Strategies for Accessible E-Learning

Why Teach Accessible Classes?

No matter if you’re teaching a full semester class or a one-off workshop, you will be teaching disabled learners, whether they disclose their disabilities or not. All of your students deserve an equitable learning experience and accessible practices eliminate barriers for all users.

man using a braille keyboard writer
Image by Sigmund on Unsplash

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

One of the most important standards when it comes to accessibility on the web is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines are split into four components: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust, or POUR.

Perceivable

  • Everyone can identify your content not matter how they perceive information.
    • Use text, audio, and video alternatives for content.
    • Make your lessons adaptable for different student needs.

Operable

  • Learners should be able to navigate your course with ease.
    • Have large and obvious navigation buttons.
    • Give enough time or eliminate timed progression counters.
    • Make your content keyboard navigable.

Understandable

  • Content should be clear and concise.
    • Avoid using jargon and keep text content simple.
    • Use specific language: Instead of “click here” use “click next.”

Robust

  • Content can be accessed by assistive technologies (such as screen readers).
    • Make sure your content is compatible with assistive technology.
    • Update any dead links or finicky buttons.
    • Learners should be able to access course materials with reasonably outdated software.
a teacher with a student, pointing to something on a laptop
Image by Desola Lanre-Ologun on Unsplash

Best Practices

Now that I’ve gone over the basic web accessibility standards, here are some practical tips that use can use to make your class materials more accessible.

Course Structure

  • You want your course structure to be easily digestible, so break up lessons into manageable chunks.
  • Asynchronous courses are courses that allow learners to complete work and attend lectures at their own pace. You may want to consider some form of this to allow your students flexibility.

Text and Links

  • Headings and titles should be formatted properly. Instead of just bolding your text, use headings in numerical order. In Word, you can accomplish this by selecting Home > Styles and selecting the heading you want.
heading one and heading two in the Word styles interface

Images

  • Always include alt-text with your images. There will be different ways of doing this in different programs. Alt-text describes the image for users who cannot see it. For instance, in the alt-text I describe the image below as “a beagle with its tongue out.”
  • If the image is purely decorative, you can set it as such.
a beagle with its tongue out
Image by Milli on Unsplash

Videos

  • Videos should have error-free captioning. It can be useful to include a written transcription.
  • Video interfaces should be navigable using a keyboard (spacebar to start and stop).

Tables

  • Avoid using tables if you can, they can be challenging for screen readers to decipher.
  • Tables can be made accessible with proper web design. For a instructions on how to create accessible tables visit WebAIM’s Accessible Tables Guide.

Color Contrast

examples of good and bad color contrast
Image made with dopelycolors
  • Make sure that your content is readable, whatever colors you use. Avoid going wild: dark text on light backgrounds and light text on dark backgrounds are standard.
  • If you want to check your color contrast, try the WCAG Color Contrast Checker.
  • Avoid providing information that solely relies on the student being able to distinguish color i.e. red meaning “stop” and green meaning “go.”

Resources to Learn More

When it comes to accessible practices, there’s a lot of information to cover. If you want to learn more, here are some resources to get you started.

By working to make your classes accessible, you can create a better learning experience for all your students.

HTML & CSS Games

Welcome back from Spring Break!

I’m fortunate to be taking Web Content Strategies & Management this semester with Dr. David Hopping. Here are some games and tools I learned about in class to help me practice my HTML and CSS knowledge. These games are helpful whether you’re just starting web development or looking to improve your skills.

Grid Garden

CSS Grid Garden Homepage

Grid Garden is a great way to practice placing items on a page using the CSS 2-dimensional grid layout. Water your carrots by moving the water placement on the grid using the grid-column-start property.

Flexbox Froggy

Flexbox Froggy Homepage

Flexbox Froggy teaches you how to justify items within a flexbox by writing CSS to move the frog to the lily pad.

CSS Diner

CSS Diner Homepage

When learning CSS, it’s essential to know how to select which specific items you want to change with your CSS code. In CSS diner, you can practice writing CSS selectors to select elements by their type.

CSS Challenges

CSS Challenges Homepage

See how far you can get in these CSS challenges! Try to copy the format shown in each example to progress.

W3 Schools

W3 Schools Homepage

For more resources on learning HTML, CSS, or other major web languages, visit W3Schools. This website has step-by-step lessons and tutorials for self-guided learning. If you get stuck on any of the previous games, W3 Schools might be able to help you figure it out.

These games and tools have helped me enjoy learning basic web development skills, I hope they help you have fun with the process too. Happy coding!

Drawing People: Practicing the Human Figure with Open Resources

It’s Open Access Week! Every year this international event brings the academic community together to discuss the benefits of free and immediate access to information, especially scholarly resources.

This week, I’ll be sharing open (and semi-open) resources for artists. When I’m not at the library desk, I like to draw, and I’m always on the hunt for high quality reference images. When learning how to draw people, you’ll often have to figure out a pose without the help of live models. References, however, are not always free or easy to find. Here some of the resources that I’ve found helpful over the years.

Practice and Reference

Line of Action

Provides both nude and clothed photos for study. Artists can start a drawing session by choosing the kinds of models, and the time intervals between photos. There are also posts here that give advice for improving your technique.

Bodies in Motion

This collection of motion images provides rapid sequence photographs of athletes and dancers. These images are a good way to study how the human body moves. Most of this content is only available with a subscription, but there are some free sequences. When browsing a section, click the “free” tab on the right-hand side of the page.

AdorkaStock

This stock photo collection has models with plenty of different body types. There are some fun poses in here: from fantasy to action, to sci-fi settings. All models are wearing clothing or flesh-tone bodysuits, so no need to worry about using it in a public space.

Sketch Daily

Provides a variety of photos in timed study sessions. You can choose to practice bodies, hands, feet, heads, or animals and structures. It’s a good tool for warm-up drawing with no fuss.

The Book of a Hundred Hands by George B. Bridgman

This book depicts musculature and examples of drawn hands in different positions. It can help you to focus-in on your hand drawing skills.

Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth by Andrew Loomis

Okay, so this one is from the 40’s and it shows; the majority of nude female figures are still sporting high heels. However, Loomis still offers many helpful tips. It contains an exhaustive instruction of perspective, musculature, the mechanics of motion, shading and lighting as well as exercises for practice.

Gesture Drawing

Gesture Drawing – The Ultimate Guide for Beginners

Practicing with the gesture technique can help you break out of “stiff” poses and figure out how to imbue your figures with character and expression. This guide contains an overview of gesture, videos of instruction, and a list of books on gesture.

Clothing

We Wear Culture

A good fashion reference site that showcases clothing through time and around the world. The information here gives context for clothing, bios of fashion icons, overviews of fashion movements, and the history of clothing items. It’s a good tool to inspire clothing design for the people and characters you draw.

History of Costume

You’ll have to create a free account on the Internet Archive to view this one. It’s a collection of costume plates from the 19th century. There are later editions of this book available, but this edition still contains original clothing pattern drafts.

Instruction

Love, Life, Drawing

This website provides free tutorials and podcasts on drawing topics with a focus on human figures. Sign up for the free “fresh eyes” drawing challenge, a ten-day course that teaches students to identify gesture and structure of the form.

FZD School

This resource isn’t human-figure specific but these videos are great resources for learning how to draw and design. Try “EP 30: Character Silhouettes” to buff up your character illustration skills. This channel is especially good for creatives interested in comics or illustration.

Muddy Colors

Muddy Colors posts helpful tips on all kinds of art topics from over 20 practicing artists. The site hosts paid classes from their contributing artists, but there is plenty of free advice here too.

Additional Resources

Character Design References

An independent website that showcases concept art from animation, games, and comics. There’s a little bit of everything here. I’d recommend checking out their visual library. There are anatomical references, character/creature design references, vehicles, props, and lighting/color tutorials.

Met Publications

The New York Met Gallery offers 609 publications of art, photography, sculpture and more, all free for download. This is an excellent place to find inspiration.

Happy Drawing!

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Nora Davies

Nora headshot

What is your educational and/or professional background?

I graduated with an English degree from Beloit College in Wisconsin. Afterwards, I worked at the Circulation Desk and then at the Reference Desk at Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL. I also had a second job in Materials Services and then later Cataloging at the Poplar Creek Public Library in Streamwood, IL. 

What led you to your field?

I ended up in the library world unintentionally. As an undergraduate, I worked a campus job at the college library so I could avoid cafeteria work. Then, once I moved back to my hometown, I used that experience to apply for a job at my local public library. I ended up really enjoying the atmosphere of the reference desk and worked there for five years. I like the odd out-of-the-box questions I get at the desk and enjoy helping people with their research, their genealogy hunt, or their email accounts. Libraries do a whole lot more than I’d ever realized.

What are your research interests?

I’m interested in equitable and accessible library services, social work in libraries, and open educational resources (OER). I’m also interested in art and design.

What is your specialty within the Scholarly Commons?

I’m working as a Digital Projects Assistant at Scholarly Commons and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. I work on our social media accounts, our newsletter, and I create graphics or instructions as needed.

Describe a favorite project you’ve worked on.

In my previous position, I was given free rein to work on mini posters for a bunch of tri-sided stands to advertise different library services. I enjoy being able to make creative graphics and designs.

What Scholarly Commons resource are you most excited to learn about?

I’m excited to learn more about our studio cameras and how to take professional-looking photos.  

What do you hope to do after graduation?

I’m still undecided as to what kind of librarianship I’d like to pursue after I graduate. I think I’d like to work as a research librarian at a college or university.