Accessibility / Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Accessibility is generally defined as the qualities that make an experience open to all. The experience would therefore be inclusive to all. Most people think of accessibility as only benefiting people with disabilities. This is not true. Creating accessible learning environments benefits all of your students, regardless of their circumstances.
Accessibility and Learning
Students who work full-time and may be reading, listening to, or watching your lectures during their commute, will benefit from having access to accessible documents or videos. So will students for whom English is a second language, as well as students who are deaf or have significant hearing loss who may rely captions to follow along with a video lecture. Students who are blind or have some level of visual impairment benefit from accessible documents, clear audio descriptions, and/or high contrast in materials. Most common, students who primarily access your course on a mobile device, benefit from similar accessibility features as well as from consistent and concise navigation.
Best Practices
Follow the best practices below to ensure content accessibility and usability:
- Word documents and PDFs should have headings for screen reader navigation
- Hyperlinks in documents and presentations should be descriptive (i.e, do not use “click here”)
- Images should contain alt tags.
- Video content needs to have accurate captions embedded (VoiceThread, YouTube, etc.)
- A text transcript should be provided when using audio files (podcasts, MP3, etc.),
- Do not upload improperly scanned (photocopied) PDF documents as they are inaccessible and pose usability problems for all students.
Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a helpful framework to follow for designing an inclusive course. Generally, by allowing your students options when completing the required activities of your course you are applying the three guiding principles of UDL: 1) multiple means of representation, 2) multiple means of action and expression, and 3) multiple means of engagement. Learn more about implementing UDL in your course from The Center for Universal Design in Education at the University of Washington.
Tips & Tricks
Synchronous Accessibility and Usability
- Before your live class meetings, post the materials you will be sharing for students in Canvas. Allowing students to view materials ahead of time helps them better prepare for the class. Also, students using screen readers can access the materials they wouldn’t have access to when you are sharing your screen.
- Use descriptive language. When you are presenting, consider how your participants perceive how you describe what you’re showing. For example, saying "click here" or “over here” doesn’t give enough information to the person who is relying on audio. Saying "click the Submit button at the bottom right" or “at the top-left there is a three-line menu” gives all students a clearer understanding of what is being communicated, especially those who are unable to view the screen, whether it is due to vision impairment, or temporary circumstances.
- Request that students stay muted unless speaking. This will minimize background noise and make it easier for everyone to hear what is going on.
- In Zoom, remind students they can use the Live Transcripts (CC) button. Zoom now has automated speech recognition and can provide live transcriptions (Click on CC and select Enable-Audio Transcription). This is a helpful feature but is not fully accurate and would not be used to satisfy a student accommodation request. Learn more at UMB Zoom Video Conferencing or Zoom Closed Captioning and Live Transcription.
Glossary
Synchronous
Defined by when the instructor teaches a class in real-time on a set class schedule using video conferencing technology (e.g., Zoom, Teams, etc.). Reliable Internet access is needed both by students and instructors. Since there are many valid reasons why students may not be able to participate in synchronous instruction, it is important for instructors to plan asynchronous alternatives for students who miss class.