Advances in the design of e-learning are opening up huge possibilities for disabled people to gain better access to education and training. E-learning offers disabled learners new ways to learn because it is capable of placing learners at the centre of the process, giving them full control over the pace and structure of the learning. People can repeat sections until they are confident in their understanding and, if they get something wrong, people around them won’t judge or laugh. E-learning is also flexible regarding time and place of learning, is scaleable for large numbers and is consistent – the computer never has a ‘bad day’! Given these huge possibilities, it seems that the critical question is: Can e-learning actually deliver on its potential.

Year on year, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) research has shown that use of e-learning is steadily growing but in many ways it seems to have demonstrated more potential than reality. Progress has often been disappointing and, too often, e-learning is seen as an easy way of cutting training costs. Despite e-learning being covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), there are still only low levels of compliance with accessibility standards. Much e-learning is therefore currently difficult for disabled people to use and access. A recent study by City University (London) provides a damning view of the situation. It found that, on average, only a quarter of e-learning content was properly tested.1 A recent survey by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) confirms this picture, finding that as many as 45 per cent of accessibility problems would not have been detected without user testing (that is, testing with ‘real’ people). ...

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