Tag Archives: accessibility

Making your Moodle space more interactive with H5P

Moodle, , ,

At our last DLT event in July, we showcased several plug-ins and activities for Moodle. One of which was the H5P activity. So, for those who missed the session, and want to look at revamping their Moodle spaces for the new academic year, this one is for you!

What is H5P content?

H5P is an abbreviation for HTML5 Package. It is free open-source content that enables educators to create engaging content that can be integrated into Virtual Learning Environments such as Moodle. There are over 50 types of activities to choose from! This includes flashcards, Cornell Notes, interactive videos and books, diagram hotspots, charts and, when we are feeling Christmassy, advent calendars. On the H5P.org website you can find some examples of H5P activities such as an interactive video on smoothie making to show you what is possible. The DLT team have also set up a Moodle H5P demo site which Lancaster University staff can view. Students can access H5P activities easily and quickly through Moodle and you can keep an eye on engagement through activity completion and the reports.

How does it improve engagement?

These activities can also be used as part of a strategy to improve the online experience for distance learners. The H5P plug-in is part of the ‘gamification’ set that is available in Moodle.  It aims to enhance engagement and motivation by creating similar experiences to those when playing online games. For example, H5P activities such as the memory game, virtual tours, interactive timelines and even crosswords and quizzes make learning more enjoyable for students.

By using H5P activities, course content can be broken down into manageable pieces and learners can complete the activities at their own pace. This is important to ensure that learners don’t feel overwhelmed and feel a sense of achievement as they work their way through their course content.

These types of activities are also particularly good in higher education as retrieval practice (the practice of remembering) and feeds into teaching learners how to learn and what works for them. They can also be used in the lead up to exams to help students with their revision. For more information on retrieval practice, Tom Sherrington’s ‘Kitchen Pedagogy 2:2’ video is a great introduction and you can find lots of information on his website.

How do I start creating some material?

H5P activities are created and stored in the content bank area of Moodle. It acts as a repository and allows individual H5P activities to be reused multiple times. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel and can use resources that you already have. For example, you could use a YouTube video and make this interactive or use some presentations that you already have and turn these into an interactive book.

Continue reading Making your Moodle space more interactive with H5P →

How accessible is your Lancaster University WordPress site?

Pedagogy,

What is WordPress and how can it be used for digital teaching and learning?

WordPress (WP) is a popular open-source website builder and Lancaster University hosts 772 active WP sites. One of the advantages of WP is you don’t need any experience using computer programming languages; a great website can be set up quickly and easily. WordPress can be used as a teaching resource where students can collaborate, using their knowledge to present research in an interesting way. Dr Lisa Bradley from Queen’s University Belfast recently presented in the June 2023 EmpowerEd Webinar Series on ‘Breaking Down Barriers to student research using Social Media’. Lisa showcased a group activity where students used Twitter to present their research. Students were then assessed on the content of their posts, the quality of their research, their interactivity with other users, their overall design and their communication. Using an online platform is an excellent way to help students gain skills that are transferable to future graduate careers and can be highlighted by students on a C.V. demonstrating their skills in online editing and communication. WordPress can be used in a very similar way, and it is also used here at Lancaster University by staff to promote departments and research.

However, no matter what platform is used and what it is used for, we need to ensure that any content can be accessed by all and follows accessibility guidance.

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 legislation applies to any website or app which is used by a public sector body in the UK. This includes all websites and web services associated with Lancaster University.

The legislations is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidance (WCAG). The guidance translates to making sure that we consider content and user interactions when we design a product. For example, we should consider colour contrast, content layout, how the website would be navigated with a keyboard and how it responds to the use of speech recognition software. By following the guidance, we are more likely to create logically laid out sites that layout information clearly. It improves the user experience for everyone!

How do you go about checking accessibility compliance?

This Digital Digest blog is very new, and I had no experience in using WordPress let alone ensuring that the content on there followed accessibility guidance. Myself and the DLT team worked together to explore the issues and overcome them with the help of Heath Boffey (thanks Heath!) from the Accessibility Team and using the information that we have available on both the University and Government websites (more details on this later!). Continue reading How accessible is your Lancaster University WordPress site? →

Accessibility Statement

Uncategorized

Accessibility statement for ‘Digital Digest’ (WordPress)

This accessibility statement applies to the ‘Digital Digest Blog’ hosted by WordPress (https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/lu-digitaldigest/).

This website is run by Lancaster University. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

We also try to make the content as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • You cannot skip to the main content straightaway when using a keyboard to navigate the website.
  • When zooming in the social media icons can obscure some text.
  • The social media icons do not have a description or alternative text.
  • There is one colour contrast concern with content provided by WordPress which is outside of our control.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or Braille:

  • If you are an external user you can email Stephen Owens at s.owens@lancaster.ac.uk
  • If you are a student or a member of staff at Lancaster University you can contact us via the IT Help Centre.

We will consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

WordPress also have an accessibility team which aims to improve accessibility across WordPress sites. You can find more information via the WordPress accessibility handbook.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

  • We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, please email Stephen Owens at s.owens@lancaster.ac.uk or if you are a student or a member of staff at Lancaster University you can contact us via the IT Help Centre.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Lancaster University is committed to making informaiton accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

WordPress is an open-source software, which means that some aspects of its accessibility are outside of our immediate control.

Text and Content

Navigation

When navigating through the website via a keyboard, the bypass block ‘Skip to Content’ option does not appear straight away. The user is required to tab through the title and third-party social media plug-in first.

This does not meet the WCAG success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks.

Headings

On the three pages within the blog that group categories together: ‘Category: Moodle Moments’, ‘Category: Pedagogy’ and ‘Category: Upcoming Events’, the theme from WordPress has not provided page titles.

HTML headings are therefore used inconsistently as part of the theme which is offered by WordPress.

This doesn’t meet WCAG success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Third-party content

A third-party plug-in has been added which provides the ability to share posts and pages on social media. The three icons on the right-hand side are ‘sticky’ by default and sometimes obscure text. The three links to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are in tab format and do not have a label or alternative text.

The owners of this blog have no control over the development of this plugin but have decided to include it to offer optional interaction.

This does not meet WCAG success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) and 2.5.3 Label in Name.

The light grey text which offers the option to ‘Get a glimpse of the newsletter’ when a user sets up a subscription does not have suitable colour contrast. The subscription service is provided free of charge by WordPress and is outside of our control.

This does not meet WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

  • All of our content on this WordPress website is reviewed to check that it complies with accessibility guidance where possible.
  • We aim to review the offers provided by WordPress and third-party plug-ins to see if accessibility can be improved in future updates.
  • We intend to make sure that every person who contributes to the main content of this website has completed accessibility training from Lancaster University.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 13th July 2023. It was last reviewed on 13th July 2023.

This website was last tested on 13th July 2023. The test was carried out by Lancaster University.

We used this approach to test our WordPress blog:

  • We used the automated tools Siteimprove and Microsoft Accessibility Insights to assess the accessibility of the blog.
  • We conducted manual tests following guidance from Microsoft Accessibility Insights.