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The Learning Styles Myth

When you’re working in adult learning and development, it’s only a matter of time before someone brings up “learning styles” as a methodology.

Otherwise content-rich books and articles fall on their face at the mention of this myth – it’s a clear cringe for those of us that have done the real work – and research.

Many adult learning practitioners know this myth well – and we do our best to stop it from perpetuating. Despite the popularity, there’s no credible evidence to support the concept of learning styles. While people may have preferences for how they like to learn, these preferences don’t often translate into better learning outcomes.

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In Summary

A lot of people think everyone has a special "learning style," like being a visual learner or a hands-on learner. But studies show this isn't true. Even though you might prefer to learn in a certain way, it doesn't mean you actually learn better that way. Instead of focusing on these "learning styles," it's smarter to teach in many different ways and have people actively participate so everyone can learn best.

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Writing Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Writing for Accessibility

Welcome to this deeper-dive series of blog posts! I’ll be digging in to some accessibility topics that relate to my presentations on accessibility, with the goal of providing you with information and resources to make your workplace more accessible. The third post in this series is on Writing Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions. (Did you miss the others on ALT Text and Readability?)

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In Summary

When we talk about making videos and audio easier for everyone to use, we focus on three main things: captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. Captions are like subtitles that show up on a video screen. They display what people are saying and important sounds. A transcript is a full written version of everything said and important sounds in a video or audio recording. It tells you who is speaking and when certain sounds happen. Audio descriptions are for people who can't see well. They're like a narrator who describes important things happening on screen that aren't explained by the talking, like what someone is doing, where they are, or their facial expressions.

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What’s the Difference between Accessibility, Usability, and Inclusion?

What’s the difference between accessibility, usability, and inclusion? I’m so glad you asked! This topic comes up a lot when discovering the world of accessibility, and these topics intersect and apply in different ways depending on your goals. I’d love to share a few definitions and sources I’ve found helpful.

Read More »What’s the Difference between Accessibility, Usability, and Inclusion?

In Summary

Accessibility means making sure websites and online tools work for people with disabilities. You either do it right, or you don't. Usability means making things easy for everyone to use. But sometimes, even if something is easy for most people, it's still hard for someone with a disability. Inclusion is about making sure everyone feels welcome and can be part of things, no matter what. So, accessibility is about following rules to make sure disabled people can use things. It's a "yes" or "no" answer. Usability and inclusion are more about making sure everyone feels good using something and like they belong.