Common OER Platform and Software-Specific Limitations

In this doodle, a book labelled “open textbooks” sits open, and arrows extend from the book to stick figures who are interacting with the content from the book in multiple ways, including reading a print copy, watching a video, doing presentations in person, demonstrating or presenting content and more. Source: Open Textbooks by Guilia Forsythe, CC0.

While there are extensive tests you can run to determine the overall accessibility of digital resources, it’s also important to recognize that many platforms and software packages have limitations to the amount of customization an OER adopter/creator can implement.

Because we have limited ability to change the software packages/platforms, focus your accessibility review on the *content* that is added into these systems, as the end product is only as accessible as the content the creator has added.

The more you focus on reviewing content for accessibility, the more knowledge you will build about the specific limitations of certain file formats and platforms. In the pages that follow review some questions you can ask yourself about resources you find in particular platforms and software as you review for accessibility.

These questions will become more helpful as you work towards adapting OER that you find, unless you have contact with the OER creator and can influence some of their decision making!

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, Common OER Platform and Software-Specific Limitations by Jen Booth is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

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Improving Accessibility in OER Copyright © 2024 by Jen Booth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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