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10 Tips for Creating Accessible Online Course Content
Janet Sylvia (Presenter)Web Accessibility Trainer
www.3playmedia.comtwitter: @3playmedialive tweet: #a11y
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Lily Bond (Moderator)3Play [email protected]
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
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Presenters
Janet SylviaWeb Accessibility Trainer
Lily Bond3Play MediaMarketing [email protected]
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
