In this episode Rob and Jared continue to talk about the “how” of tech integration, but they discuss it from the perspective of accessibility with Lauren Eissler--User Experience Designer and Editor for the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University. In their conversation, they define accessibility and discuss best practices for making more content accessible to students. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

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Before digging into how to effectively make content accessible, it’s important to ask: “what is accessibility?” A basic definition of accessibility is to ensure that the course is accessible to all students, regardless of disability or challenge. 

It is also important to understand why instructors should make their content more accessible. We need to make sure our content is readable for tools like screen readers that help create opportunities for learning for all students. Accessibility also helps remove roadblocks so that students can access content. For example, video captions can help students focus and make it so that students can easily watch videos in noisy areas or without headphones.

Pay attention to how you style or structure your content. Here are some pointers: 

• Use headers instead of increasing size and stylizing paragraph text 
• Include transcriptions/closed captioning when possible. 
• Avoid colored text 
• Use alternative text for images – keep it simple and specific (ideally under 120 characters) 

There is an easy-to-use accessibility checker in Canvas. Use it to check your existing content or before you publish something new.

We would love to get your feedback!  Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better.

Resources 

Using the Accessibility Checker in Canvas 

W3C’s Web Accessibility Institute 

Universal Design for Learning 

Heading Accessibility in Word
WebAIM Contrast Checker

FOCUS BLOG: 

• Three Tips to Improve Accessibility in Your Course 
• Introduction to Accessibility Series 
• Accessibility Best Practices: Captioning, Graphics, and Alt Text 
• Accessibility Best Practices: Color and Text