Teaching and Professional Fellowship Report 2003/4. Access, Acrobat and Animations: Enhancing the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment

Dr Gaimster's contextual considerations were - the impact of the Special Educational Needs and Disabillty Act 2001 (SENDA); that Blackboard has been used mainly as a vehicle for communication and that much was text based; staff wanted to use images and multimedia to enhance their sites, but did not have the technical skills required; the potential within Blackboard for the streamlining of course administration and a reduction in the use of paper based forms. She explored the potential for integrating Adobe Acrobat 6 into the Blackboard VLE, researching the benefits for staff and students in terms of improved usability, functionality and interactivity. This was achieved through the creation of interactive forms and course documents, and templates for the inclusion of multimedia elements within teaching and learning material.Amongst Julia's recommendations are the adoption of a strategic approach to accessibility; the integration of accessibility training into Blackboard courses, CLTAD and IT training programmes; the production of guidelines and templates for the production of teaching and learning materials both on- and off-line; training for users with disabilities to ensure that they are aware of and are able to use all accessibility functions.

'Teaching and Professional Fellowships In Support of The Student Experience' and 'CLIP/CETL Fellowships' are to encourage individual staff's learning and development in their chosen field of endeavour so as to be of benefit to the University.