Instructional Resources

Making Course Content Accessible

How do I make my course more accessible to all students?

Let’s look at some basic things that we can do to help all learners access course content, whether they have disabilities or not.

The Basics

Colour

Use of colour is attractive and can be helpful in conveying and categorizing information. However, it should not be the only method used, as it puts those who are visually impaired or colour blind at a disadvantage. If colour is used as one method to categorize information, avoid using greens, oranges, and reds.

Text Alternatives for Images

For images that are included in course content, a text alternative must be provided so that all students will have access to the same information. The use of alternative descriptions, or alt text is a good practice. The description should be clear, concise, and provide enough information that students will understand the information being conveyed by the image. This page provides a good explanation of what makes good versus bad alt text examples.

When providing information for images, do not repeat the same information that is already included in the content, or in the caption. The goal of alt text is to help someone who is unable to see the image, so that they know the context of the image, and why it was included.

Note the image of business hours on this page. Firstly, it is best practice to provide information as text on the page, rather than in an image. But if it is unavoidable, ensure the information is described, so blind or visually impaired students can still access the same information as students with no visual disabilities.

Alt text is not visible on the page. It is only visible in the html markup of the page, or via an assistive device that reads out alt tags. You can always add extra information in the title tag, since it is visible and will be read by a screen reader. Combined with a caption underneath the image, students will understand the purpose and context of the image, regardless of how they access the information. This page provides more information about title tags.

Note that an image’s alt tag, title, and caption are all different.

Here is an example of an image with a caption, title, and alt text.

Integrated education is a form of education where students from different backgrounds, abilities, and social classes are taught together in the same classroom. It is an approach that aims to provide all students, regardless of their individual differences or special needs, with equal opportunities to learn and participate in the school community.
Find out more about integrated and inclusive education at Prep with Harshita, a website created by educator Harshita Jain.

Logical Headings

Clear headings help to organize material and help the vision impaired learner organize their mind map of the information.

Semantic Page Elements

Whether you put together your course content in a word processor, a webpage editor (like for a Brightspace topic page), or if you are creating your own website, choosing the correct content types for your material makes a big difference. If you put everything on your page as paragraphs, and then add styles using the available styles, it may look visually how you want, but a screenreader will treat everything on the page as paragraphs. See the example on the left, below.

However, if you ensure your lists are using the list style, and your headings are using the appropriate heading styles, then web browsers and screen reader technologies can provide clear and accurate information to students. See the example on the right, below.

Screen shot showing messy code, much of the code is unnecessarily generated by copying content from MS-Word into an editor.
Behind the scenes, this is what a page looks like if everything on a webpage is using paragraph tags, with in-line styles to visually change its appearance. Adding content this way makes reading and editing the page challenging, and screenreaders will treat everything as paragraphs.
Cleaner code is shown here with any unnecessary formatting and "junk" code removed.
This is what a page looks like when correct headings and page elements are applied. Behind the scenes, it results in a clear content hierarchy or structure. A web browser and a screenreader will know when elements are paragraphs, headings, lists, and will display or read them accordingly.

Closed Captioning

Closed captioning for learners with auditory disabilities is important, especially if audio or video is the only way material is presented. If creating an audio or video clip, using a script from which the closed captioning can be created can make the process go smoothly.

CPC Closed Captioning YouTube Demo

Additionally, captions are advantageous in a variety of situations, and many users with no hearing limitations prefer to use them. Read more about who uses assistive technologies in the resource learning experiences of students with disabilities.

Computer Assistive Technologies

Computer assistive technologies includes hardware and software that will help or enable persons with disabilities to use their computer, search the web, input information, etc.

Memorial University offers several assistive technologies for use in its Libraries and for its patrons to borrow. You can reserve assistive technologies from The Commons in person, or online. You can also obtain details of the assistive technologies offered from the Library, or you can visit The Commons’ Assistive Technologies page.

Here are some examples of assistive technologies.

Screen Readers

Screen Readers are software that are usually installed on a computer and will read the computer screen, often in a mechanical voice. Along with Zoom Text, the following may be useful:

Examples:

JAWS Screen Reader Demo

For People with Mobility or Dexterity Disabilities

There are a variety of navigation and input devices including:

Specific software for input and navigation include:

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 13 Demo

For People with Cognitive Disabilities

Accessibility Resources

Some major international organizations have made resources available for anyone wanting to know how to make applications or websites more accessible. Some examples are:

References

Resource created by: Daph C.

Originally Published: October 19, 2015

Last Updated: August 13, 2024

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