Getting Started with Course Accessibility
Course accessibility refers to designing and delivering course materials in a way that ensures all students, including those with disabilities, can fully engage with and benefit from the learning experience. This includes providing content that is perceivable, operable, understandable, and compatible with assistive technologies. Faculty should care about accessibility because it promotes equity, complies with legal requirements, and enhances the overall quality and inclusivity of education for every learner.
Interactive Self-Paced Accessibility Training
Not sure where to get started on course accessibility? Try our new self-paced training on some of the most common accessibility standards featuring tutorials, videos, and more to help you!
UDOIT Support Videos
Need help understanding how to fix some common UDOIT flags? Take a look at some of our video tutorials:
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| File does not include headings for structure | Insert headings for structure within your documents |
| Table does not include header rows or columns | Add an appropraite header row or column to your tables within Canvas |
| Alternative text uses filename rather than a descriptive label | Edit alt text on an image within Canvas |
| Styles might be used instead of semantic markup for structure | Use headings in place of styles when designing Canvas pages |
| Link has nondescript text | Use text to describe where a link goes rather than using a URL |
| File is Missing a Title Element | Add a title using the file’s document properties. |
Course Accessibility Tip Videos
Join ECU’s instructional design team as they discuss ways that you can get started with making your courses and materials more accessible for your learners:
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Floating Elements | A floating element in a document is an object such as an image, table, or text box that is positioned independently of the main text flow, allowing text to wrap around it. Anchoring the element means attaching it to a specific location in the text so that its position remains relative to that anchor point, even if the surrounding content moves during editing. |
| Links | Ensure that your course is accessible to your students by making your links accessible for all of your learners. |
| Alt Text | Ensure that your course is accessible to your students by including alt text on your technical images that are meant to convey information to your students. |
| Color Contrasts | Color contrast is an important, yet often overlooked, aspect of accessible design. Learn more about how you can strengthen your course content by using appropriate color contrast! |
| Accessible PDFs | Ready to make your course content more accessible for your students? Learn more about how you can strengthen your course content by creating accessible PDFs that searchable and screenreader compliant! |
| Closed Captions | Read to make your course content more accessible for your students? Learn more about how you can strengthen your course content by easily providing closed captions and transcripts for your students by using built-in tools with Panopto and Canvas Studio |
| UDOIT Accessibility Checker | Read to make your course content more accessible for your students? Learn more about how you can make your course content accessible with built-in Canvas tools like UDOIT. |