Why Web Accessibility Matters
What is Web Accessibility?
Most people are aware of web accessibility and the inextricable role that it plays in online learning. Simply put web accessibility ensures that our courses and tools are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.
But web accessibility also benefits people without disabilities, for example, learners who use mobile devises to access your courses, people with slow internet, or people with situational limitations such as being in an environment where they cannot listen to audio. Web accessibility enables all our learners to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with our courses, as well as contribute to their learning process.
Why It Matters
Imagine for instance if you had a beautifully designed course with excellent content; for each unit in your course, you record lecture videos alongside visual slideshows for learners to engage with the content. However, you neglect to add closed captions and/or transcripts to your videos. What if the nice infographics in your slideshows did not have alternative text? While these considerations may be obvious to most of us, the point to note here is that the first step to ensuring our courses are accessible is to first understand who our learners are by understanding their needs.
Considerations
These are a few considerations to keep in mind when teaching and/or designing online courses:
• Identify the diverse needs of your learners, including those with disabilities. Consider factors such as visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive abilities.
• Apply universal design principles to create content that is accessible to as many people as possible from the start, reducing the need for retroactive modifications.
• Offer content in multiple formats (text, audio, video, etc.) to accommodate different learning preferences and abilities.
Video: Accessibility Perspectives Compilation [7:36]
Watch this video called Web Accessibility Perspectives Compilation published by W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to learn more. As you watch, think about if your courses live up the needs and expectations of your learners.
Best Practices
Making your courses accessible does not need to be complicated. The following are a list of best practices we should keep in mind when designing courses with accessibility in mind. As you go over the list, think about how you can implement these into your sources.
Caption and Transcribe Multimedia
Provide captions for videos to make the content accessible to individuals with hearing impairments. Additionally, provide transcripts for audio content.
Consider Color Contrast
Ensure sufficient color contrast between text and background to make content readable for individuals with visual impairments.
Test with Assistive Technologies
Test your instructional materials with various assistive technologies to identify and address potential accessibility issues.
Design Navigable Courses
Create clear and consistent navigation within your courses. This helps users, including those who use screen readers, to easily move through the content.
Create Accessible Documents
Ensure that documents, such as PDFs and Word documents, are accessible. This includes using proper heading structures, adding alt text to images, and providing text descriptions for charts and graphs.
Use Descriptive Text
Include descriptive text for images and other non-text content. This ensures that users with visual impairments can understand the content through screen readers or other assistive technologies.
Offer Flexible Timing
Provide flexible timing for assessments and activities, accommodating individuals who may need additional time due to disabilities.
Encourage User Feedback
Encourage learners to provide feedback on the accessibility of the content. This can help identify issues that might not be immediately apparent.
Stay Informed About Accessibility Standards
Stay updated on relevant accessibility standards and guidelines, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and ensure that your instructional design aligns with these standards.