Inclusive eLearning: Leaving no one behind

Photo credit: Smartpalika

Learning should never stop. We have heard this all our lives. Maybe because of this philosophy, education didn't come to a halt during the pandemic despite being one of the hardest-hit sectors. Remote teaching and learning activities continued in various forms using technology. One such popular form was the use of the eLearning platform.

During COVID-19 and the lockdown it followed, several eLearning platforms were developed and launched. They offered both free and paid courses and enabled people to learn from the comfort of their homes. They worked quite well for many people, but not for all. None of these eLearning platforms were made accessible (disability-friendly) for the benefit of persons with disabilities.

WHO and the World Bank estimate more than 15% or nearly a billion people living in this world have some form of disability. These organizations also suggest that 80% of these people are living in developing countries. The National Census of Nepal (2011) declared that around 2% of the total population are people with disabilities. Given the data, it is universally accepted that people with disabilities are one of the largest minorities in the world.

People with disabilities have difficulties accessing essential services like education and health, even in normal circumstances, because of existing physical, communication, and systemic barriers. The situation only gets worse for them in a pandemic situation. When necessities are out of access, demanding access in eLearning platforms is often taken as a luxury and frequently unanswered.

Accessible eLearning

In the context of disability inclusion, accessible (or accessibility) is the design of products, services, or facilities to be accessed and used by persons with disabilities on equal footing as their peers without disabilities. Thus, an accessible eLearning platform means, persons with various forms of disabilities (visually impaired, deaf, learning disabled) could use it without difficulties.

Every eLearning platform at its core is simply a website. Thus, the guidelines that list out steps to create an accessible website will also apply to them. The community that governs and promotes the development of the Internet, called the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), has developed a Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG). Many governments worldwide have adopted this and made it a requirement while developing public websites/web apps.

According to WCAG, there are just four principles that make any digital content, including eLearning platforms, accessible to persons with disabilities.

  • The information presented in the platform should be perceivable by persons with disabilities. It means that all information should be relayed to those with disabilities, even if it requires an alternative approach. For example, if an image is used, then an appropriate text alternative should be included so that the content is accessible for persons with visual impairment.
  • The platform should be operable by all users. It means that people with disabilities should navigate different parts of the platform with assistive devices. For example, those using screen readers should be able to operate all functions of the platform by just using the Keyboard (not mouse).
  • The content should be understandable. It relates more to the content than the technology. It means that all users should understand the message/content in the eLearning platform.
  • The platform should be robust. Persons with disabilities use a variety of assistive technologies to access the web. For example, a person who can't see might use an audio device to listen to a document. Thus, the platform should be able to function correctly on all devices.

Introducing Learning Inclusion

In June 2020, I was a part of a motivated team working day and night to create a fully accessible eLearning platform called Learning Inclusion (https://learninginclusion.com). When launched, Learning Inclusion became Nepal's first-ever fully accessible and inclusive eLearning portal.

We developed Learning Inclusion with two objectives. The primary goal was to provide an accessible learning experience to all, including persons with disabilities. The second focus was to serve as a model so that web developers and content creators could replicate the best practices we used in the portal.

We followed the four principles of WCAG while developing the platform. Some examples of accessibility measures implemented in the site are the following:

1.   A learner who uses only the Keyboard (e.g., a blind user) can navigate to all parts of the website like a visual learner.

2.   All the video lessons include Nepali sign language interpretation and captions in Nepali and English language.

3.   Learning Inclusion is available in both Nepali and English language and is FREE for everyone.

We also developed a free course to learn essential digital accessibility and ways to create accessible documents. To date, 250 students have completed the class, and more than half of these students are persons with disabilities. We can interpret this data as, if provided a disability-inclusive learning environment, persons with disabilities are willing to enjoy the world of digital learning. Unfortunately, for these groups of learners, there are very few such accessible learning platforms.

Creating an accessible and disability-inclusive eLearning platform is not difficult and doesn't require a sizable budget. However, as in any well-designed project, good planning from the initial stage is necessary. Also, including a person with a disability as a team member can ensure that the project meets the disability community's needs.

Access to information and education is a human right. Our country is also a signatory of several UN treaties, including the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Thus, we are legally and morally bound to create learning platforms accessible to all, including persons with disabilities. But at the very core, it all comes to a question - if we want to do the right thing! Because, as they say- Learning should never stop, for all.