10 Tips for Building an Accessible Online Course

Janet Sylvia
Web Accessibility Consultant andTrainer
July 23, 2020

 Why Accessibility?
 Accessibility Challenges for Online Courses
 10Tips for Building an Accessible Online Course

 “ Accessible means a person with a disability is afforded the
opportunity
▪ to acquire the same information,
▪ engage in the same interactions, and
▪ enjoy the same services as a person without a disability
▪ in an equally effective and equally integrated manner,
▪ with substantially equivalent ease of use.
 The person with a disability must be able to obtain the
information as fully, equally and independently as a person
without a disability.”
Definition:US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

 World Health Organization
 World Report on Disability
 Over 1 billion people worldwide have a disability
 United States (U.S.), DisabledWorld
 U.S. Disability Statistics byType and Age
 30,000,000 (Ages 5 to 64)

 40+ Countries - Disability and Digital Rights Laws
 United NationsTreaty
 Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
 W3C - Web Accessibility Initiative
 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
 AssistiveTechnology Act
 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
 Rehabilitation Act, as Amended
 Sections 503, 504, 508
 Twenty-first Century Communications andVideo
Accessibility Act (CVAA)

 1) People with Disabilities
 Loss of equivalent or equally effective access to educational
benefits and opportunities
 2) Your Organization
 Civil Rights Complaints
 Loss of Business and Reputation
 High Cost of Remediation

 1) Accessible for More People
 People with Disabilities
 Accommodate Different Learning Styles
 Usability for all Participants
 2) More Functional for Organization
 AccessibilityTraining (Basics)
 ApplyAccessibility Principles to Face-to-Face Seminars
 Web Content Render Better on Different Devices

 Understanding difference between:
 Accessibility Requirement
 Disability Accommodation
 Who is responsible for each?

 Accessibility Requirement
 General Requirement for GeneralAudience
 Provided in advance of Known Need
 Responsibility: Content Creator
 Disability Accommodation
 Specific Accommodation for Specific Person
 Responsibility: Disability Service Provider

ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENT
 AltText
 Color and Contrast
 Descriptive Hyperlinks
 DocumentTitles
 Whitespace
 Instructor, Content Creator
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION
 Braille
 ExtendedTime
 Listening Device
 NoteTaker
 Tactile Graphics
 Disability Service Providers

 Clearly Communicate the Difference to Content Providers
 Provide Definitions in Company Accessibility Policy
 AccessibilityTraining for Content Providers

 When People with Disabilities encounter accessibility
barriers or inaccessible content in your online course:
 Who will they contact?
 How will they receive resolution?

 Don’t panic…be prepared
 Have a Plan
 Acknowledge Receipt of Request (24-48 hours)
 Carefully Examine the Request
 Elevate the Request
 ProvideTimely Resolution

 Individuals involved in the design, development and
delivery of online course were not aware of Accessibility
Requirements when course was created.

 Begin Remediation Immediately
 Prioritize Repairs
▪ Accessibility or Accommodation Requests
▪ New or Most Recent Content
▪ Most FrequentlyAccessed
▪ All Steps in a Process
▪ etc.
 Develop Formal Remediation Plan

 4 DisabilityTypes
 1) Cognitive
 2) Hearing
 3) Motor
 4)Visual

 Hardware, Software, Service
 Allow people to use their preferred modality to access web
 Text – Sample Modalities:
 Audio (Read Aloud Software)
 Sight (Visual, EyeTracking)
 Speech (Speech toText)
 Touch (Refreshable Braille)

 Welcoming Message
 What to Include
 Accessibility Guidelines
 Contact Information Disability Service Provider
 Contact Information for Instructor
 Links toVendor Accessibility Information for 3rd Party Products
 Where to Post
 Course Description or Registration Page
 Course Homepage
 Syllabus

 Outline of Course and Content
 Similar to Course Map, Site Map,Table of Contents
 May be Built-in Learning Management System
 If not, provide Orientation Document
▪ General Layout
▪ Types of Content
▪ Where Found

 Content Management System (CMS)
 Learning Management System (LMS)
 Website

 Accessible Navigation
 Consistent Color Scheme
 Simple, Uncluttered Homepage
 Organize Related Content into Folders

 Easy Access to SearchTool
 CourseTools List is Up-to-Date
 Hide or Remove Any CourseTools Not Used

 Link Names are Descriptive and Unique
▪ Document or PageTitles
▪ Folder Names
▪ Sheets in Spreadsheets
▪ Website Links
 Navigation Elements are Consistent (Arrows, Buttons, etc.)

 Essential for Keyboard Accessibility (AT-reliant)
 Tab Key – no mouse
 Tab Order Follows a Logical and Intuitive path
 Minimize Number ofTabs Needed to Arrive at Main Content

 Text equivalent for non-text content
 120 characters or less
 Conveys function, meaning or purpose of the image
 Long Description (in addition to AltText)
 AltText alone is insufficient to convey meaning
 SurroundingText or Separate Document

 Ensure color is not the sole means of conveying important
information (Avoid color-coding)

 Is color the sole means of conveying important
information?

 Provide High Contrast Color Scheme
 Foreground (text) and Background color
 Background design does not overpower text

 File Properties
 Title, Author, Subject, Keywords
 Language
 Primary, Secondary
 Semantic Structure
 Headings (H1…H6)
 True Formatting: Lists, Columns,Tables
 Whitespace
 Paragraph After

 Built-in Accessibility Checker
 Remediate Errors
 Manual Checks
 Accessibility Checklist
 Human, Subjective Reasoning
 Run Accessibility Checker Again

 Activities and Content
 Accessible Handouts in advance (24-48hrs)
 AvoidTimed Response Activities
 DescribeVisual Information (Text, Informative Images)
 Presentation Slides Accessible
 Captions
 Interface or Layout
 Allow Participants to Customize and Save Preferred Layout
 WebinarTechnology

 Audio-only
 Live: Captions
 Pre-recorded: Captions, DescriptiveTextTranscript
 Video-only
 Pre-recorded: DescriptiveTextTranscript OR MediaAlternative toText
 Audio andVideo
 Live: Captions
 Pre-recorded: Audio Description, Captions, DescriptiveTextTranscript
 All require Accessible Media Player

 AutomatedTools
 Built-in Automated Checker (LMS)
 Manual Checks
 Accessibility Checklist
 Human, Subjective Reasoning
 HumanTesting
 People with Disabilities provide Feedback

 CourseTools and Required Activities
 a) Are the required CourseTools accessible?
 b) Can they be used with accessibility in mind?
 3rd Party Resources, Software, or Websites
 Library Resources
 Pre-requisite to Register
 Registration and Payment for Course
 RequiredActivities: FieldTrips, SiteVisits, etc.
 Textbooks and Digital Bundles
 Websites

1. How People with Disabilities Access Web Content
2. Accessibility Statement
3. Orientation Document
4. Framework
5. Course Design, Layout and Navigation
6. Documents
7. Webinars
8. Multimedia
9. Accessibility Checks
10. Additional Considerations

Janet Sylvia
Accessibility Consultant &Trainer
jsaccessibility@gmail.com

10 Tips for Building an Accessible Online Course

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