On Accessibility

One Step at a Time

by Jackie L. Luft, Ed.D.

One does not answer the question "How can my online classroom be accessible?" simply. At first, this seems like such an easy question, but in looking to find an answer, I have discovered that the answer can be extremely complicated. As an instructor, making the online classroom accessible can be a daunting task and a task many might rather hide from. I look at my own online class and see various places for improvement. The best way to tackle accessibility in our online classes is to incorporate a development plan that involves accessibility then take small steps toward creating an online environment that is accessible.

Developing the accessible classroom in the beginning is the best answer. But how do you create an accessible classroom when you don't exactly know about online accessibility? The Instructional Design team at World Wide eLearning will help you with that process. Did you know it takes about 6-9 months to adequately build a course online? Working with an instructional designer will help you implement accessibility in the creating stages. Just like constructing a building that is accessible to begin with is less time consuming and less expensive than retrofitting an old building, creating an online accessible class is less time consuming than revamping your existing class. The team at Worldwide eLearning can give you all the tools to create an accessible class from the onset.

But what if your class is already online and you want to make changes for accessibility? The best way to make this transition is to complete one step at a time. Captioning videos is a huge topic right now. You can get assistance with captioning by filling out the online Captioning Request Form. Here are a few other small items that make your class more accessible:

• Add alternative text to your images in your course.
• Title your hyperlinks, instead of saying "Click here".
• Use the Style elements in Word.
• Don't use color for meaning. People with colorblindness can't interpret.

If you would like help in small doses to adapt your course to be more accessible, just send an email to elearning.id@ttu.edu. We will also be providing a series of workshops "Steps to Online Accessibility" starting at the end of this month. I look forward to seeing you there.

To view these events or other events that you are enrolled in, please log in to the TLPDC event registration system.