On Friday 05 July, the HeX team will be joining Wadsworth Fields Careers Day to encourage pupils to play their part in shaping an equal online world.
Broadening perspectives on careers day
For the fifth year running, HeX Productions will be taking part in an important event, which aims to give primary school pupils an insight into the different careers they may wish to pursue in the future.
The day, based at Wadsworth Fields Primary & Nursery School, will have young attendees from feeder schools travelling from across the local area to learn more about different industries. This will provide the students with a unique opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the varied career paths that are available to them.
The need for digital accessibility in varied job roles
1-in-5 people, which equates to 26% of the world’s population, are born with some form of a disability. Therefore, creating an inclusive digital world, that is free from barriers, is essential for society.
Digital accessibility doesn’t only have vast benefits for disabled people, who rely on assistive technology to access and interact with online platforms. When websites, apps, and documents are written, designed, and developed in an inclusive way, then they are more user-friendly and usable for everyone.
Often, when it comes to digital accessibility, people think that it is solely a web developer’s role. And, although developers do play an essential part in making this the case, it actually expands to many other job roles within organisations.
This can include careers such as:
- Graphic designers
- Communication and social media teams
- Marketers
- Administrators
- Educators
The list is endless. Basically, any job that has elements of editing or creating digital content need to be aware of the need to embed accessibility into their work.
How HeX will be giving eye-opening insights into accessible design and development
The HeX team will be giving first-hand knowledge to students, talking them through inclusive web design and showcasing ways that we build accessible websites.
Beyond this, even if students aren’t necessarily into coding, we’ll also be giving an exciting opportunity for everyone to gain a deeper understanding about how people with certain disabilities see and interact online.
Watch our Interactive Empathy Lab Experience in action:
This fun and engaging, hands-on session will be through the use of technology, such as with:
- Virtual reality headsets, which simulate different visual impairments.
- Noise cancelling headphones, for them to gain an understanding about the need to embed items such as captions on videos.
- Wrist weights to replicate some mobility disabilities, and more!
These enlightening experiences, will help to enable students to gain a real-life perspective into why they need to prioritise digital accessibility into their project work, whilst also helping to raise empathy amongst their peers. In turn, demonstrating how young people can help in building a more inclusive world for future generations to come.
How teachers can help to instil digital accessibility into lessons
If you’re an educator, when is there a better time for people to start getting into good inclusive habits then when they are at school? Having these vital skills will empower students to change the world for the better and level the playing field, so everyone has equal access to digital information and services.
There’s many ways teachers can bring these skills into their lessons, especially within IT, media, or graphic design subjects, such as learning the basics around:
- Heading levels in documents
- Adding alt text on imagery
- The use of inclusive colours
- What typography is best in design
- Media considerations
- Accessible coding
Watch our latest webinar, which was part of our Education 4 All campaign, where Helen Wilson discusses her work for her PhD around teaching and raising awareness of accessibility within the curriculum:
