 --> 00:04:06,730 Making your own teaching accessible and inclusive 58 00:04:06,730 --> 00:04:09,441 is not just about showing solidarity, 59 00:04:09,441 --> 00:04:13,859 but offers a high level of user-friendliness for all students 60 00:04:13,859 --> 00:04:18,276 - and thus improves and professionalizes teaching as a whole. 61 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:24,198 When preparing your next courses, make sure that they are 62 00:04:24,198 --> 00:04:28,443 accessible and offer students with disabilities to contact you 63 00:04:28,443 --> 00:04:33,103 with their individual needs as early as possible. 64 00:04:33,390 --> 00:04:35,247 And don't worry: 65 00:04:35,247 --> 00:04:38,115 If the students have further requirements, 66 00:04:38,115 --> 00:04:42,711 you may contact the representative for students with disabilities 67 00:04:42,711 --> 00:04:45,000 of the University of Potsdam. 68 00:04:45,428 --> 00:04:51,913 In case of technical difficulties, contact the Zentrum für Informationstechnologie und Medienmanagement.