Press Release
Global learning technology leader D2L is continuing to help make online learning more accessible for learners of all abilities. Promoting equity in learning is a major focus for D2L and their partner organizations as they look to empower students, educators, schools, and society.
Together, this learning technology can help set a higher standard for adaptability and accessibility.
“When we talk about changing the way the world learns, we see it as a challenge and mission to do this for all learners — especially people who need specific accessibility tools and features to fully engage in learning,” says John Baker, President, and CEO of D2L. “That’s why we’ve built up an incredibly strong accessibility team at D2L and have given them the mission of making Brightspace the most versatile and adaptable learning platform in the world. These partnerships show us that we’re moving in the right direction, and we couldn’t be prouder to support them in this important and life-changing work.”
D2L is a leader in accessibility because of three factors.
- People:To promote inclusion in education, D2L engages diverse users through the research phase, enables equity throughout design and embeds accessibility in products.
- Process: By practicing inclusive design, products are designed alongside people that have disabilities, not for D2L works alongside people with disabilities including D2L employees, the disability community (in partnership with Fable), and customers that serve people with disabilities.
- Products:D2L supports the full stack of online learning, driven by technology, content and pedagogy. D2L offers technical and functional accessibility to help enable independent and effective learning. Instructors and students are supported in producing and consuming accessible content. Inclusive pedagogical practices are used to support Universal Design for Learning principles.
D2L is proud to work with many organizations that support and enable accessible learning. That includes:
International Disability Alliance (IDA)
IDA is an umbrella Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), with 8 global members and 6 regional members, in turn representing over 1,100 OPDs around the world. Together they promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities across global efforts to advance human rights and sustainable development. They support organizations of persons with disabilities to hold their governments to account and advocate for change locally, nationally and internationally. IDA will use the Brightspace platform to help scale their training globally and make it more accessible.
Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB)
Founded in 1918, CNIB is a non-profit organization driven to change what it is to be blind today. They deliver innovative programs and powerful advocacy that empower people impacted by blindness to live their dreams and tear down barriers to inclusion. CNIB’s work as a blind foundation is powered by a network of volunteers, donors and partners from coast to coast to coast. They provide professional development using D2L’s Brightspace as the learning platform.
Vision Australia
Vision Australia is a leading national provider of blindness and low vision services in Australia. They needed a versatile and easy-to-access learning management system to support their 850 employees and 2,500 volunteers, about 15% of whom are blind or have low vision. They were impressed with Brightspace’s accessibility features, including its ability to interoperate with screen readers. D2L’s experienced team of accessibility Hi experts and commitment to ongoing partnership also drew them to select the Brightspace platform.
To learn more about how D2L supports customers in serving the accessibility needs of their members, please visit their accessibility page.
ABOUT BRIGHTSPACE
Brightspace is a cloud-based learning platform built by educators, for educators that works on any device. It’s secure, worry-free technology that puts customers first — allowing you to create engaging courses within your existing technology to fit your unique needs. With Brightspace, you can easily set up individualised learning paths for your students, keep them on track with automated nudges, provide them with personalised feedback and increase their engagement through gamification, social tools, video and other powerful features. Visit our website to learn more about D2L for K-12, Higher Education and Corporate Learning.
ABOUT D2L
D2L believes learning is the foundation upon which all progress and achievement rests. Working closely with organisations globally, D2L has transformed the way millions of people learn online and in the classroom. Learn more about D2L for schools, higher education and businesses at www.D2L.com.