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    • Learners should be able to access course materials with reasonably outdated software.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.

Making Your Work Accessible Online

A person uses a braille reader

Unsplash @Sigmund

What is Web Accessibility?

Web Accessibility is the ability for individuals with vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility disabilities to access web content online via their preferred methods.

WCAG defines web content as:

  • Natural information such as text, images, and sounds
  • Code or markup that defines structure, presentation, etc.

The essential components of web accessibility include:

  • Content
  • Web browsers
  • Assistive Technology
  • Users’ Experience
  • Developers
  • Authoring Tools
  • Evaluation Tools

Why It Matters

Individuals with disabilities not only use the web but also contribute to its functions. Website accessibility focuses on the needs of people with disabilities. However, by considering how to make information more available, interactive, and easy to use, we also make content more accessible for everyone.

A website that uses best practices for accessibility provides equitable access and opportunities to all its users, creates a great user experience, increases website interaction (multi-modal interaction), and enhances the overall usability of the site.

Introducing Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

The WCAG developed out of the World Wide Web Consortium’s (WC3) mission of developing international standards for the continued development of the web and the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative’s (WAI) mission to gather people from varying organizations to create guidelines and resources for people with disabilities.

The WCAG create “a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments” worldwide.

The WCAG has four accessibility principles, which forms the acronym, POUR:

  • Principle 1: Perceivable
    • The information and methods of interacting with hardware and software must be presented in ways that users can perceive. Examples include having text alternatives and using captioning in videos.
  • Principle 2: Operable
    • The hardware and software elements and navigation must be practical for users. Examples include ensuring keyboard accessibility and allowing users enough time to read and understand content.
  • Principle 3: Understandable
    • The information and the operation of hardware and software must be readable and understandable for users. Examples include ensuring that the text is easy to read and retaining the same style of program selections on different pages.
  • Principle 4: Robust
    • The content must have high compatibility so it can be interpreted by a variety of software used to access the web, including assistive technologies. Examples include parsing, that is, ensuring that html elements have start and end tags and screen readers.

Tips: Validate the accessibility of your website using these tools: Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools List

What has the University of Illinois Done to Meet these Standards?

University of Illinois web developers adhere to these web accessibility standards:

  • The Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA)
  • Section 508 of the Reauthorized Rehabilitation Act of 1998
  • The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

The Main Library provides technological assistance via:

  • Hardware
    • Large Screen Monitors and Adjustable Tables
    • Clearview+ Magnification System
    • Braille Display
    • Tranquility Kits
  • Software
    • JAWS (Job Access With Speech)
    • Kurzweil 3000
    • ZoomText Magnifier/Reader
    • OpenBook
    • Dolphin EasyReader
    • OpenDyslexie

Please see Accessibility and Assistive Technology LibGuide for more information.

If you are interested in learning more about web accessibility and the WCAG, visit the WCAG website: https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/