Instructors may incorporate PowerPoint presentations, slides, handouts, and other visual information as part of courses. In addition, we are seeing instructors incorporating clickers, videos, and other technology to enhance instruction. The use of various modes of instruction is a great way to increase the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) within classes. It is essential that the content created and used be accessed by every student in the class.  Ways to achieve this include:

• Curating accessible content
• Universal design.  Creating access to materials for individuals with a wide range of abilities and learning styles can often reduce or eliminate the need for individual accommodations.

“Hybrid” or “blended” courses incorporate both traditional classroom instruction and elements of online learning.  Online activities are intended to supplement and enhance classroom instruction and interaction.  An instructor must ensure that any students in the class who have impairments can access the course materials.  This requires special attention to any online content and exchanges through discussion boards.

The content of online courses must be accessible to individuals with disabilities in order to ensure that they have equal access and opportunity.  Creating accessible content is far easier than remediating content. WCSU recommends faculty members develop their courses with the principles of UDL and accessibility in mind.  This requires careful planning when creating course content and structure.  Instructors must consider the following:

• Is the content management system used to create the course accessible with the use of a screen reader?
• Can navigation be achieved through a keyboard, or is it dependent upon the use of a mouse?
• If the course includes PDFs, are these stored as images, or can they be read as text with a screen reader?
• Do tests and quizzes allow for extended time when these are required as accommodations?
• Are videos captioned?  Is the visual information presented in videos described well enough to convey its content to individuals with visual impairments?
• Does the course use online discussion boards and/or chat features?  If so, are these accessible with a screen reader?

A few tips can help improve the experience for all learners:

• Present content in multiple ways (a combination of text, images, and audio/visual content).
• Provide alternative text descriptions for images.
• Caption videos.  This is helpful not only for individuals with hearing impairments but also for anyone who cannot use speakers due to technological or situational reasons.
• Minimize the use of PDFs, or offer documents in multiple formats (ex. Word and PDF).
• Understand that users will have a range of technological skills.
• Keep navigation and format simple, to the extent possible.  Although more complex designs and layouts may seem more visually appealing, they are more likely to create confusion and to be inaccessible.
• Use bold fonts and color combinations that are high contrast.
• Order content with logical headings.
• Ensure that individuals with disabilities have options for communicating and collaborating with others.

Accessibility Tips for Online Teaching

• One of the most heavily approved accommodations is extended time on quizzes and/or exams. Faculty members must extend timing for online exams to accommodate students with accommodations. To add additional time, please review: Test Availability Exceptions.
• Use the Accessibility Checker within MS Word and PowerPoint to produce accessible documents. To do this, go to File – Check for Issues – Check Accessibility.
• Use text description on all images, high contrasting colors, uncluttered slides, bold font, plain backgrounds, especially within the Blackboard text editor. For additional information, visit Getting Started with Alt Text.
• Utilize the Blackboard Ally accessibility tools for checking your content and providing alternate formats for your students.
  • Blackboard Ally has a “meter icon” noting the level of accessibility. The goal is to have all green icons. Documents that are not accessible will have a red meter and an “A” with a downward arrow will be at the far left.
  • To remediate the document, click the downward arrow for an alternative document. Please keep in mind that it may not be possible to remediate all documents.
  • Please be mindful of accessibility when selecting documents.

• Guidelines and tips for making web content accessible:
  • 20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course
  • 30 Web Accessibility Tips

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