{"id":13369,"date":"2025-10-15T13:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/?p=13369"},"modified":"2025-10-15T09:36:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T08:36:43","slug":"accessibility-first-inclusive-design-from-the-starting-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2025\/10\/accessibility-first-inclusive-design-from-the-starting-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessibility first: Inclusive design from the starting point"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alice Chapman, Officer for the ALT Digital Accessibility SIG and ALTC25 Conference Committee member<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of ALTC 2025<\/strong>, I\u2019ve been thinking about what it truly means to design learning technology with empathy and inclusion at its heart. The conference will soon bring these conversations into focus, but the work starts now by putting accessibility first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s digital-first world, learning technology opens doors to education, opportunity, and connection. But even in this modern world, the doors are still closed for too many learners. Accessibility is too often treated as a checkbox when in reality, it should be seen as the foundation of inclusive and effective learning design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we look to the past, present, and future of digital education at the upcoming ALT Annual Conference (ALTC), accessibility must take centre stage. Not just because of legislation or compliance standards, but because learning should be for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why accessibility matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the World Health Organization<\/a>, \u201cAn estimated 1.3 billion people \u2013 about 16% of the global population \u2013 currently experience significant disability.\u201d In the language of further and higher education, that\u2019s a substantial number of learners whose needs must be considered. More specifically in the realms of learning technology, digital platforms are now central to how we study, teach, and collaborate. If these tools aren\u2019t accessible, entire communities of learners are left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most exciting innovations in learning technology are those that prioritise accessibility and inclusivity from the start. Think interactive captioning and transcription, immersive simulations that adapt to learners\u2019 needs, and design frameworks that embed platforms to support diverse experiences. These tools help to close the gap, but only if accessibility is embedded from the beginning and not enacted as an afterthought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges we still face<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite progress, challenges remain. Platforms don’t always work seamlessly with screen readers. Colour contrast, navigation, and interface design often exclude rather than empower. Text alternatives can be inaccurate or not even present. But when we dig into these, we can see that these issues aren\u2019t just technical issues, they\u2019re human. And the good news is, they\u2019re solvable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By embedding accessibility into the design stage, we can address these challenges early and create learning experiences that truly support everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s move from compliance to compassion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Accessibility is often framed in terms of compliance. \u201cWe must meet WCAG 2.2 standards by ticking boxes and satisfying legal requirements.\u201d And while these are important, and can be supportive to implement change, the real transformation comes from compassion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about designing with empathy by talking to the learner who can\u2019t hear the audio, the learner who struggles with a cluttered screen, the learner who relies on a keyboard instead of a mouse. When institutions shift from compliance-driven to compassion-driven design, learning becomes more equitable, engaging, and empowering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join the conversation at the ALT conference<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of this year\u2019s key themes at ALTC is Digital by Design: People, Empathy and Experience<\/strong>. It\u2019s a chance to explore the future of learning technology together and to challenge ourselves to put accessibility and empathy at the heart of everything we create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you\u2019re a learning technologist, educator, policymaker, or simply passionate about digital inclusion, this conference is an opportunity to connect, share ideas, and shape the future of learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date:<\/strong> 23 and 24 October\u00a0
Location:<\/strong> Glasgow Marriott<\/a>
Register here: <\/strong>ALT Annual Conference 2025 Registration | Association for Learning Technology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accessibility happens when we design with, not for, our learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you\u2019re attending ALTC 2025 or championing accessibility in your own institution, take one action this month: talk to a learner about how they experience your learning platforms. Then bring that insight back to your team, and to Glasgow! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ALT\u2019s Annual Conference<\/strong><\/a> is one of the UK\u2019s largest conferences for learning technology and digital education professionals. The conference provides a valuable and practical forum for practitioners, researchers, managers and policy-makers from education and industry to solve problems, explore, reflect, influence and learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALTC25\u00a0will take place in Glasgow on 23 and 24 October 2025.\u00a0\u00a0Register Here <\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahead of ALTC 2025, I\u2019ve been thinking about what it truly means to design learning technology with empathy and inclusion at its heart. The conference will soon bring these conversations into focus, but the work starts now by putting accessibility first. In today\u2019s digital-first world, learning technology opens doors to education, opportunity, and connection. But […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2215,2216,1496,1945,1409],"tags":[1258,2217,1734,1806,725,1693,2253,774,1807,2252,996,1474],"class_list":["post-13369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-altc25","category-altc25-annual-conference","category-annual-conference","category-digital-accessibility-sig","category-events","tag-altc-2","tag-altc25","tag-accessibility-2","tag-alice-chapman","tag-altc","tag-annual-conference","tag-annual-conference-2025","tag-community","tag-digital-accessibility","tag-digital-accessibility-sig","tag-sig","tag-sig-updates"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2025\/08\/TEMPLATE-DO-NOT-EDIT-THIS-PAGE-14.png?fit=734%2C550&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13397,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2025\/10\/explore-the-voices-and-resources-of-altc25\/","url_meta":{"origin":13369,"position":0},"title":"Explore the voices and resources of ALTC25\u00a0","author":"ALT","date":"24 October 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We would like to thank everyone for contributing to and taking part in ALT\u2019s Annual Conference 2025. 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