We report on an eSTEeM/school funded project that aimed to evaluate an alternative format designed for students in mathematics and statistics who use assistive technology to access their materials. At the heart of the evaluation was a consultation with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
1. Project start – finish: December 2018 – December 2019
2. Project cost, all payments to RNIB:
(a) Phase 1: £2,250 (covered by eSTEeM)
(b) Phase 2: £8,808 (covered by eSTEeM and School combined)
(c) Total: £11,058
3. Key dates:
(a) Phase 1: RNIB expert assessment
i. December 2018: initial version submitted to RNIB for Phase 1 evaluation
ii. March 2018–May 2018: resolution of most issues raised from expert assessment
iii. June 2019: received feedback from RNIB, saying most issues resolved; decision to proceed with Phase 2
(b) Phase 2: RNIB user testing
i. October 2019 – November 2019: user testing
ii. December 2019: user testing report received from RNIB
From the user testing, 6 out of 8 users would recommend studying using material in this format to other maths or statistics students wanting to study independently at degree level (see Table 12).
Outcome: based on the results of this project (Section5) we recommend that the school of Mathematics and Statistics adopts this alternative format across the curriculum in addition to its existing outputs. We propose that the output be named DAARA: Designed As A Reasonable Adjustment.
Related resources
Hughes, C., Colwell, C., Clarke, J., Williams, K. and Bromley, A. (2020) Evaluating the accessibility of an alternative format of module materials in Maths & Stats. eSTEeM Final Report. (Intranet only)
