Why:

A course site that is designed to be accessible for students with disabilities is a course site that is clear and helpful for all students.

More information on Universal Design in higher education

Colors:

• Background images or colors should be subtle. It needs to be easy to distinguish folders and links.

(to adjust, Build -> Course Content -> Page Options -> Customize Page Display)


• Make sure that colors used are high contrast. Try to use light backgrounds with dark fonts. Don’t use red and green together.

(to adjust, Build -> Manage Course -> Colors)

To learn more: Video tutorial on course colors from California State University Chico

Naming:

• Your link names should be as descriptive as possible in case they are read out of context. “IMDB list of documentaries released in 2010 (opens in new window)” is better than “Click Here”.




• WebCT turns file names into links. If your links are not descriptive, go to the gray box next to them -> Customize link, and add a custom title. It is also useful to have a brief description, and a description of the file type.

To learn more: Video tutorial on content links from California State University Chico

Navigation:

• Have an overall plan for how to organize your content. Either group it by unit (the folder “Stuttering” contains all web links, discussion board topics, assignments, etc. that pertain to that topic), or group like content together (the folder Assignments contains links to all assignments for all topics).




• Keep navigation consistent across pages. If in the first unit you have Assignments and Readings organized into separate folders, continue that practice throughout the site.




• Delete unused tools from Course Menu.

(Build -> Manage Course -> Tools -> uncheck tools you’re not using)


• If content is accessible in other ways remove the tools from student view of the menu. If your class is organized so that there are web links or media library images within a folder or unit, then those tools don’t need to be visible in the Student View of the Course Menu.

(Build -> Manage Course -> Course Menu -> click hide next to each tool you want to hide.)

To learn more: Video tutorial on course navigation from California State University Chico

Images:

• If you are using HTML to include images in your page header or in assignments, you should include alt text within the HTML image tag. WebAIM has a guide for appropriate uses of alternative text.

To learn more: Video tutorial on labeling images from California State University Chico

Tools:

• Do not use the chat tool within WebCT, as it is inaccessible to screen reading software.




• Assessments should include extra time for the students who have given you an accommodation letter from the Disability Services Office.




• Multiple choice assessments that have True/False or “all of the above” answers should not have the answer order randomized. Standard practice is that “false” and “all of the above” appear as the last option.

Video

• If you are embedding or linking to video, be sure that it is captioned and it can be controlled through keyboard commands. YouTube can be controlled by keyboard commands. Median cannot yet (other than the space bar to play/pause), but captions and keyboard commands are a requested feature for future updates.

To learn more: YouTube captioning

YouTube keyboard accessibility

References:

• Blackboard Vista Accessibility Checklist from California State University, Chico
• WebAIM
• How-To Guide for Creating Accessible Online Learning Content from Sloan-C
• Checklist for Inclusive Teaching from the University of Washington