You may be creating and sharing various types of digital content with your students, colleagues, and the public. Whether it is a syllabus, a lecture slide, a video, a textbook, a Canvas page, or a website, you want to make sure that your content is accessible to everyone.
Here are a few quick steps you can take to maximize the accessibility of your content or course:
- Use built-in accessibility checkers to review for accessibility issues or errors.
- Ensure all text is text, not an image of text. Instead of using a scanned PDF or adding a screenshot to a page, retype the text or see if the library has a text-based version of the reading.
- Use built-in formatting tools for tables, lists, columns. Use paragraph or layout options to add extra spacing or custom formatting.
- Use built-in heading features to add headings rather than changing font, size, and features. Headings should be used to provide structure and organization to content, not for style.
- Use descriptive text for all links—indicate the purpose or destination of the link rather than using a generic phrase. As a best practice, reserve underlined text for hyperlinks only.
- Characteristics like color, shape, size, sound, and location should never be used on their own to convey information or prompt interaction. Pair these with labels, names, or other text-based information.
- Ensure all videos linked to or embedded in content have accurate captions. If you are unsure, review the Quality Caption Components for guidance. As a best practice, store videos in Kaltura so they are ready to have captions edited if needed.
- Add alt text to every image. Alt text should describe the informational value of the image. What does the image add?
If you have any questions or need help creating accessible content, please reach out to The Accessibility Services Office. You can also schedule training (individual or group) for assistance.