Ensuring all digital content is accessible we are ensuring that potential users, including people with disabilities, have equal access to the experience and information. By intentionally and thoughtfully considering accessibility in the initial phases of content design, we can develop content that is available to everyone.
Students at Charter Oak State College participate in learning through our online courses. Therefore, it is critical to have accessible course content. Here are some questions for faculty members to ask themselves regarding course content:
Textbooks
- Are my course textbooks available from the publisher in a digital format?
The Learning Management System
Content created in a learning management system such as Blackboard is one of the easiest ways to make instructional materials accessible.
- Is the navigation structure in my course clear and consistent?
- Did I create accessible content (e.g., pages, labels, assignments, etc.) using the accessibility score with Ally?
- Did I use a sans-serif font (such as Arial or Verdana)?
- Did I add heading styles to my content?
- Did I add alternate text to images?
- Did I provide an explanatory paragraph for graphs, diagrams, timelines, or other complex images?
- Did I format lists as proper list styles?
- Did I avoid using color alone to convey information?
- Did I provide enough color contrast? (See the WebAIM Color Contrast Checker external link)
- Did I provide self-describing links?
- Did I use tables for tabular data (rather than for layout purposes), with appropriate table headers?
- Do my quizzes contain one question per page?
- Did I notify the Office of Accessibility Services of timed tests for students who require extended time on tests?
- Is the content in my course (such as Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, etc.) created following the accessibility guidelines outlined in the CSCU EIT Policy?
Class Documents
- Does my syllabus have an accessibility statement in support of students with disabilities?
- Did I ensure that scanned materials are text-based and tagged so that they are accessible? Please see Charter Oak SensusAccess page for help with scanned materials.
Websites and Media
- Did I select accessible websites for class activities and resources?
- Do I select additional educational resources that are accessible?
- Are the third-party elements of my course and class activities accessible?
- Are videos captions with 99% accuracy?
- Are transcripts available for audio-based materials?