Accessibility

The accessibility of course materials and contents is crucial for all students, including those with visual impairments or other disabilities. These items ensure the course incorporates relevant accessibility measures and follows institutional policy regarding accessibility standards.

Overview

9. All course elements (including Moodle shells, required textbooks, readings, documents, and other course materials) ensure screen readability.

10. All video and audio files, including lecture recordings, are captioned and have a transcript supplied.

11. Lecture recordings are promptly posted to the course shell after each class.

12. Images in the course shell serve a clear purpose, enhance course material, and adhere to AODA best practices, including appropriate sizing and colour, contrast, alt text, and other accessibility guidelines.

13. Tables are only used to organize data, and not for layout purposes. Tables are formatted properly with clearly-identified header cells and data cells.

14. Slideshows use predefined layouts, include unique slide titles, and are reviewed using an accessibility checker.

15. Hyperlink text is descriptive and makes sense out of context. Phrases like “click here”, and URLs lacking any description, are avoided.

16. Course information, content, and learning activities are provided to students in advance.

17. Moodle quizzes, and other assessments/activities, are designed with extra time and free navigation for all students.

Quality Criteria Quick Links

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Course Overview Quality Criteria
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Assessments Quality Criteria
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Technology Quality Criteria

9. All course elements (including Moodle shells, required textbooks, readings, documents, and other course materials) ensure screen readability.

Explanation:

Screen readability refers to how easily digital text and visual elements can be read and viewed on a computer or digital screen. This includes factors such as font type, font size, formatting style, and the clarity of images and other visual elements. By optimizing these factors, faculty can make their materials easier to read and engage with, ultimately improving the online learning experience for their students.

Recommendations:

  • Choose a font that is easy to read, such as Arial or Times New Roman. Avoid using fonts that are overly decorative or difficult to read, such as script fonts.
  • Use a font size of at least 12pt, which is large enough for students to read comfortably.
  • Use a high contrast colour scheme to ensure that text is easy to read. For example, use black text on a white background or white text on a dark background.
  • Break up text with headings and subheadings to make course content easier to navigate. This will also help students quickly find the information they need. 
  • Use bullet points and lists to highlight key points and make the content easier to read.
  • Use images and multimedia to enhance the content, but avoid overusing them as they can be distracting. Avoid using too many images that are purely for decorative purposes.
  • Avoid large bodies of bolded or italicized text. These two text features should be used sparingly to highlight specific concise information.
  • Do not underline text; underlined text should only be used for hyperlinks. Text that is displayed with an underline can be easily confused with hyperlinked text.

Resources

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10. All video and audio files, including lecture recordings, are captioned and have a transcript supplied.

Explanation:

Captioning and providing transcripts for video and audio files can make it easier for students to access and understand the material. This can be particularly helpful for individuals who prefer to read, or those who may have difficulty processing audio or video content.

Recommendations:

  • Use a reliable captioning/transcription service such as Microsoft Word Online to ensure the accuracy of captions/transcriptions.
  • Review and edit the captions/transcripts for accuracy and clarity before publishing them to your course page.
  • Ensure that the captions and transcripts are synchronized with the video or audio content, so that students can easily follow along.
  • Provide transcripts in a format that is easily accessible to students, such as a downloadable PDF or a Moodle page.
  • Ensure that the captions and transcripts are available for all video and audio content, including lectures.
  • Communicate to students the availability and importance of captions and transcripts for the course content.
  • Monitor feedback from students regarding the quality and accessibility of the captions and transcripts, and make improvements as necessary.
  • For videos that include advanced demonstrations, animations, or other features that don’t translate well to text, provide students with a described video or transcript. These will assist those who are visually impaired by explaining the setting, movements, body language, etc.
  • For an additional level of accessibility, provide labels and timestamps to help students easily locate specific sections of the lecture material.

Resources:

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11. Lecture recordings are promptly posted to the course shell after each class.

Explanation:

Promptly posting lecture recordings to the course shell after each class provides all students with the opportunity to review and reinforce their learning at their own pace, regardless of their location or ability. This benefits students who have missed the live lecture or require additional review, and those who need accommodations.

Recommendations:

  • Clearly communicate to students the expectations around when lecture recordings will be posted, and adhere to that schedule. This will help students plan their studying so they do not fall too far behind on course material.
  • Have a backup plan in place, such as a temporary recording solution or alternative methods of content delivery like posting the PowerPoint presentation to your Moodle page, to ensure that students have access to the lecture material.
  • Ensure that the lecture recordings are accessible, which means providing transcripts and/or captions for the recordings.
  • Encourage students to ask questions and seek clarification on material during the next class session, to keep the course interactive and engaging.

Resources:

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12. Images in the course shell serve a clear purpose, enhance course material, and adhere to AODA best practices, including appropriate sizing and colour, contrast, alt text, and other accessibility guidelines.

Explanation:

Adding images to a course can improve content delivery by making it more visually engaging, but it is crucial to ensure that images serve a specific purpose and align with course objectives while adhering to copyright and AODA guidelines.

Recommendations:

  • Use images that are relevant and add value to the course material. Avoid using images that are unnecessary or decorative.
  • Provide descriptive and concise alt text for images. The alt text should convey the image’s purpose and content to users with visual impairments.
  • If an image contains text, capture the content in the alt text. Avoid images that contain large amounts of text or text with low readability.
  • Ensure that the images are appropriately sized and optimized for web use. Large images can slow down the page’s load time and cause accessibility issues.
  • Use high-contrast images that are easy to see for people with visual impairments. Ensure that the colour contrast ratio between the foreground and background meets the minimum accessibility standards.
  • Avoid using flashing or blinking images, if possible. These can trigger seizures for users with photosensitive epilepsy, and may be distracting.

Resources:

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13. Tables are only used to organize data, and not for layout purposes. Tables are formatted properly with clearly-identified header cells and data cells.

Explanation:

  • To avoid accessibility issues for students using assistive technologies, tables should only be used to organize data, not for layout purposes. Proper formatting is important, including clear identification of header and data cells, appropriate markup, and captions/summaries. By following these guidelines, tables can effectively organize data and be accessible to all students.

Recommendations:

  • Use Moodle’s built-in table editor to create tables, as it automatically adds proper markup for accessibility.
  • Avoid using images of tables as they can create accessibility issues for students who use assistive technologies. If using an image of a table is necessary, ensure that it is properly labeled with alternative text and consider providing an accessible version in a different format.
  • When creating tables, use clear and concise headers to allow students to quickly identify the content of each column.
  • Provide alternative text for tables using the “long description” field in Moodle’s HTML editor, which allows students to access the information contained in the table even if they cannot see the table itself.
  • When embedding tables in Moodle content, make sure that they are responsive and adapt to different screen sizes, to ensure that students can access them on any device.

Resources:

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14. Slideshows use predefined layouts, include unique slide titles, and are reviewed using an accessibility checker.

Explanation:

To ensure that slideshows are accessible to all students, it is important to use predefined layouts and unique slide titles, and to review them for accessibility. By doing so, faculty can create accessible slideshows that effectively communicate course content to all students.

Recommendations:

  • Choose a predefined slide layout that best suits the content you want to present. Using a consistent layout throughout the slideshow will help students navigate the content and understand the information more easily.
  • Ensure that each slide has a unique and descriptive title that provides context and aids navigation. Avoid using generic or vague titles.
  • Use contrasting colours and readable fonts to make the text on each slide stand out.
  • Use alternative text (alt text) for images and other non-text content on each slide.
  • Use the built-in accessibility checker in tools like PowerPoint to review your slideshows.

Resources:

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15. Hyperlink text is descriptive and makes sense out of context. Phrases like “click here”, and URLs lacking any description, are avoided.

Explanation:

Using non-descriptive hyperlink text like “click here” can make it difficult for users to understand the context and purpose of the link. Using specific and descriptive text provides clear information about where the link leads, which enhances learning for all students.

Recommendations:

  • Display URLs as hyperlinked text instead of plain URLs such as “https://www.website.com/image.jpg”. Displaying full URLs makes it difficult for students to identify the context and purpose of the resource. It can also be difficult for users with cognitive, visual, or motor disabilities to process and navigate complex or lengthy links.
  • Use text that is short and concise as lengthy hyperlink text can be overwhelming and distracting for users.
  • Consider what information a student needs in order to understand what the link refers to. Use text that provides clear information about the content or action that the hyperlink will lead to.
  • Set hyperlinks to open within the same browser tab. Hyperlinks should open within the same browser tab. Opening hyperlinks in a new tab can be confusing, especially for students using screen readers. If necessary, make it clear to the user that a new tab will be opened, either by including text that explicitly states this or by using a visual indicator like an icon.

Resources:

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16. Course information, content, and learning activities are provided to students in advance.

Explanation:

Providing course information, content, assessments, and learning activitiess–including presentations, and handouts–in advance can help students to prepare and engage meaningfully with the course material. Providing additional time for students to review the material enables them to engage with it in a manner that suits their learning preferences.

Recommendations:

  • Communicate details about when course materials and activities will be available to students, and when they are due. This helps students to plan and prioritize their work effectively.
  • Adhere to the schedule you set to ensure students can manage their workload with other courses.
  • Provide alternative formats for course materials and activities, to accommodate different accessibility needs and student preferences.
  • Encourage students to interact with the course materials and with each other before class. Add online discussions or peer review activities into your class to foster student engagement.

Resources:

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17. Moodle quizzes, and other assessments/activities, are designed with extra time and free navigation for all students.

Explanation:

Some students may require additional time due to disabilities, language barriers, or different learning paces. By designing Moodle quizzes, assignments, and activities with extra time and free navigation in mind, faculty can ensure their assessments promote inclusivity for all students and accommodate diverse learning needs.

Recommendations:

  • Provide extended time limits for quizzes, assignments, and activities. This can be accomplished in settings for most activity types in Moodle.
  • In Moodle quizzes, allow for free navigation in the quiz settings. This allows students to allocate their time effectively and prioritize their efforts based on their confidence in different topics. The ability to jump ahead and preview questions also allows students to gain a comprehensive overview of the quiz and plan the order they will answer questions, potentially reducing anxiety.

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