Creative Communities - BC Library Conference 2015

We will briefly describe the process of user testing open textbooks with post-secondary students who have print disabilities. We will focus on the lessons learned in this process and how this data fed into the creation of a toolkit on accessibility for open textbook authors. We will share our failures and reflect on how we would improve this process in the future. This project is a collaboration between BCcampus and CAPER-BC. BCcampus is a publicly funded organization that uses information technology to connect the expertise, programs, and resources of all B.C. post-secondary institutions under a collaborative service delivery framework. BCcampus is the lead organization for the open textbook project in BC. The Centre for Accessible Post-secondary Education Resources of British Columbia (CAPER-BC) provides accessible learning and teaching materials to students and instructors who cannot use conventional print because of disabilities. An open textbook is a textbook licensed under an open copyright license, and made available online to be freely used by students, teachers and members of the public. They are available for free as online versions, and as low-cost printed versions, should students opt for these.