What You Need To Know
What You Need To Do
How To Do It
Resources

Web Accessibility

Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the web. For the purposes of course development, web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the content provided for learning. Web accessibility for online course content includes being able to access the content even though a person may have visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and/or neurological disabilities. It is essential that online content be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. Adhering to web accessibility guidelines while developing your online course will benefit all students including those with visual, hearing, mobility and learning disabilities.

Why Accessible?

Portland Community College has created a series of videos from the student perspective explaining why accessibility matters.

Why Accessible?

What does the law say?

The US Department of Civil Rights uses the following operational definition of digital accessibility:

“those with a disability are able to acquire the same information and engage in the same interactions

— and within the same time frame —as those without disabilities.”

From OCR Compliance Review 11-11-2128, 06121583,

paraphrased from 11-13-5001, 10122118, 11-11-6002

Office of Civil Rights Enforces Web Accessibility

Accessible U

The University of Minnesota has created the Accessible U website which is an excellent resource for guidance in digital accessibility. The Civil Rights Laws and Helpful Guidelines section of this website provides more information on the legal reasons for addressing accessibility in online content.

Web Accessibility Guidelines

This table presents information on web accessibility components, guidelines, and a brief explanation of why this is important.
Component	Guideline	Why Is This Important?
Headings	Use properly formatted headings to structure a page.	Headings help organize your content, making it easier for everyone to read. Headings are a primary way to navigate pages using screen reading software.
Lists	Format lists as proper lists.	When typing a list, use the proper tools to make a list. Properly formatted numbered lists and bulleted lists are accessible.
Links	Write meaningful link text.	Links embedded in text should describe the link's destination. It helps users navigate the page more quickly.
Tables	Create tables with column and/or row headers, and ensure a proper reading order.	Why Column Headers in a Data Table are Important Table headers are essential to understanding how the information is organized. Why the Reading order in a Table is Important Screen readers read tables from left to right, top to bottom, one cell at a time (& only once). If cells are split or merged, check the reading order.
Color	Use sufficient color contrast. Don't use color alone to convey meaning.	Without sufficient color contrast between font and background, people who are color blind and low vision will not benefit from the information. And using color alone to convey meaning will leave those who are color blind or blind unable to interpret the meaning.
Keyboard Accessibility	Ensure that any action that uses a mouse, can also be completed using only the keyboard.	Mobility and visual disabilities often prevent people from using a mouse. If content is not keyboard accessible, it will limit many peoples's opportunities to learn from the content.
Image ALT text	Provide alternative (Alt) text descriptions for images.	Alt text is read by a screen reader. It should adequately describe what is being displayed and why it's important. This allows screen reader users to benefit from the information being conveyed by the image, even it they cannot see it.
Navigation	Design clear and consistent navigation.	Clear and consistent navigation in your course will allow students to focus on your content rather than on how to find it.
Blinking Limit	Eliminate or limit blinking / flashing content to 3 seconds.	Blinking content is not only distracting it can cause seizures in persons with a photosensitive disorder.
Forms	Label form fields and buttons clearly, and ensure a proper reading order in a form.	Why the reading order of a form is important Using the tab key, your cursor should follow through the form in the same order it is intended to be completed. Why Labeling buttons and form fields is important A screen reader will identify the field by reading the label. It should adequately describe what should be filled in.
Caption Video	Provide captions for video that you create. If you are adding videos created by someone else, e.g. YouTube, or from a publisher, you need to make sure these are appropriately captioned.	Video captions benefit everyone. Captions are essential for deaf and hard of hearing viewers. They also assist non-native English speakers who can read along while listening.
Transcribe Audio	Provide a transcript for audio you create or if created by someone else.	Audio transcripts benefit everyone. They are essential for the deaf and hard of hearing and they assist non-native English speakers who can read along while listening.
Required Software	Require only accessible software & applications.	Inaccessible software and applications will shut students with disabilities out. Ask the software developer for a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) to help determine the product's accessibility.
Math & Science	Write math and science equations accessibly.	Use an accessible equation editor to write scientific notations, equations and formulas. This will allow screen readers to read equations properly.

Credits:

Much of the information in this module is from Web Accessibility Guidelines Handbook, Copyright 2013 Portland Community College. Permission to use and modify for educational purposes is granted by the copyright holder.

HTML code for tabs courtesy of Sarah Hildebrand, MC Math Instructor.

Instructor Responsibilities

If you are using Canvas to web-enhance your course, teach a hybrid or online course; then, it is your responsibility to understand the Web accessibility guidelines in order to ensure that your course content meets accessibility requirements. This means:

If you use PowerPoint, you need to know how to make accessible PowerPoints
If you create content in Canvas, you need to know how to make accessible Canvas pages, assignments, quizzes, etc.
If you use WORD documents, you need to know how to make accessible WORD documents
If you use PDFs, you need to know how to make accessible PDFs
If you use spreadsheets, you need to know how to make accessible spreadsheets (Excel)
If you create or use video, you need to know how to caption the video or check the captioning provided by others
If you create or use audio, you need to provide a text transcript of the audio
If you provide math or science content, you need to know how to provide accessible math & science content
If you use publisher's online materials, you need to know how to verify accessibility of those materials
You need to take advantage of accessibility testing tools

Professional Development

Accessibility training is offered by the college. It is recommended that you attend if you have not. On campus and online training opportunities are available.

Online

Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Accessibility Badge

The OLC Institute for Professional Development offers a digital badge for participants who complete all four workshops on the topic of accessibility and universal design for learning. You can also just take individual workshops, if you do not wish to complete the series. The workshops included in this digital credential are:

Fundamentals: ADA & Web Accessibility Workshop Description

- Self-paced option available.
- April 22 – 28-, 2019
- July 22 – 28, 2019
- October 7 – October 13, 2019

Designing with Accessibility in Mind Workshop Description

- May 13 – 19, 2019
- August 05 – 11, 2019
- October 21 – 27, 2019

Strategic Planning for Web Accessibility Workshop Description

- June 3 – 9, 2019
- August 19 – 25, 2019
- November 4 – 10-,2019

Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles to Online Courses to Increase Accessibility and Engagement Workshop Description

- March 11- 17, 2019
- June 17 – 23, 2019
- September 9 – 15, 2019
- December 2 – 8, 2019

Quality Matters - Addressing Accessibility and Usability

The Addressing Accessibility and Usability workshop provides detailed information about accessibility, usability, readability and how to design courses with all these topics in mind. Information is provided on Universal Design for Learning, challenges learners may encounter, creating accessible content, and designing courses that can be navigated. It is intended for a broad audience, including but not limited to faculty, instructional designers, administrators, and adjunct instructors who want to understand more about these important topics.

Learning Objectives

Recognize the foundational concepts of Quality Matters.
Apply the Specific Review Standards in General Standard 8, Accessibility and Usability, to online course design.
Describe your institution’s accessibility policies and services.
Recognize the challenges learners with various disabilities experience with online courses.
Develop navigation schema for online courses.
Develop online content that facilitates readability.
Create web accessible content.
Locate accessibility statements for technologies used in the course.

Dates:

March 14 - 28, 2019
April 18 - May 2, 2019
May 16 - 30, 2019

This is a 2-week, instructor led, online course. You should plan to spend a minimum of 1 – 2 hour(s) per day working on the course. A certificate of completion is awarded upon successful completion.

Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA)

TxDLA Digital Accessibility Certification Program

To be enrolled in any of these options, please contact: sgray@midland.edu or 432-685-5576.

How To Make Accessible PowerPoints

Creating Accessibile MicroSoft PowerPoint 2007/2010 Presentations (Word)

Creating Accessible MicroSoft PowerPoint 2013 Presentations (Word)

Creating Accessible MicroSoft PowerPoint 2016 Presentations (Word)

How to Make Accessible Canvas Content

Canvas Accessibility Guidelines

How to Make Accessible Word Documents

Creating Accessible Microsoft Word 2007/2010 Documents

Creating Accessible Microsoft Word 2013 Documents

Creating Accessible Microsoft Word 2016 Documents

Creating Accessible PDFs

PDF Conversion in Microsoft Word 2007/2010 Documents

Creating Accessible PDF Documents In Adobe Acrobat X

Creating Accessible PDF Documents in Adobe Acrobat XI

Creating Accessible Spreadsheets (Excel)

Creating Accessible Spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel 2010/13 (Windows) & 2011 (Mac)

Captioning

Captioning YouTube Videos

Math

Portland Community College Subject Area Accessibility Student in Mathematics

How to Make Accessible Math & Science Content

Publisher's Online Materials

Using Publishers' Online Materials

Accessibility Checkers

Although accessibility checkers are helpful to find problems associated with accessibility of Canvas pages, PDFs, and Microsoft documents, the documents still need a human to check the pages to make sure:

headings are appropriately used to give the document structure
images and graphics have appropriate ALT text to represent the meaning the instructor wants to convey with the image
navigation is easy to follow and understand

Canvas Accessibility Checker

To run the Canvas accessibility checker, click the Check Accessibility icon found in the text editor menu. Highlighted in yellow in the image below.

accessibility checker is last icon in second row of editing tools.

Note: In Adobe Reader, use the Read Out Loud feature to see how readers who use the text to speech conversion tool experience it.

Accessibility Resources

Article

Essentials of Digital Accessibility by Harriette L. Spiegel 09/13/16 in Campus Technology

(https://campustechnology.com/Articles/2016/09/13/Essentials-of-Digital-Accessibility.aspx?Page=1)

STARLINK

If you are a member, you can login to access this. If you have not created an account you can click Become A Member, create an account and access the video. There is a Professional Development (PD) Viewing Verification Form you can request to document for PD purposes.

Elements of Accessibility in Online Courses

Release Date: Feb. 23, 2016

Presenters: Presented by Dr. Justin Louder, Assistant Vice Provost, Texas Tech University Worldwide eLearning | Dr. Jacki Luft, Online Specialist, Texas Tech University Worldwide eLearning

Run Time: 1 hour, 17 minutes

A part of the NUTN Webinar Series

The objective of this webinar is to provide a brief overview of elements to make online courses accessible. Participants will learn necessary techniques that they can implement immediately into online courses based on recommendations from the proposed Refresh 508 (WCAG 2.0) and recent OCR rulings as a guide. Techniques introduced include using descriptive links, alternative text, styles in word, layout format in PowerPoints, tables and graphs, and other useful approaches.

Elements of Accessibility in Online Courses (http://starlinktraining.org/program/detail/elements-of-accessibility-in-online-courses )

Other related STARLINK programs include:

Accommodating Students with Disabilities online (ADA)

You can do a search for Online and accessibility to locate.

Quality Matters

Success Stories

(You may be promoted to login to your MYQM account).

8 Tips for Addressing Standard 8 by Catherine Artac, Instructional Designer/Technologies, Minnesota State University Moorhead (https://www.qmprogram.org/myqm/index.cfm?option=videos&program=0&video=22)

Accessibility Tips Handout - Minnesota State University Moorhead

General Standard 8: Accessibility and Usability

AURS is the go-to resource for QM members to address key accessibility and usability concerns. QM members can register for the site by logging into MyQM and selecting “Workshop - Register” in the side navigation. If you've already registered, the AURS link can be found under "My courses" in the QM Classroom after you log in.

Websites

Portland Community College Accessibility of Online Content

Portland Community College Complex Image Accessibility

The National Center on Disability and Access to Education

University of Minnesota Accessible U