10 Tips for Creating Accessible Online Course Content

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10 Tips for Creating Accessible Online Course Content

Janet Sylvia (Presenter)Web Accessibility Trainer

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Lily Bond (Moderator)3Play Medialily@3playmedia.com

10 Tips for Creating Accessible Online Course

Content

Janet Sylvia, Web Accessibility Trainer

Agenda

Accessibility & Online Learning

Instructor and Administrative Challenges and Solutions

10 Tips for Creating Accessible Online Course Content

Definition of Accessible

“ Accessible means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity

▪ to acquire the same information, ▪ engage in the same interactions, and ▪ enjoy the same services as a person without a

disability▪ in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, ▪ with substantially equivalent ease of use.

The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally and independently as a person without a disability.”

Settlement Agreements, US Dept of Education

Online Courses

Courses delivered fully or partially online

Course materials made available online

External websites or any other web-based activities associated with an online course

Growth of Online Learning

Growth and popularity at all-time high

Over 60% of institutes of higher education report online learning is a critical part of their

long term planning

Not limited to higher education

Worldwide, $35.8 billion dollar industry, predicted to triple in 2015.

Yet…..

Legal landscape indicates many online courses are not accessible to students with disabilities

Question remains….

Why not???

Legal Requirements and Guidelines Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

Places of public accommodation

Section 504 (1973) Programs and services at colleges and universities

Section 508 Standards (1998) Electronic and information technology

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (2008) International guidelines

Disconnect

Web accessibility standards and guidelines are often understood and implemented by website developers;

however, the same requirements are often misunderstood or overlooked by individuals involved in the design, development, delivery of web-based (i.e. online) courses.

Accessibility vs. Disability

Accessibility Requirements General requirements for general population Instructors, Faculty are responsible

▪ Alt Text for Non-text ▪ Descriptive Hyperlinks▪ Semantic Structure

Disability Accommodation Specific solution for a specific individual Disability service providers

▪ Note Taker ▪ Extended Time▪ Sign Language Interpreter

Web Accessibility Training

Instructors provided online course environments Receive technology training Don’t receive web accessibility training for content

Web accessibility efforts and training Tend to focus on websites and web designers

In general, training doesn’t include accessibility Word, PowerPoint, HTML Editor, etc.

Result

Loss of equivalent academic experience and educational opportunities for individuals with disabilities

Instructor Challenge

Design, development and delivery of online courses is a team effort

Online Courses – Team Effort

Includes: Administrators Instructors Website Developers Instructional Designers Digital Media Developers Information Technology Teams Procurement Personnel Disability Service Coordinators etc.

Administrative Challenge

Disparate group

Accessibility compliance requires a coordinated approach

Administrators must provide much-needed leadership, guidance and resources

Administrative Solutions

Develop: 1) Web Accessibility Policy 2) Implementation Plan for Web Accessibility

Resource: National Center on Disability and Access to

Education www.ncdae.org

Summary

Definition of Accessibility

Legal Requirements and Guidelines

Responsibility and Team Effort

Instructor Challenges and Solutions

Administrative Challenges and Solutions

10 Tips for Creating Accessible Course Content

1) Accessibility Statement

Add to Syllabus, Course Homepage, etc. Include:

Accessibility Statement about Course Disability Accommodation Information Links to 3rd Party (Vendor) Accessibility

Information

Sample Accessibility StatementNote: consult with the legal department at your college/university

Sample: The [college/university] seeks to ensure that online courses

are accessible for all students. If you locate content in this course that is not accessible, please contact your instructor. If you are a student with a disability and would like to register for services, please contact the [disability resource center]

Accessibility information for software products used in this course can be found at: [Vendor name, hyperlinked to vendor website with accessibility information]

Instructor email and phone number

2) Semantic Structure, Styles, or Tags HTML (most accessible) , Word, PDF, etc.

Provide structure: Headings (H1, H2, H3….H6)

▪ Heading 1 for Document Title▪ Heading 2 for all Section Titles▪ Heading 3 for all Sub-section Titles

In addition: Strong (not Bold) Emphasis (not Italics) Table of Contents, Bookmarks

Word - Styles

Word – Styles, expanded list

Visual Indicators vs. Semantic Structure

Word - Table of Contents

3) True Lists, Columns, and Tables Use software built-in functionality to

create: Lists (Bulleted or Numbered) Columns Tables

Avoid: spacebar, tab which do not create structure

Spacebar or Tab vs. True Columns Not Accessible: Spacebar

or Tab Accessible: True

Columns

4) Readability

Divide large blocks of text into smaller, more manageable sections

Avoid overly complex sentences

Use sans-serif font

Approximately 12 points

5) Text Equivalents (Alt Text)

Required for all non-text content▪ Image, Chart, Graph, etc.

Clear, concise description (120 characters or less) that conveys meaning or purpose of the image

If alt text alone is insufficient to convey meaning

▪ Provide a long description in surrounding text or in a separate, accessible document

If image is purely decorative use “” null

Alt Text for Image of Flowers(depends on context)

1) Story about tulipsalt = “Yellow tulips blooming in the Spring”

2) Horticulture Classalt=“Tulipa gesneriana”

3) Decorative Imagealt=“”

6) Avoid Color Coding

Ensure color is not the sole means of conveying important information

Not accessible - Color Coding

Red Team and Green Team Office Hours Provided Below

Accessible Color Coding

Red Team and Green Team Office Hours Provided Below

Not accessible - Highlighting

7) Sufficient Color Contrast

Between foreground and background colors

Ensure background does not overpower text PowerPoint or Keynote slides, Web Pages, etc.

Not accessible - Insufficient Contrast

Accessible Contrast

Colour Contrast Analyser available from The Paciello Group

8) Descriptive Hyperlinks

Link text should make sense out of context describe the destination be unique for unique destinations

Avoid vague terms Click here Email me URL text http://www.ugallo-b59-go2376c.html

Assistive Technology - Aggregated Links

9) Accessibility Checkers

Always use software’s built-in Accessibility Checker Follow recommendations to fix errors

Conduct Manual Checks U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HHS Section 508 Checklists www.hhs.gov Word, PowerPoint, PDF, HTML, Multimedia

10) Multimedia

Audio only Text Transcript (of spoken word)

Video only Video Description (of key visual elements)

Audio and Video Closed Captions Text Transcript Video Description

Accessible Synchronous Activities Ensure the technology is accessible

Provide vendor accessibility information in Accessibility Statement

Additional Considerations: Closed Captioned Verbally describe all slide text and images Follow accessibility guidelines for creating

accessible content Avoid “timed response” activities

▪ Chat, Poll, Breakout Rooms typically not captioned

Handouts: provide 48 hours in advance

Summary: 10 Tips

1. Accessibility Statement: Syllabus, Course Home Page, etc.

2. Semantic Structure, Styles, Tags

3. True Bulleted or Numbered Lists, Columns and Tables

4. Ensure Readability

5. Text Equivalents for Non-text Elements

6. Avoid Color Coding

7. Sufficient Color Contrast

8. Descriptive Hyperlinks

9. Accessibility Checkers and Manual Checks

10. Multimedia and Synchronous Activities

Questions?

Janet SylviaWeb Accessibility Trainer

jsylvia@uga.edu

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Presenters

Janet SylviaWeb Accessibility Trainer

Lily Bond3Play MediaMarketing Managerlily@3playmedia.com

Q&AUpcoming Webinars:

Oct 22: Understanding Closed Captioning Standards

Nov 5: Implementing Universal Design for Online Learning Accessibility

Dec 3: How to Implement Accessible Lecture Capture

Dec 10: Quick Start to Captioning

You can register for these free webinars at: www.3playmedia.com/webinars/

A recording of this webinar will be available for replay