Appendix 4: FanshaweOnline Accessibility

I’m New to the College. What is FanshaweOnline (FOL)?

FanshaweOnline (or FOL for short) is the College learning management system (LMS) and a vital piece of your classroom, whether it is face-to-face, blended or fully online. FOL is a branded version of the Brightspace learning platform by Desire2Learn (D2L), and it has been designed to support the connections and interactions that make up your course. It is a web-based application that allows students, faculty, and employees quick and easy access to all of your courses, additional resources, and some treatments. Every course at Fanshawe will have an FOL course associated with it, and faculty are required to use our LMS for teaching, regardless of the mode of delivery.

For additional information about using Fanshawe for Teaching and learning, please refer to Part 4: Teaching in Language and Liberal Studies in the LLS Faculty Guide.

FanshaweOnline and Accessibility

Faculty and support staff have a critical role to play in creating equitable access to education for learners of all abilities. Fanshawe’s Brightspace has tools to assist the design of courses to ensure WCAG/AODA standards are met on content pages created within FOL courses.

Ensuring accessibility involves intentional course design, including well-organized content materials, breaking down information into relevant topics, creating accessible documents, providing alternative text for images, and applying the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles suggested in this guide.

Use FanshaweOnline features and tools to enhance content accessibility, fostering an inclusive and equitable learning experience for all students. The following information below is a quick guide on key aspects you should consider when building your course content in FOL.

Remember to reach out to your school’s Educational Support Technologist (EST), eLearning Coordinator, Organizational Development and Learning (ODL), and the College’s Accessibility Coordinator if you need more help in applying accessibility principles to your teaching and learning.