1. About Moodle

Moodle is the brand name for a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Newman’s Moodle is hosted and managed by Newman University.

2. Moodle’s accessibility statement

“Moodle is designed to provide equal functionality and information to all people. This means that there should be no barriers for people regardless of disabilities, assistive technologies that are used, different screen sizes and different input devices (e.g. mouse, keyboard and touchscreen).”  This quote is from Moodle.org.
For more information see Moodle: Accessibility.

3. Using Newman’s Moodle

We want as many students and staff as possible to be able to use our Moodle. That means, for example, that you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of Moodle using just a keyboard
• navigate most of  Moodle using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the content on Moodle using a screen reader

For advice about making your device (phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer) easier to use if you have a disability, see AbilityNet.

4. Which parts of Moodle do not meet accessibility standards and why?

4.1. Some Uploaded content

Content on Newman’s Moodle can be created and uploaded by staff and students.

Examples of such content:

• Files (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, PDFs, audio and video files)
• Moodle Pages (web pages containing text and multimedia)
• Forums (containing posts that may contain text and multimedia)
• Quizzes (interactive quizzes containing text and multimedia)
• Links to external content (e.g. web sites)

All staff who use Moodle are made aware of accessibility regulations when they open a Moodle page and encouraged to fix any issues before making it available to students or to seek help from the e-Learning team.

Nevertheless it is acknowledged that some materials may have been in use before the regulations came into force and also that some members of staff may find it technically challenging to fix everything.

We aim to fix such issues immediately if reported and in due course otherwise. We acknowledge that at present there may be the following issues in some of the uploaded content.

• Images without alternative text
• Video without captions
• Audio without a transcript
• Unhelpful use of colours and contrast in document
• Unstructured documents (e.g. without heading styles)

4.2 Anything else?

If you are aware of any other areas of Moodle which have issues, please email Bob Ridge-Stearn

5. Who to contact if you cannot access something on Moodle

5.1 Your tutor

If you have problems accessing materials that were created by your tutor, contact your tutor in the first instance. He/She may be able to supply you with an alternative version or convert the material that you cannot access.
Your module leader’s contact details can be found in ‘Module Information’ at the top of any Moodle course page.

5.2 The e-Learning Dept.

You can also contact the e-Learning team who will be happy to either show you how to access the material or convert it into a different format that you can access.

• email – elearningservicedesk@newman.ac.uk
• call  – 01214761181 ext 2645
• visit – Room EL010 (between 09.00-16.30)

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our Moodle, so if you find any problems or have any suggestions, please contact the Head of e-Learning – Bob.Ridge-Stearn@newman.ac.uk

6. What to do if you are not happy with our response

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you are not happy with how we respond to your notification or request, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

[Last updated: August 2019 by Bob R-S.]