Creating, consuming, remixing, and sharing accessible Open Educational Resources (OERs) using an authoring tool

This paper presents an experience designed to foster the creation, consumption, remixing, and sharing of accessible Open Educational Resources (OERs) through the development of the authoring tool INDIeOpen. INDIeOpen addresses some reported difficulties in the production and use of OERs: (1) difficulty in finding high-quality content, (2) a lack of knowledge about licencing practice and remixing, (3) limited facilities for continuous improvement, (4) a lack of sustainability, and (5) low accessibility of OERs. The described experience took place over four years within two European projects, INDIe and INDIe4All, in which the authoring tool was progressively developed in a continuous cycle of suggestions, improvements, and tests to reach the goal of developing an ecosystem of technologies, partnerships, and good practices to ease the production and adoption of accessible OERs. The aim was to develop a tool that assists authors in creating more accessible Open Educational Resources (OERs) that align with WCAG 2.1 guidelines. The accessibility features were designed in collaboration with charities focused on education for individuals with disabilities or learning difficulties. The combination of training, the authoring tool, and the ability to remix the generated OERs facilitated the creation and usage of more inclusive educational resources within the partner institutions.