The eLearning Coach Podcast

How often do we look at the actions, thoughts and feelings of learners over time to better understand what they experience? In this episode I interview Jim Kalbach, about diagramming to understand experience.

You could be basing instructional strategies on learning myths. Find out if you're unintentionally accepting learning misconceptions.

Course evaluations should provide the instructional designer with feedback for improvement. Instead, they often provide useless information.

Organizing instructional content to facilitate learning and for easy access is a crucial part of instructional design. Here's how.

Use social media to improve learning through collaboration, sharing knowledge and staying current in learning and development.

You may think that accessible eLearning design is only for people with disabilities. Actually, accessible learning designs are for diverse groups, such as people who are limited to using low bandwidth, people who may not be fluent in the language, as well as people who are using a mobile phone to access the Internet.

In this conversation with accessibility and usability specialists Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery, they explain how all users win when we design for accessibility first. And how Universal Design is the path that provides the best access to digital products for the widest audience. We can apply their philosophy and principles to accessible eLearning design.

Sarah is a consultant for strategic planning for websites and web applications. She also does accessibility and usability reviews. Sarah has written several books on topics from web design to accessibility for the web.

Whitney brings user research insights to designing products where people matter. She has written two other books on user experience and is co-director of the non-profit Center for Civic Design, working with election officials on usability and design of ballots and other election materials.

WE DISCUSS:

The story behind A Web for Everyone

Why accessibility should be part of design and not just a legal mandate

Difference between accessibility and universal design

Spectrum of accessibility strategies

Common problems people have with web accessibility

Designing with an "accessibility first" strategy

How usability testing makes designs more effective

Web standards and standards for authoring tools and authoring tool vendors

Guidelines for visual presentation of content

TIME: 35 minutes

TRANSCRIPT: Download the [Download not found].

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BOOKS:

A Web for Everyone by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery (Use Code AWFE for 20% off when you buy from Rosenfeld Media)

A Web for Everyone buy on Amazon

Design for All Learners by Sarah Mercier

RESOURCES:

Sarah Horton Design (Sarah's website)

WQUsability (Whitney's website)

Web Accessibility Initiatives (WAI) Easy Checks

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG)

ON THIS SITE:

Using Contrast to Improve Visual Accessibility in eLearning

Getting Started with Inclusive Design

When designing interactions, attending to the small details can make a big difference. Listen to Dan Saffer talk about microinteractions.

Are you curious about the future of instructional technology and learning? These professors follow the trends and issues in our field—from the latest technologies to new research.

Jennifer Hofmann, author of What Works in Talent Development: Blended Learning, offers guidance on how to design blended learning.

If you want to know anything about eLearning authoring tools, ask eLearning Joe. He is adept at explaining eLearning development tools.