The importance of education in an individual’s development cannot be emphasized enough. Missions by governments across the world exemplify the same, one example being the Right to Education Act 2009 in India, fueled by an aim to reach every child across class and caste to provide them with equal opportunities for progress. In the movement from traditional learning methods to the world of e-learning, the parameters for inclusion have also become more complex and diverse. 

 Given the varied nature of learners both in terms of physical and intellectual capacities, today’s globalized world demands well-equipped learning tools as well as skilled development professionals to cater to a global audience.

As per the WHO statistics, an estimated 1.3 billion people experience significant disability, which makes up 16% of the world’s population or 1 in 6 of us. As this echoes the gravity of the situation, the call for an inclusive learning experience is the need of the hour.  

The Indian Context :

India is putting in a tremendous effort for students with disabilities to get education on an equal footing with others. So, such children are getting facilities such as accessible ramps for wheelchairs so that can comfortably stroll in such equipment around the facility.

Moreover, the National Education Policy (2020)(NEP)

has mandated certain features for making education more accessible to students with disabilities. Apart from comfortable infrastructure for such students, it has also instructed regular schools to hire teachers who can impart education to such students.

They must have the ability to coherently teach them in Braille and Sign language. This change was necessary because it had been reported that only 9% of people with disabilities finished secondary education.  

The NEP aims to instill confidence in children with disabilities and has presented neighborhood and special schools as options for getting education for them.  

American perspective on inclusive learning (American with disabilities act):

There has been a significant increase in the entities facing lawsuits because of their non-conformation of their content with ADA. As far as the statistics reveal, approximately 100 more lawsuits about noncompliance with ADA were filed in 2022’s first week. This was because Title 3 of the ADA now recognizes websites as places of public accommodation, and they are responsible for providing correct subtitles for any educational videos or other videos shared there and on platforms such as YouTube.

Since an LMS is also a content-sharing platform, much like a website, the same rule of correct auto-caption applies there also. Hence, MOOC based LMSs operated by universities have to be compliant with such laws.  

ADA emphasizes disabilities, which clearly states that such people should be communicated with clearly by all kinds of organizations. It’s a complicated task and applies to private organizations too. The act states that any kind of disability should not act as a hindrance to communication, and it should be as seamless as possible. 

  

How can accessible eLearning affect a business? 

The main reason why inclusive learning is so crucial is that ADA law requires 

every business to be compliant. Accessible training has become mandatory for 

businesses because settling a lawsuit is quite costly.

A business has to fight litigation in this regard apart from paying the victim which can cost upwards of 75000 dollars. So, it's better to ensure that your training is ADA compliant in the first place because a business also suffers from loss of reputation when its employees go to court for violation of this law.

Such programs are required so that the training of business should be comprehensible and accessible to all regardless of their abilities, be it related to language, 

nationalities, or physical or mental afflictions, including dyslexia.  

How we help you comply with ADA requirements?  

 As we develop inclusive learning materials that are translated across languages and are studied by a global audience, everything is designed to keep the factor of inclusiveness at the center. With content ranging across mediums like e-books, audio lessons, and video modules, the aim is to provide a multisensory learning experience for learners.

With an upskilled team well-versed in emerging technologies, the content is equipped with facilities like oral reading of the text for visually impaired learners, thoroughly run and tested to eliminate any errors and discrepancies. For learners with any reading disorders, we provide screen reading programs so that they can listen to the text or a zooming facility in our LMS for text enlargement purposes. Our training materials are accessible by all, even the visually impaired because we ensure that the readers are provided information in print in Braille so that they can browse through the material.

We go to any extent to make it easier for our readers to enhance their knowledge via our modules, and hence they are given audio transcripts either before the commencement of the module or after it.  

Every video lesson is supplemented with a detailed script as well as closed captions to ensure smooth learning for students with hearing disabilities.  

With inclusivity at the core of operations at Creativ technologies, our team of Content Developers and QA Analysts are making efforts to ensure easy accessibility and a smooth learning experience for all. Celebrating the spirit of unhindered learning for a global community, we hope to make our tiny contribution to foster learning for all.