Strengthen your online community by adding a personalized class banner

Encourage thoughtful discussions by breaking large classes into smaller, more intimate groups

Introduce and reinforce lecture topics with banners

Identify courses and sections

Set a mood

Universal Design Tip Always add a meaningful alt tag to graphics and images When the Image Description is left blank, it will be read as "IMAGE" or as the name of the image file; therefore, it is not useful to a person who is using a device to listen to their courses.

The alt tag, or Image Description, for this lecture banner could be described as Language Lecture. However, if you imagine that you are describing this image and its function to a friend over the telephone, you might use this alt tag instead: Language Lecture in American Indian Studies 101, Unit 3 Universal Design Tip

In this example, the banner is purely decorative. The topic of the lecture is in text below the banner and will be read by the assistive device. Adding two quotation marks as the Image Description will force the device to skip this image. Universal Design Tip

Use banners to promote discussions* Which image doesnt belong in this group of photos? Why? Edit one of the banner images slightly and switch it out after a few weeks – change a male to a female, an old person to a young person, or make a subtle change such as removing eyeglasses or jewelry. How many students noticed? How might it be useful to understand typical human observations? Use the power of imagery to illustrate a controversial topic. Ask students to comment on their interpretations of the images. Use a banner to tell a partial story and have students predict what happens next. Use in conjunction with a journal or wiki assignment. *Be sure to include an alternative for visually impaired students

Tell a story over time, such as a semester. Have students contribute images. Inspire topics for papers or research Build to the end of the course – reinforce whats been learned or add visual material not covered in the content Post class stats or survey results *Be sure to include an alternative for visually impaired students Use banners to promote discussions*

Add visual signals to readers about which course theyve opened, which lecture theyre working on, and where they stopped reading in their last session Emphasize an important point by turning it into a pull-quote Use captions to credit a source and subtly remind students to cite their research Offer did you know trivia snippets *Be sure to include an informative alt tag for visually impaired students Use graphics and images within content areas*

Increase reading speed and comprehension and help readers to remain focused by using graphics to break up dense pages of text

Add interactive exercises to lessons* *Be sure to include an alternative for visually and mobility impaired students

AccordionAccordion TabsTabs Process CircleProcess Circle PyramidPyramid TimelineTimeline Circle MatrixCircle Matrix GlossaryGlossary CertificateCertificate Word SearchWord Search Interactivity available in Adobe Captivate

Find resources online Narrow your search: example site:.gov, then select the Images tab. Or go to and select the Images tabwww.google.com/unclesam Use Google Images and Flickr to search the Creative Commons site Search for.jpg files at the root level of your hard drive Use Google Video to search at iTunes U, YouTube, and TED Talks Heres a collection of audio websites:

Use the style attributes in Blackboards Text Editor Screen readers have built-in functionality that enables users to navigate easily through a document's headings, often with a single keystroke. This allows listeners to scan the document before navigating to a particular section of interest. Universal Design Tip

Use boldface and italics for emphasis instead of color Ensure optimal readability by offering high brightness and contrast Universal Design Tip

4. Use closed captioning and provide transcripts of videos Additional resources: Creating accessible images by the University of Wisconsin-Madison: course/standards/images.htm Techsmiths captioning tutorial: Color blindness simulator: Check for color contrast: Universal Design Tip