Holistic approach to Accessibility

Browsing some resources on the very useful TechDis website I found some very interesting reading on holistic approaches to e-learning accessibility. In Developing a Holistic Approach for E-Learning Accessibility the authors present a realistic view of e-learning activity and discuss both technical and pedagogic issues, arriving at a pragmatic solution that addresses usability and the learner experience in conjunction with the usual 'checklist' approach to meeting Accessibility standards. Their model goes beyond reliance on W3C guidelines with Learner Needs at the centre and Quality Assurance encircling all relevant factors - harder to implement but arguably more effective and sustainable.

A more recent paper, Accessibility 2.0: People, Policies and Processes extends this approach to combine a 'Tangram model' (using a set of pieces to create any suitable outcome) and a Stakeholder model (built on collaboration and contextualisation). There is a useful description of 'Accessibility 2.0' as a concept and the 'step-change' in its characteristics; for example moving from "Focus on digital resources themselves" to "Focus on purpose of the resources" and "Popularity of automated testing tools" to "Verification of policies and processes". These proposals will require significant investment in user awareness and training, advocacy and policy development but represent an interesting and creative approach.

As an aside, I liked the comparison to a real-world example of how to make the learner experience of a geography fieldtrip in inaccessible terrain accessible to all:
"A blinkered approach would be to seek to make the mountain accessible by building a ramp or by cancelling the field trip for everybody". (Kelly, Phipps and Swift)