Making Content Accessible at ARC
Accessibility is Universal Design
If you are ready to put accessibility into practice, or refine your existing accessibility awareness, this is the right place for you! In the Instructional Technology Center (ITC) we strive to provide you with the resources for all of your accessibility wants and needs. Accessibility is traditionally thought of as ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the same instructional content as all students, it’s also one foundational element of universal design. These pages focus on accessibility practice however you can learn more about universal design on our Universal Design at ARC pages.
For each program that you use to create content, below you’ll find a resource page with information about the accessibility tools in that program and how to use them.
General Accessibility Tips – All Content
Accessibility requirements are the same regardless of which software you are using to create content. However it is how you make the elements of your content accessible that might vary depending on the software that you are using to create it. Before you jump into the how, below are quick tips on accessible elements that are universal, according to WebAim; click on each to expand it for more information:
Provide equivalent alternative text.
“Alternative text provides a textual alternative to non-text content in web pages. It is especially helpful for people who are blind and rely on a screen reader to have the content of the website read to them.”
Create logical document structure.
“Headings, lists, and other structural elements provide meaning and structure to web pages. They can also facilitate keyboard navigation within the page.”
Provide headers for data tables.
“Data tables need row and column header cells (<th scope="row"> and <th scope="col">) to programmatically associate them with their corresponding data cells (<td>), making it easier for screen reader users to navigate and understand the table.”
Write links that make sense out of context.
“Every link should make sense when read by itself. Screen reader users may choose to read only the links on a web page. Certain phrases like “click here” and “more” must be avoided.”
Caption or provide transcripts for media.
“Videos and live audio must have captions and a transcript. With archived audio, a transcription may be enough.”
Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning.
“Color can enhance comprehension but cannot alone convey meaning. That information may not be available to a person who is color blind and will be unavailable to screen reader users.”
General Accessibility Resources
- Do’s and Don’ts on Designing for Accessibility
- Creating Accessible Documents (National Center on Accessible Educational Materials)
- S.L.I.D.E. into Accessibility (Video Series)
Making Google accessible.
Making Microsoft Accessible.
Making multimedia accessible (audio, video, and images).
- Click on each of the links below for instructions how to make this multimedia content accessible.
Making Canvas Accessible.
- Go to Making Canvas accessible
Accessible Use of Color and Contrast
Additional Accessibility Tools
Below are some additional accessibility tools that are available to you. The ANDI tool is a more advanced tool; the Wave extension is probably the simplest and easiest tool to check accessibility and is the one we recommend.
STEM and Accessibility
If you are instructional faculty in the science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields you may already be aware of some of the unique challenges that you encounter in trying to create accessible content for your students. These supports are especially for you:
- Students First: Accessibility for STEM/Math (CVC / @One)
- Access 101: STEM (public Canvas Course)
- STEM Accessibility Canvas Course (CCC) – this is a work in progress but already has some amazing information about the barriers that students in your STEM course may face throughout the curriculum, provides some software to support your accessibility goals, and guidelines for creating STEM content with accessibility in practice.
- Making Science Labs Accessible (DO-IT) – this site includes tips for physical laboratories, but also includes universal design principles toward the bottom.
- Equatio – here is a link to a series of webinars on how to create accessible equations for STEM faculty.