Accessible Course Materials EBOOKS, WEBSITES, ACADEMIC JOURNALS, AND DIGITAL DOCUMENTS -DREW CHILES

Common Course Materials Textbooks E-books, digital components, alternate formats Academic Journals Websites If mandatory or critical to class experience Created Documents Handouts, Word, Excel, PowerPoint,.pdf, etc. Audio and Video Blackboard

What is accessibility? Usable Is this material logical? Can I use it as it’s intended? Does it facilitate my education? Is it relevant to the course? Accessible Can a screen reader navigate it? Can I navigate it with a keyboard? Is it logically structured? Is the.pdf tagged correctly? Are there captions? Accessibility generally includes making content flexible enough to reach the broadest possible range of users regardless of their physical abilities. Usable vs. Accessible Accessible means generally usable and compliant with any pertinent assistive technology Your course materials should be both

What does this mean for you? As instructor, you are responsible for the accessibility of your own class materials. If a SWD has an INCA form then you will have to comply with it quickly—call me. Universal Design Teach in multiple ways. Allow students to learn in multiple ways. Shift in emphasis from teaching-centered to learning-centered. See if there are multiple formats. If there are not, make sure the one format is accessible to as many people as possible.

Am I supposed to change all of my course content? No, that’s a terrible idea. The goal is equal access to whatever you as the instructor has decided should be course content. Existing content is often fixed with simple one-time solutions. Consider a few basics when acquiring new course content. Goals Learn basics of accessibility in the classroom. Learn how to create accessible docs Learn how to review the accessibility of other content. 2 words—Flexibility and Variety

Textbooks The book itself Not much of a concern Check on audiobook option or ask publisher SDS will track down an Alt Format if one is needed Most textbooks in an Alt Format are.pdf versions of the text. Ole Miss Libraries—ebooks Books with Digital Component Are you using the digital part? Is it mandatory? Is it accessible? Says who? Ebooks More and more popular Often have dig/online element Talk to the publisher VPAT or some other confirmation.

Websites Crucial for websites that are part of the curriculum. If it is non-UM web content that you use in class, you should check its accessibility. 2 different 1 minutes tests. 1—Wave tool Created by WebAIM out of Utah State Not definitive but reliable—Looking for red flags. 2—Keyboard check Manual, logical—Often a good indicator. I offer a workshop on this subject alone.

Academic Journals End product only—Generally a.pdf Using the same article?—Keep an accessible copy. Using the same journal?—See how accessible the.pdfs generally are. Still need to assess it as a.pdf Many journal articles are made accessible very easily. Some journals offer html version with screen reader built in.

Created Documents Microsoft Office Word Excel PowerPoint PDF Accessibility Check I also offer a workshop on this subject alone. Handouts Study Guides Other Sources Anything of your creation Syllabus Accessible syllabus Clear and Thorough

Blackboard Blackboard itself is accessible. Bb offers free course on UDL and online learning. They offer a large amount of info on using their product in an accessible manner. Many other universities have published info on accessibility with Bb. Blackboard top 5: Images get alt text. Videos need captions. Make attached files accessible. Make.pdfs accessible. Give students clear instructions and expectations. These are similar to most concise lists of accessibility concerns.

Blackboard (cont.) Bb allows you to include: Captions on videos Alt text on images High contrast settings by user Page re-ordering by user Accommodations for individuals Conditional release to students Your own style elements on screen Bb offers: Quick links (better than skip links) Consistent keyboard nav Keyboard shortcuts for Bb tools Minimized screen clutter Most used nav in one place Other universities and Blackboard offer plenty of info.

Audio and Video Caption—onscreen, synchronized, equivalent of spoken word. Transcript—not verbatim, contain additional descriptions, explanations, or comments that are beneficial to understanding the scene. Laughter, music, explosions, etc. would all be indicated. Audio Description—less common—an audio description of what is happening in visual content onscreen. All video should have captions. If you create a video, make sure it has captions. When possible use a script. If you use a script, hold onto a copy of that script. If you procure a video, make sure it has captions. Transcripts are only okay as last resort.

Takeaways Consider your own courses—how do I test the content? Am I clear on what I am looking for? What sorts of content do I generally use? What’s a reasonable amount of time to expect to make my own course materials fully accessible? How can I consider accessibility when looking for new materials?