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Creating an Accessible Course

What is Accessibility? 

Accessibility in teaching and learning means that all students “acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services in an equally effective, equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use” (National Center on Accessible Educational Materials, n.d.). Every student should have access to course materials and instructional technologies, and they should be able to participate in all learning experiences without barriers or restrictions. 

Why Accessibility? 

Creating an accessible course can support the learning of all students and is essential for students with disabilities. If you’d like to learn even more, Access and Disability Resources has created an Online Service Training

Key Principles and Practices 

An instructor can create a more accessible course by following the following principles:  

  • Know your learners – Always consider who is in your class when considering accessibility. For example, as an equity-minded instructor, you could develop a pre-course survey to know more about your students and their accessibility needs.
  • Be mindful of document type – Documents (e.g., .doc, .ppt files) tend to be more accessible than .pdf files. Where possible limit the use of .pdf files.  
  • Use an accessibility checker – When you create a digital material, use an existing accessibility checker within the tools. For example, Canvas contains the tool Ally which provides a dashboard supporting digital accessibility. 
  • Always include alt text for images – Use words that describe the image to someone who cannot see it. Some apps will generate draft alt text that you can modify. See these recommendations for writing alt text. 
  • Use the style features – Always use the style features on the tool (e.g. headers, list paragraphs, bulleted lists, etc.). This allows for technologies like screen readers to understand the document structure. Below are two publicly accessible videos demonstrating what it is like to use a screen reader.
    • Screen Reader Demo 1:

       

    • Screen Reader Demo 2:
  • Use captions – For any video or audio files be sure to include captioning. Some tools like YouTube will automatically generate captioning. Kaltura is a media app available for faculty and staff members which can be used to generate captions which can be edited.  
  • Include a transcript – If you have a video or audio file, please be sure to generate a transcript and include it as well. If creating a video in Canvas Studio, a transcript can be generated for you. 
  • Use a microphone in large spaces – Some classrooms might be large, and students might have difficulty hearing in the back. In this event, do a sound check in your classroom and use a microphone.  
  • Use high color contrast and avoid reds on greens – Ensure that any presentations have high color contrast. Additionally, avoid having red on green given that they cannot be easily distinguished in people who have red-green colorblindness. Use a color contrast checker.  

Below we break down various accessibility practices by Course Site, Course Materials, and Teaching Practices.  

Developing Your Course Site 

Instructors have access to the program Ally in your Canvas course shell. This program will scan all images and documents for their accessibility and provide a score. When uploaded to the Canvas site, instructors can ensure that the indicator falls within the acceptable range. You can also follow these Canvas Best Practices supported by the SAS Office of Undergraduate Education – Teaching & Learning. 

Course Materials  

The best time to make your course materials more accessible is while you are preparing for your classes. See these instructions for making PowerPoint files, Word documents, as well as .pdf files more accessible.  

Resources