May 2005 — Features

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Raising the Awareness of Online Accessibility

By Lori Weir - Middlesex Community College

  • Use the Announcement page to give brief, clear directions; update announcements weekly.
  • Organize curriculum into manageable units or modules.
  • Chunk unit/module activities into small manageable tasks.
  • Carefully state learning goals and performance outcomes at the onset of each unit/module.
  • Differentiate instruction and appeal to various learning styles, including images, sound and text.
  • Make printable versions of units/modules available.
  • Choose texts that are available in electronic and audio forms.
  • Provide pointed feedback during and after task completion.

Course Design

  • Establish a consistent organization/flow for the course.
  • Eliminate any unused menu items or areas.
  • Avoid extensive layering of activities (i.e., folders within folders within folders, etc.).
  • Minimize the need to scroll wherever possible.
  • Use a consistent color theme to group points; avoid excess color.
  • Select graphics that won’t distract from the learning environment.
  • Run all assigned Web pages through the Bobby test (http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/index.jsp) to ascertain accessibility.
  • Include “alternative” text when embedding images or multimedia.
  • Offer PowerPoint presentations in HTML format so that they’re accessible to screen readers.

-- L. Weir

References

Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). 2004. “Universal Design for Learning.” Online: http://www.cast.org/.

Miller, K. 2004. “The Law Catches Up With Distance Education.” T.H.E. Journal 31 (7).

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Lori Weir - Middlesex Community College, "Raising the Awareness of Online Accessibility," T.H.E. Journal, 5/1/2005, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/17291

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