Accessible Course Design

Designing Courses and Learning Materials with Accessibility in Mind

Although unintentional and regardless of modality, any learning environment you create may have unforeseen barriers to students. So how do you create an accessible learning environment in which all your learners can participate, develop, and contribute? It is quite simple, design with accessibility in mind! This refers to creating digital content that can be used by all your students, regardless of their abilities. It is also important to talk to your students about how you can best accommodate their needs / preferences recognizing that no one way will meet all your student’s needs.

In this section, you will find accessibility principles, standards, guidelines, recommendations and / or best practices to guide you in the development of accessible learning materials. This  section focuses on learning materials created within the learning management system (LMS) and those created using Microsoft Office that may be uploaded to the LMS. Within the LMS, resources are often created in HTML format which is a type of web content. Although technically your course is not a website, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 (WCAG) offer evolving guidelines that can be applied to your course. WCAG 2.2 is a detailed document that strives to create a single shared standard for web content accessibility. Although there is no expectation that you will become a web developer to teach your course, striving to meet some of the guidelines of WCAG 2.2 is a huge step towards making your course materials accessible to all students.

The reflective activity within this section focuses on creating accessible learning materials within your course. However, we all know that the content of a course does not stand alone. It is merely one element woven throughout the practice of teaching. Just as teaching is a complex and nuanced process, so is creating accessibility to that teaching. We suggest that you can achieve further reflection on accessible teaching by using this tool in conjunction with the tool titled “Universal Design for Learning – How Accessible is Your Course” in Part 3 of this book.

This is not a comprehensive list, but rather a starting point  for someone who is unfamiliar with accessible content . As you reflect on each item, consider whether you do this consistently, sometimes or if you have not considered this idea before. If you are unsure or unfamiliar with the item, you are not alone! Thankfully, there are many great resources, with excellent examples that have been created by Teaching and Learning Centers at institutions across Canada and the United States. At the end of this reflection, you will be provided the opportunity to create an action plan. These unfamiliar items will make a great starting place you your next learning goals!

We have listed some of the common considerations we encounter within the reflective tool.  If the list seems a little overwhelming, you can always start with one section and revisit others as you get more comfortable with viewing things from an accessibility lens. Remember, every step you take helps your students!