Four Tips for Improving the Accessibility of your Online Classroom

Teaching online can be a wonderful opportunity to connect with a more diverse student population. To ensure that your course is set up to allow all students to be successful, consider these four tips for designing accessible content. 

1. Be mindful of presentation colors and contrast. A black and white foreground and background creates the best contrast. Resources like TPGi.com can check the color contrast for you. Using a sans serif font (Helvetica, Avant-Garde, Arial, Calibri, Verdana, Times Roman, Courier, New Century, Schoolbook, and Palatino) and a larger font size (11-12 pt) will not only be useful for students with visual impairments, but make reading on a screen easier for all students. Verdana and Georgia fonts are also easier to read for some users. Avoid using color to convey information.
2. Include text descriptions of images and other graphics. Using built-in alternative text features or using captions for images and graphics are other ways to improve access to material. Captions provide image descriptions to all users. Microsoft Word and Powerpoint have alternative text features as part of their software. To add captions in Word, use the Reference link on the top ribbon. In PowerPoint, use the text box feature and place it directly under the corresponding image. 
   
   
3. Use transcriptions or captioning for video and audio recordings. Many video software tools allow you to add captions and transcriptions to your videos. Auto transcriptions are also becoming more commonly included in video tools. In your live session, you can enable an auto transcription in Zoom that will caption the discussion. As the host, you can save the transcript so that students can access the transcript along with your class recording. Please reference this resource guide for more information on how to use transcription
   s and captions in your live session. 
4. Use accessibility checks that are already built in to commonly used software. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat Pro all have built-in accessibility trackers. These tools will review your content and provide suggestions for improving the accessibility of your material. Avoid using scanned content as screen readers cannot access and read scanned material. 

Mindfully creating content that is accessible to all students is necessary in order for students to have an equitable opportunity to meet learning outcomes. Furthermore, students without disabilities can use features like transcriptions and text descriptions to enhance their understanding of the material as well. The tips included in this article are designed to be a starting point for thinking about ways to create more accessible content. For more information on designing accessible content, please visit the references below. 

References:

• Ali, A. Z. M. W. (2012, November 30). Reading on the Computer Screen: Does Font Type Have Effects on Web Text Readability?. International Education Studies. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1067757. 
• Erin Leif Senior Lecturer, et al. “5 Tips on How Unis Can Do More to Design Online Learning That Works for All Students.” The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2021, theconversation.com/5-tips-on-how-unis-can-do-more-to-design-online-learning-that-works-for-all-students-144803. 
• Inside Higher Ed. (2020, September 2). Beyond Compliance https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/09/02/making-accessibility-priority-online-teaching-even-during-pandemic-opinion
• Presentation Accessibility. Student Access Services Office. (n.d.). https://www.vanderbilt.edu/student-access/accessibility/presentations.php. 
• Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.1: Use of Color. (n.d.). https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/use-of-color.html. 
• University of Arkansas Little Rock. (n.d.). Ten Steps Toward Universal Design of Online Courses. Disability Resource Center. https://ualr.edu/disability/online-education/). 
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. W3C. (n.d.). https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#images-of-text.