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263 - Accessible Information, St. Michael's House, Ireland
CONTACT
St. Michael's House
Ms. Michelle Moloney Ireland
+353 1 8086417
OVERALL GOAL /MISSION
The concept design formed around an accessible Virtual Learning Environment for people with intellectual disability,
which would encourage & assist online communication & learning. As a large number of individuals with intellectual
disability experience literacy difficulties it was envisaged that the prototype would facilitate picture-to-picture
navigation. Minimal text was used throughout. After arriving at the desired topic the individual had the option to learn
about the information via audio, video or easy read documents.
A person cannot be an active citizen if they cannot access the information or understand the way that it is presented. A
large number of individuals with intellectual disability are unable to read or write. For this reason in order for the person
to make an informed choice the person needs to have good information presented in a way that they can understand.
They need to see tangible visual aids (video, role play, film, photos). It may need to be demonstrated to them a number
of times.
We evaluated this using an advocacy newsletter. Traditionally the participants would require a keyworker to provide
them with assistance in deciphering this information. We evaluated how the participants accessed the information and
how they navigated through the system to find the information that they were interested in.
THE SOLUTION THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED
The design & evaluation of a custom built virtual learning environment for people with intellectual disability. This was
based on image to image navigation & featured limited text & a choice of modality for perceiving information. Video
and audio chats were also evaluated within this. The software package Moodle was chosen. The concept framed around
an electronic version of the newsletter that is used at present in the organization. For many individuals who attend SMH
they require assistance, in the way of a staff member reading or assisting them with the language set on the newsletter.
COUNTRY IN WHICH IT WAS DEVELOPED: IRELAND
COUNTRY/ COUNTRIES IN WHICH IT IS OPERATING: IRELAND