Three steps to inclusive and accessible online training
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, most university education in Kenya took place on campus, while uptake and use of online learning were low. The pandemic forced the world to pivot to online learning and explore its benefits, for example that it can be more flexible than studying together at a fixed time or place. While this means that it has the potential to increase access to formal education, informal learning and professional development, challenges such as unreliable internet connectivity, uncertain access to computers and laptops, electricity outages, limited digital skills, or physical and mental disabilities can prevent people from reaping its fruits and can even exacerbate inequalities.
Both university students and staff who want to benefit from training opportunities face these challenges.
As improving equity in access to education is a key aim of the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) programme, helping to minimise this gap was an imperative. In Kenya, S4P is delivered by a consortium which includes the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University (OU), which has decades of experience in online learning. Harnessing this allowed S4P to build expertise in inclusive and digital education in the country through training educators, educational leaders and support staff from all 37 public universities and developing their online teaching skills, which will serve them well in teaching students, both during the pandemic and beyond.
Concrete steps to make online learning inclusive and accessible
To minimise barriers to participation and offer an accessible and inclusive training programme, The OU adopted a three-step approach to online training.
Step 1: Course design and delivery
We built accessibility into the training course at both design and delivery stages.
This included a flexible schedule, so university staff in different roles and from different disciplines can engage with the online training at their own pace and fit study around their work and family commitments. Some complete the eight-session course in two weeks, others take six months to finish. This flexibility is particularly valuable for learners with disabilities such as long COVID and dyslexia, which make concentrating and remembering information difficult. The option to study in short bursts and to return to challenging material later provides the time necessary to process and engage with content.
Training content and activities meet international accessibility standards. For example, all images and diagrams are accompanied by alternative text that can be read out loud by screen readers, and videos include transcripts. These are useful for learners with hearing issues and for those who do not have the bandwidth to watch a video.
Finally, making time to complete training is difficult during the uncertainty of a pandemic, when both home and work life is disrupted. To motivate and encourage participation, we set up a distributed award system of digital badges and a certificate. Digital badges not only mark achievement; they also indicate what skills and knowledge the recipient has developed. Badges are awarded for successful completion of the first and second halves of the course, and everyone who completes the course receives a certificate.
Step 2: Technical and administrative support
Course design is important, but learners also need administrative and technical support when they are engaging in online learning.
That is why the training is offered on OpenLearn Create, an accessible and innovative educational platform for open content. The training content is provided in a way that meets the needs of a wide variety of learners and aligns with international accessibility standards.
Learners may find it difficult to access online content if their internet access is limited. To address this constraint, the training is available in multiple formats that can be downloaded and accessed via computers, a mobile phone or an e-book reader. This allows participants to download learning resources fast when they have internet access, and then work on them offline.
A dedicated team deals with technical and administrative issues, responding to email queries within 24 hours, and ensuring that technical and registration issues do not block access to training. Moreover, a Kenyan coordinator deals with inquiries and tasks that cannot be handled remotely. As well as dealing with local issues, the coordinator identifies cultural and contextual factors that could limit accessibility.
Step 3: Peer and community interaction
To ensure the training remains accessible and valuable, participants join a “community of practice” on Facebook, one of the most popular social media platforms in Kenya. This closed community, with more than 280 members in universities across the country, provides a space where they can support each other, and share ideas, resources and expertise. Once the training comes to an end, this community will continue to make its content accessible to staff in all Kenyan universities, strengthening the sustainability of this initiative.
Ensuring that the S4P Kenya online training was inclusive and accessible has led to high participation rates so far, with 90% of eligible staff in universities taking part in the course and a satisfaction rate of 98%.
“A lot has changed as a result of taking this course; for instance, I can now confidently create videos to adapt in my online teaching, something I had not attempted or considered prior to studying this course. I am equally guided on how and where to obtain online resources which I can use in my teaching and I have been able to access a lot of content. Exposure to the course was such a rewarding experience.”
- Female lecturer in Nursing
Through this training, S4P Kenya intends to help university staff deliver online and blended teaching that enables equitable participation in education. However, educators and other professionals need to be supported by their institutions in designing and delivering teaching, learning and assessment activities that are accessible and inclusive. We will only achieve this if more funds are invested to help staff develop a combination of pedagogical and technological knowledge and skills.
Acknowledgement: The cover illustration is produced by Visual Thinkery for the Skills for Prosperity Kenya programme, and is licensed CC BY 4.0
The OU S4P Kenya team: Prof. Rebecca Ferguson, Dr Simon Cross, Prof. Denise Whitelock, Dr Beck Pitt, Dr Fereshte Goshtasbpour and Olivier Biard.
