UNAD (Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia)

UNAD’s educational model is based on virtual learning environments, which allow it to reach hundreds of thousands of students and offer flexible, scalable training adapted to the digital world. In this context, technology is not just a means to an end, but a key element in ensuring the quality of the service offered by UNAD.

For a university of this scope and caliber, accessibility and inclusion are not isolated initiatives, but structural principles. UNAD understands that removing barriers (whether cognitive, linguistic, technological, or contextual) is essential to making learning truly accessible, meaningful, and equitable for all its students.

UNAD’s experience with ReadSpeaker, told in first person

At the last MoodleMoot Global, held in Mexico, UNAD presented its holistic approach to accessibility and quality in distance education. Let’s take a look at the most important ideas and concepts behind this approach (clips in Spanish).

UNAD Strategy

UNAD’s strategy is based on a clear idea: to offer inclusive, accessible, and equitable learning. To achieve this, the university began by thoroughly characterizing the real needs of its students, identifying barriers and opportunities for improvement within the digital educational experience.

Commitment to Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Once the needs of its students had been identified, UNAD opted for a techno-pedagogical architecture that is not limited to serving only people with disabilities, but adapts to the preferences, rhythms, and learning styles of its entire student community. This approach is the basis of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), understood as a way of designing for diversity from the outset.

Accessibility tools

To implement this UDL approach, UNAD has incorporated various accessibility tools into its virtual environments. Among these, ReadSpeaker’s text-to-speech technology stands out, allowing students to decide how, when, and from which device to access content.

Integration of ReadSpeaker with UNAD’s Moodle LMS

ReadSpeaker was integrated directly into UNAD’s Moodle LMS, allowing students to listen to content while reading it. This integration was virtually seamless, facilitating the entire process for the University and offering the functionality directly to students, without them noticing any change in their experience. In addition, the ability to translate text fragments is particularly helpful for students who are not fully proficient in the language of study, reinforcing comprehension and reducing frustration.

Actual use by students

UNAD does not simply implement these accessibility tools, but also analyzes how students actually use them to ensure that they are truly useful. Thanks to usage metrics, the university has found that, in a single year, students listened to 1.3 billion characters. A particularly relevant fact is that use of the tool increases significantly during exam periods, when the cognitive load is greater.

Accessibility features and standards

ReadSpeaker technology enables UNAD to comply with its own accessibility guidelines and international standards. Features such as high contrast, different content layouts, reading masks and rulers, summaries, dictation and image reading, document annotations, and exam support are part of an ecosystem designed to accompany students throughout the learning process.

The combination of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach and the implementation of accessibility tools such as ReadSpeaker allows UNAD to offer an accessible and inclusive experience to all students, improving the quality of its content and aligning itself with the new needs of its community.

If you would like to know how ReadSpeaker helps institutions such as UNAD make their content more accessible and up-to-date, please contact us.