This paper presents the results of an interview‐based study of the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) among dyslexic students. Interviews were carried out with 12 informants who had been formally diagnosed as dyslexic. The informants were either enrolled in a university or college programme, or had graduated less than a year before the interview. The findings reveal that dyslexic students experience a number of challenges associated with VLE use, including information overload, imperfect word processing tools, inadequate search functions, and having to relate to more than one system at a time.

The development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has provided unique learning opportunities for many people. In the meantime, the lack of accessibility in some MOOCs has also created barriers for diverse learners. In this paper, we present the preliminary results from a study on the accessibility a selected set of MOOCs on the Coursera platform for blind learners who use screen readers and Braille to interact with computers and mobile devices.

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Purpose Students in higher education are a diverse group comprising people with different backgrounds and abilities. Regulations require that digital learning materials and platforms employed in higher education accommodate this diversity. Furthermore, they require faculty members to have an understanding of universal design and digital accessibility, as well as practical knowledge of how to make learning materials and courses accessible for more students. The goal of this research is to gain insight into the status of such knowledge among faculty members. Methods The research presented in this paper involved a qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 faculty members employed in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Norway and Poland. The participants worked in the computer science and engineering disciplines. The data was analysed using thematic analysis, and two main themes and six sub-themes were identified. Results We found that most participants lack sufficient understanding of digital barriers and assistive technologies. Very few were aware of legislation and guidelines related to universal design. Most importantly, the majority lack practical knowledge on how to make digital learning materials and courses accessible. Furthermore, the solutions they propose for addressing the barriers are intuitive and only encompass barriers that are easy to recognise and identify. Conclusion The findings indicate that there is a gap between legislation and implementation in practice when it comes to making digital learning materials accessible in higher education. The lack of knowledge among faculty members shows that training is necessary to increase understanding and practical knowledge, and HEIs should prioritise this in strategies and action plans going forward.

With the development of e-education and e-society it is important for information and communication systems and services to be equally accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. Learning management systems (LMSs) are becoming a necessity in higher education and making them accessible to all users, both students and teachers, is crucial. Existing studies on accessibility of LMSs mostly focus on students and their access to learning materials. Very few studies have focused on the accessibility of LMSs for teachers who are responsible for using LMSs to create accessible contents for students. This paper presents the heuristic evaluations of two learning management systems (Fronter and Sakai) focusing on their accessibility from teachers' perspective. Based on universal design principles and guidelines we aim to identify accessibility issues and to propose possible improvements. The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 were adopted in the heuristic evaluations and qualitative data have been collected. We have also compared the findings from the evaluations of Fronter and Sakai, as well as Moodle, an open source LMS which was evaluated in our previous heuristic evaluation. The analysis of the data shows that the level of conformance of the systems to the ATAG2.0 guidelines is very low and many issues needs to be solved for them to be fully accessible for teachers with disabilities. IntroductionThe transformations in higher education in developed countries over the past few years impose the need to introduce information and communication technologies (ICT). ICT systems are expected to strengthen the learning environments and therefore should be accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. Promoting the accessibility to ICT systems and services is required by the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in countries that ratified this convention. According to the United Nations' fact sheet, around 10 percent of the world population lives with a disability. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 386 million of the world's working-age people have some kind of disability. The Norwegian Labor Market Supplementary Survey on persons with disabilities shows that the percentage of persons with disabilities in teaching positions amongst persons with disabilities in the work force is higher than the percentage of persons in teaching positions amongst the total work force. In 2013, 11.1 percent of persons with disabilities in the work force were employed in teaching positions, which is 2.5 percent higher than the percentage of persons in teaching positions amongst the total work force. The survey also shows that this difference increased in the two previous years, from 1.6 in 2011 to 1.9 in 2012(Bø and Håland, 2013. Therefore, it is crucial that ICT systems used by teachers should be accessible.Learning management systems (LMSs) are becoming a necessity in higher education and making them accessible to all users, both students and teachers, is c...

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Abstract. Online digital media is becoming the most important arena for general information sharing and public debate. Making this arena accessible to all is essential for equal participation in today's society. However, the accessibility of web-based media services has not been given much attention despite their importance for the democracy of our society. The overall objective for this research is to gain knowledge on universal design of websites containing complex multimedia, in order to ensure equal access for diverse groups operating different devices in various situations. To achieve this objective, we have conducted heuristic evaluations of the news web pages at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), the authoring tools for journalists, and focus group interviews on the accessibility of NRK.no. The preliminary results show that although participants expressed general positive attitude towards the design of NRK.no, many accessibility challenges remain to be addressed.