Digital Tools for Content Adaptation in Higher Education

1. Digital tools for content adaptation in higher education

Digital tools enhance student engagement through interactive and compelling learning experiences. They support an individualised approach to learning and allow for necessary adaptations.

As part of the InclUDE project, research on the use of digital accessibility tools in higher education was conducted in 2021. The aim was to provide insight into the knowledge of faculty and students at higher education institutions regarding learning accessibility tools. The findings indicated that the inability to locate digital accessibility tools and a lack of knowledge about their use are two key barriers to their adoption in higher education institutions (Vaughan and Rekhi, 2022).

Digital tools allow educators to direct students' attention more effectively, foster collaboration, and improve learning outcomes. Whether through teaching and learning applications, the preparation of accessible digital teaching materials, or artificial intelligence-based teaching systems, digital tools support the implementation of Universal Design for Learning and adaptation to the diverse needs of students.

2. Digital tools in teaching and learning

Kahoot! is a tool that can be used in teaching to obtain feedback on interactive and dynamic types of questions. It can create content with the help of artificial intelligence by converting a PDF, URL, or article into a presentation. It allows slide synchronisation. Kahoot! can be integrated with learning management systems (LMS) such as Moodle, Blackboard, Canvas, Brightspace, or Schoology.

Padlet is an online platform that serves as a digital bulletin board, allowing users to post and share various types of content, including text, images, videos, and links. Educators and students can use Padlet to exchange ideas, collaborate on projects, and hold discussions.

Pearl Deck integrates with Google Slides, transforming presentations into interactive lessons. By adding interactive questions, polls, and quizzes directly to the slides, educators can ensure student engagement during class. Pear Deck enables educators to receive feedback and assess student understanding. This interaction makes it easier to identify students who may need additional help or clarification.

EDpuzzle allows educators to embed quizzes, comprehension questions, or notes into existing videos, whether downloaded from YouTube or their own. This interactive approach enables students to participate actively while watching the video. Educators can track who has watched the video and monitor how well students have understood the material based on their answers. EDpuzzle is particularly valuable when students study independently, and the content is later discussed and elaborated upon together in class.

Book Creator is a tool that supports project-based learning, assessment of understanding, and collaboration. The platform encourages creativity and engagement by allowing students to express themselves through storytelling and multimedia elements.

Screencastify is a tool that enables educators and students to record their screens for various purposes, including tutorials, lessons, and presentations. In higher education, Screencastify is especially useful for creating lessons, as educators can pre-record lectures or demonstrations for students to watch later.

Socrative is a platform that enables educators to create quizzes and polls, which students can answer in real time using their smartphones or computers. By providing immediate feedback on student responses, Socrative enables educators to assess understanding and adjust their teaching accordingly.

Wakelet is a platform that enables users to select and organise web content, videos, and other resources into visually appealing collections. It is suitable for group research projects and collaborative learning.

Tricider is a free tool for discussion and exchanging ideas.

Artsteps is a free tool that allows for the creation of a virtual exhibition.

The description of some of the displayed tools was taken from the page Top 23 Ed Tech Tools Revolutionizing Higher Education.

3. Digital tools for creating accessible digital content

Canva is a simple online platform for creating graphic content. With numerous templates, images, and fonts, it allows for the creation of presentations, infographics, posters, social media graphics, and the like.

Infogram is a tool for creating adaptable online charts, data visualizations, and posters.

Nearpod enables educators to create interactive lessons with quizzes, polls, and videos, encouraging active student participation. By embedding assessments into the lessons, Nearpod allows for tracking student progress. Students benefit from engaging content, personalized learning methods, and opportunities to collaborate with peers, whether during class or in an online environment.

Genially is used to create interactive presentations, infographics, quizzes, and other visual content. It allows users to add animations and interactive elements to static content, making it more appealing, and requires no coding or design skills.

Mentimeter is interactive presentation software that allows educators and students to add live polls, quizzes, and questions to their presentations. Participants use their smartphones or other devices to respond, and the results are visualized in real-time, making the class more engaging and enabling the collection of immediate feedback. 

Miro AI is an advanced set of generative artificial intelligence features integrated directly into Miro's visual workspace. It is designed to help users brainstorm ideas, plan and manage projects by automating routine tasks and efficiently creating content. It is capable of automatically generating new ideas, creating images from text and drafting various diagrams, which greatly accelerates the conversion of initial ideas into concrete action plans. Instructions for initial users are on Create with AI.

Zoho Show is a cloud-based presentation tool that allows users to create, edit and collaborate on presentations. It offers features such as templates, animations, and the ability to broadcast presentations live to a remote audience.

Zia AI in Zoho Show can transform an idea into a visually appealing presentation in just a few seconds. Whether you are starting from scratch or refining existing content, Zia AI assists with writing, designing and enhancing slides.

Lexie is an application for comfortable reading and learning. All materials are arranged for the most pleasant reading — or they are read aloud by Lexie. It is perfect for students with dyslexia and reading difficulties. It speeds up and simplifies the preparation and adaptation of books and school materials for educators.

w3Lexie has tools for every reading style, especially for students who have dyslexia, difficulties with reading, focus, or attention, but also for those who want to adapt the text for more comfortable reading.

The Accessibility Checker tool in Microsoft 365 reviews content and flags accessibility issues. It explains why each issue may be a potential problem for someone with special needs. The Accessibility Checker also suggests ways to resolve the problems identified. In Word, the Accessibility Checker runs automatically in the background when a document is created. If the Accessibility Checker detects accessibility issues, you will receive a reminder on the Status Bar. To run the Accessibility Checker manually, select File > Check Accessibility. The Accessibility pane will open. Accessibility tools for Word

The Discover Windows accessibility features page describes the accessibility features in Windows.

Instructions for Creating and Checking Accessibility (in Croatian) for MS Word and PDF documents.

Some of the previous links and documents are available in Croatian only. Participants may use free AI-powered translation tools to access the provided materials.

4. Digital tools for website adaptation

ReadAble is a tool for creating accessible web content that automatically adapts even to the most complex websites. It provides a comfortable reading experience for everyone, and is especially adapted for students with reading difficulties, dyslexia, ADHD and visual impairments.

OmoType font people with dyslexia read faster, with fewer errors and less effort. It works on mobile devices and more complex websites. Two studies were conducted during the development of the OmoType font — a comparative study and research using an eye-tracking device. Digital content and texts written in OmoType are more readable and read faster with fewer errors.

UserWay checks website compliance with digital accessibility, automatically finds and fixes errors in the code with the help of artificial intelligence.

Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) is a free browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox that checks website accessibility. It is extremely popular due to its comprehensive approach and clear reporting. It provides colour-coded visual feedback on errors, warnings, and features that can be improved.

AChecker is an extremely simple accessibility checking tool. You can enter a URL or paste the HTML of a website to get an accessibility report. Also, you can choose to check accessibility compliance against a range of accessibility standards and regulations, with or without validators.

Contrast and the use of colour are crucial for accessibility. Users, including those with visual impairments, must be able to perceive the content on the page. Various tools are used to check text and background contrast, such as:  WebAIM i Siege Media 

Some of the following links and documents are available in Croatian only. Participants may use free AI-powered translation tools to access the provided materials.

Examples of digital tools that can be used in higher education for preparing presentations, graphic content, and video content are shown on the following pages:

• Online and Digital Tools for Use in Education / Online i digitalni alati za korištenje u obrazovanju
• Top 23 Ed Tech Tools Revolutionizing Higher Education
• Digital education tools

5. References

Vaughan, R., & Rekhi, T. (2022). The use of accessibility tools in higher education. The Inclusive University Digital Education (InclUDE) Project Report.