UHD / Office of the Provost / Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence / Accessible Course Documents

Accessible Course Documents

Learning Continuity Alignment:

LC8: Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Design for equity, access, and care through incorporating universal design for learning (UDL) principles.

QM8.3:

The course provides accessible text and images in files, documents, LMS pages, and web pages to meet the diverse needs of learners.

Overview

Accessibility of course content is defined as making course content “usable by as many people as possible without an undue burden” (Course Accessibility 101: Understanding the Basics | Learning Technologies at College of DuPage (codlearningtech.org) Accessibility is a fundamental principle that enhances the success of all students. In practical terms, accessible course documents can be utilized through various teaching methods, ensuring that students have a consistent and inclusive experience when accessing an instructor's content and feedback. The following faculty videos will demonstrate:

1. Tips on improving accessibility scores on previously created documents and creating accessible documents within Canvas.
2. Aligning course syllabus with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines to provide instructions and information in a way that benefits all learners.

Videos

Kendra Mhoon, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Statistics
Faculty Demonstration

Vaishali Chaubal, Ph.D. | Lecturer, Biology
Faculty Demonstration

Strategies and Tips

Tip for previously created documents

Use the accessibility score inside of Canvas and its suggestions for improving the accessibility of documents

Tips to know before creating a document or video

When your document is long, create a table of contents
Alternative text (Alt txt) should be added to all images, drawings, charts, or graphs in Word or Google documents
Captions should be added to videos – captions are provided inside of Panopto
Word has an accessibility checker
When creating tables in Word or Google do not merge cells and make sure to set a header row
In Word and Google documents create columns using the column feature and not the Tab key

To make information perceptible, provide visual cues where possible.

Provide a picture of the textbook along with the name, edition, and other details.
Consider utilizing icons for recurrent themes/items such as Learning Outcomes, teamwork, or others.

Multiple means of engagement can be provided through a variety of ways.

Students can make use of different formats such as ePub, HTML or audio to read the documents. These are available through the Learning Management System.
Figures, images, and tables should be provided with descriptive Alt-Texts.
Images that do not provide learners with any information should be marked as decorative.
Tables should be provided with captions.
Consider making a video that explains sections of the syllabus. Ensure that the video has closed captioning available.
Consider providing infographics to replace or complement walls of textual information.

Keep it simple.

Use student-friendly, jargon-free language.
For example:
- Replace Traditional title: Course Learning Outcomes with:
  What will you learn at the end of the course?
- Replace Traditional title: Course Policies with:
  What will help you be successful in this course?
Replace punitive language with more welcoming language.
For example:
- Replace Traditional: Late submissions will receive 5 – 10% deductions with:
  You will have the opportunity to submit Lab report – 1 up to 48 hr. beyond the due date/time. Late submissions are eligible for partial credit of 95% (24 hr. late) or 90% (48 hr. Late).

Research

Accessible and usable course documents benefit all students -- WebAIM: WebAIM’s Hierarchy for Motivating Accessibility Change
Accessible course documents is a duty of the college -- Accessible Education Center | University of Houston-Downtown (uhd.edu);
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) (2018). Universal Design for Learning guidelines version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org
Navaitenė, J., Stasiūnaitenė, E. (2021). The Goal of the Universal Design for Learning: Development of All to Expert Learners. In: Galkienė, A., Monkevičienė, O. (eds) Improving Inclusive Education through Universal Design for Learning. Inclusive Learning and Educational Equity, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80658-3_2
Rose, D. H., & Gravel, J. W. (2010). Universal Design for Learning. In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (3rd ed). Elsevier.

Resources

Document remediation at UHD -- https://uhdforms.formstack.com/forms/remediation
Tutorials for Creating Accessible Microsoft Office Documents -- http://governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/accessibledocs/
Tutorials on Creating Accessible PowerPoints -- https://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/
PowerPoint Tips from Penn State -- https://accessibility.psu.edu/microsoftoffice/powerpoint/
Canva to make Infographics
Write good Alt Text to describe images.
Captions in Google Slides.
Brokk Toggerson: Captions in PowerPoint

Return to LC8 Strategies/Course Elements

Accessible Course Documents

Accessible Course Documents

Learning Continuity Alignment:

Overview

Videos

Creating Accessible Course Documents

Designing a Syllabus with Equity, Access and Care in Mind