
When course materials — readings, videos, slides, websites, etc. — are accessible, all students benefit.
- Students with disabilities can engage with your course materials without barriers, often using assistive technologies such as screen readers or closed captioning.
- Even students without disabilities often use more than one device — such as a phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop — and may not have reliable internet access. Accessible materials help them, too.
To support all learners and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it’s important to include accessibility throughout your course.
Note: At times, you may need to discuss accommodations with the Disability Resource Center.
Images, graphics, diagrams, charts, and tables are key communication tools and can greatly enhance learning. For each image, include alternative text (alt-text) to describe the image to someone who uses a screen reader. Write your alt-text to describe:
- The intended meaning or use of the image
- Any included text or visual information (especially in diagrams)
Example: For an image of a course banner on the homepage of a course, the alt-text would include any text in the banner and the name of the course.
It’s important for alt-text to convey the same information as the image — so it’s best to include information-heavy items as readable text rather than images.
- Rather than images of tables, include readable text-based tables. Make sure the tables have headings.
- Write mathematical equations using the math editor in Canvas.
Note: Ask the Disability Resource Center about access to EquatIO, an institutionally licensed mathematical equation writing software.
Color in a digital environment requires sufficient contrast between text and background — but don’t use text color as the sole means to communicate information. For example, “assignments in red are due on Thursday” would not be accessible. It would exclude people who don’t see the color red or who use screen readers. Instead, use bold or italic to emphasize or highlight important information.
Another consideration is to use darker bolder colors for text used against a white screen. For best usability and accessibility avoid neon and bright colors in course content.
For anyone who navigates from a keyboard, headings are important to quickly move through content on a page.
- Use heading style H1 for only one heading on each page — typically the title or main subject of the page.
- Use heading styles H2 through H6 to identify subsections.
- Follow a logical nesting order and don’t exceed six levels.
Ordered and unordered lists are commonly used in content authoring. Be sure to use list tools to create them.
For ordered lists — in which numbers or letters indicate chronological or hierarchical items — a common mistake is typing each number or letter rather than using the list tool. This does not create a structured list that screen-reading software can use.
Don’t rely exclusively on lists for organization. For example, use accessible headings to begin each major section.
Document types such as PowerPoint, PDF, Word, Google Docs, etc. are often part of course content. Consistency among documents is important for readability and findability. Here are a few guidelines to consider.
Make sure PDF documents are selectable, searchable, properly tagged, and in accurate reading order. If you create them by scanning paper, use OCR (optical character recognition) instead of creating an image. OCR allows each letter and word to be read by a screen reader and makes all text searchable. You can scan with OCR in the PSU library.
For all document types:
- Don’t use underlined text for emphasis. It can be mistaken for a link. Use bold and italics instead.
- Use the same style and navigation in all documents.
- Make a document’s title easy to understand — both in the file name and in the H1-level heading within the document.
Canvas has a built-in accessibility checker! Anywhere Canvas has a rich content editor you can run the checker to flag potential issues and accessibility errors. The checker will then prompt you to fix each item it flags. Learn to use the accessibility checker in the rich content editor in Canvas.
Microsoft products such as Word and PowerPoint also have built-in accessibility checkers. Learn about the accessibility checker for Word and PowerPoint.
You Might Also Like
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM
What are diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how are they related to higher education?You have probably encountered these terms a lot…
Place-Based Engagement: Featuring KSMOCA
Place-Based Engagement: Featuring KSMoCAAt PSU, we “let knowledge serve the city”, but how? To what end? Who benefits? What does it mean…
Student-Faculty Partnerships in Curricula
There is a growing movement to not only include but also involve students in curricula decisions. Students in higher education have…
Equity and Inclusion Practices: An Overview
This guide introduces a few pedagogies you can adopt into your inclusive teaching practice. They can help facilitate connections and conversations…
Introduction to Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a flexible pedagogical framework to minimize barriers and increase accessibility for the fullest range of…
Supporting Students through Difficult Conversations
The classroom can be a place to explore controversial topics including equity, identity, religious beliefs, and political views. These topics may…
Student Voices on Remote Learning
Students had a range of responses to the sudden shift to remote learning during Spring term 2020. While many students expressed appreciation for…
Course DesignFlexible Teaching
Flexible Teaching Strategies
When adapting your course to a new format, it can help to review instructional strategies. This article looks at different ways to provide content,…
Encouraging Student Agency through Alternative Assessments
Research shows that the more we give students qualitative feedback and withhold quantitative grades, the more students are able to absorb that…
Using Open Educational Resources (OER)
“Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources released under an open license that permits their free…
Course DesignFlexible Teaching
Designing a Hybrid or Blended Course
In blended and hybrid courses (with the terms used interchangeably in this article), students complete activities both in the classroom and online.…
Encouraging Academic Integrity through Course Design
Academic integrity is not only about holding students to high standards and creating consistent expectations through course policies. More…
Course Design Essentials
This guide applies to a range of course design or revision techniques. You might use the Rule of 2’s: Simple Course Design Template…
Organize Your Course for Success
Imagine this: You visit your local market to pick up some peanut butter, but it’s no longer where you expect it. You ask for help, but still…
Need more help?
Talk now with a teaching support specialist at Portland State University.