Accessibility

In 2005 the California State University (CSU) system mandated that services and resources should be accessible to everyone. Therefore, online course design means that the coursework must be Web accessible to all students.

Web Accessibility

The World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative states that “Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging. Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the Web, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. Web accessibility also benefits people without disabilities.”

Web Accessible Guidelines for Online Teachers

People with disabilities may use assistive technology, adaptive strategies, special software such as screen readers to read text aloud or descriptive captions to help them navigate through online content. Teachers and students will benefit if course content and design is accessible from the start. Most teachers create and post online course content in the school’s Learning Management System (LMS) such as iLearn, Moodle, Blackboard or WebCT, and teachers will not need to build a Web site to teach online, which is more complex. Therefore, the following information concerns the main points about accessibility teachers using a LMS need to know:

Organization and Consistency

Create a succinct and clear naming pattern for all activities and assignments that is consistent throughout the course. For example:

Week 2 Assignment A - Written Report
Week 2 Assignment B - Discussion

Organize content with headings and subheadings and use them consistently within the course. For example:

Week 4 Assignment A - Paper - Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Introduction
Reading
Directions
Due Dates + Points

Week 5 Assignment A - Discussion - King Lear by William Shakespeare
Introduction
Reading
Directions
Due Dates + Points

Accessible Documents and Images

Word and PDF documents can be created in accessible formats. It is relatively easy to learn the process to make accessible Word and PDF documents. In short, the text, images or tables in documents need to be able to be read by screen readers or navigated by assistive technology to help students understand the content and organization so they can choose whether to read the entire page or skip around. For example:

Use structured headings within the word processing program, instead of simply changing font size or underlining text:
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3

When including an image in a document or posting one directly into the LMS look for a box called Alternative Text or Alt Text. Then type a brief description of the image so that visually impaired students know what the image depicts. For example: “Photo of student actors rehearsing a scene from Hamlet”. When students roll over the image with their mouse the Alternative Text will be visible to all, and read aloud by a screen reader for the visually impaired.

Another way to to provide a brief description or title for the image is to add a caption under the image that will be visible all the time and read aloud by a screen reader for the visually impaired.

For more information about making Word and PDF documents as well as PowerPoint presentations accessible, click on the following link to the SFSU Center for Teaching and Faculty Development’s excellent online tutorials: http://www.sfsu.edu/~ctfd/udl/resources.htm

Video

Video clips need Video Captioning or subtitles added to the video, preferrably with a complete transcript, so that hearing impaired students can understand the content. Sometimes video is already “closed captioned” or subtitled and is usually indicated as such on the label. However, be aware of copyright limitations if considering posting video clips online. Teachers can request captioning services for video from the Academic Technology division of the university.
Please click here to view my example of a captioned Video Introduction with a transcript.

Audio

Provide a printed transcript of the spoken text when including audio clips or podcasts in an online course for hearing impaired students. Click on the following link to an outside Web site which has many examples of podcasts. Some of them supply transcripts, but most do not at this time. Therefore, the instructor would need to make arrangements to have the spoken text transcribed: EPN The Education Podcast Network

Fonts and Animations

Please refer to the previous page titled "Page Layout" for information about selecting fonts and animations.