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Ease of Access

What is Ease of Access?

Ease of access simply refers to how easy it is for someone to open and interact with digital resources. Any digital resource's success lives and dies with the ability for someone to access the resource. Students (and adults to a lesser extent) have grown used to the instant gratification they get on social media platforms. These successful platforms all have one thing in common: it is always quick and easy to access content on these platforms. Teachers must ensure that the resources they share (whether their own or sourced from somewhere) are easy for a learner to access.

This module will discuss tools that can make access to digital resources easier, but not how to organise these resources.

A more advanced concept (not specific to this course) to consider as well is how you organise your resources. Here are some of the other courses on our page that you could look into in order to organise content more effectively:

Device consideration

In the South African context the vast majority of learners do not have access to a laptop/desktop. Schools might have computer labs, however the majority of learners will use a mobile device when accessing digital content. It's therefore crucial for teachers to consider how content they share is displayed on a mobile device. In general teachers make use of a laptop/desktop when creating content. They often forget to consider how difficult it is to interact with these resources on a mobile device. If learners struggle with the simple task of accessing and interacting with resources because of their device limitations, the resource is unlikely to be successful.

Example: A scanned page from a textbook is difficult to interact with on a mobile device. Such a resource is likely to be presented as a PDF document. While a PDF is not necessarily a bad thing, the physical size and ability to zoom and scroll can be problematic. How much content is placed on a single page will determine whether it is effective or not.

Dynamic vs Static Content

VS

Dynamic vs Static content is a concept more often related to website activity. Dynamic content refers to content that changes while static content refers to content that is unchanging.

Static Content

Static content refers to content that doesn't change. A PDF document is a perfect example of a static document. The content contained in the resource is not going to change. Static content can also be classified in two categories: local static content and cloud-based static content.

Local Static Content refers to files that are saved on your device. When Person A sends a file to Person B and they download it, this file now exists as two separate files on each person's device. While a word document, for example, can be modified, changes will not reflect

Cloud-based Static Content also refers to an unchanging file, but the file is hosted online. This file is not saved on a local device. While the ideal is to use Dynamic content, hosting static content on the cloud can also be a very useful option.

Dynamic Content

Dynamic Content refers to content that changes. Unlike static content, dynamic content has to be hosted online to truly be considered as dynamic content. This type of content refers allows for only one version of the resource to exist. Multiple people could have access to the same resource, with different access levels. Changes to content is therefore automatically reflected to everyone who accesses this content.

Note: Mobile devices tend to function very well with Dynamic Content.

The advantage of Dynamic Content vs Static Content

Dynamic content's great advantage comes in the fact that changes are automatically reflected to everyone who has access to the file. Modifications can be made after content has already been shared. Collaboration is also possible on these resources. Almost all web-based apps are designed to generate dynamic content as resources continue to migrate to the cloud.

Note: Static content is still useful in that it is accessible offline. Most examples of Dynamic Content can be downloaded and therefore converted into static content. Just remember that once downloaded, changes won't be reflected on this content.

Link Sharing

Probably the easiest way to understand whether your content is dynamic or static is in how you share your content. If your content is shared by sending a link (often referred to as a URL), then it's a cloud-based / hosted resource. This doesn't necessarily mean it is dynamic as not all online resources are editable.

While link sharing is a great way of creating access, these links are usually impossibly long to retype. Sharing a link will usually mean it is clickable when sent to another device, but you might not want such a long, clumsy link. Sometimes it's necessary to include links in a printed document and still ensure that the links are easy to access. There are two primary ways to make these links easier to access: QR codes and Link Shorteners.

QR Codes

Go to Presentation

QR Codes are bar codes that refer to online resources. These can e generated to redirect a device to any link.

When to use: In printed posters/flyers or in presentations

Note: All Smartphones come standard with QR code scanners

QR Codes

Link Shorteners

Go to Presentation

Any link can be shortened to something that is easy to retype.Many link shorteners allow for custom backends that make it easy to remember.

When to use: In a document/email/chat where you want a shorter link.

Note: A custom back-half is useful when regular access is needed.

Bit.ly Links

QR Codes and Shortened Links often go hand-in-hand when used correctly. A system like bit.do can generate QR codes and shorten links, but the interface might not appeal to everyone.

Free QR Code generators don't allow for tracking, so if it's important to know how your links are accessed, first shorten your link (using bit.ly as an example) and then create the QR Code. Now you'll have both a short, clickable link and a QR code and you can track how much activity has happened on the link.

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