Presentation submitted as the capstone to complete my Master's Degree program at Western Governors University (WGU) NOTE: Due to scheduling issues, simulated data was used for the analysis.

1. Holistic Approach to Developing
Accessible Content
C. Blaise Mitsutama
October 11, 2023
C626 CAPSTONE
Western Governors University
Tia Bunting, Course Instructor

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Contents

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Topic
Accessible instructional content:
 is essential for postsecondary
students with disabilities
 exemplifies the “curb cut” effect1
Faculty who lack confidence in the
need for accessibility or in their
ability to create accessible content,
are less likely to implement these
features.
1 The “curb cut” effect can be defined as:
“Laws and programs designed to benefit
vulnerable groups, such as the disabled
or people of color, often end up
benefiting all of society.”
Blackwell, A. G. (2017, Winter). The Curb
Cut Effect. Stanford Social Review.
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_curb_cut
_effect#

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Importance to
Postsecondary
Education
Faculty who fail to provide accessible
instructional content:
 Fail their students
 Put both themselves and their
institutions at risk of lawsuits or
governmental intervention

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Problem Statement
Postsecondary faculty struggle to make
informed choices and employ effective
techniques to create digital instructional
content that complies with accessibility
laws and standards and effectively
supports students.

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Research Question
How did a holistic approach to digital
content development impact faculty
confidence creating instructional
content that complies with
accessibility laws and standards as
measured by pre- and post- Likert-
style surveys?

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Instructional Unit
 Six 1-hour lessons (total duration of six hours)
 Modality: facilitator-supported, self-paced, asynchronous, and
used the Canvas learning management system (LMS)
 Course content: presented using closed caption videos with
transcripts, written content in Canvas, links to internet content, and
downloadable files
 Target learner population: faculty at a public college in Bellevue,
WA who design and build their own instructional content or who
modify pre-existing content for their courses.

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Instructional
Goal
Participants employed a holistic method to plan
and develop accessible instructional content
using accessibility features in Microsoft Word
(Word), Microsoft PowerPoint (PowerPoint), and
Adobe Acrobat (Acrobat) to meet disability laws
and standards and effectively support students.

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6 Lessons
LESSON
1
Why
Accessibility
?
LESSON
2
How a
Holistic
Approach to
Developing
Instructional
Content
Works
LESSON
3
Applying a
Holistic
Accessibility
Approach to
Word
Documents
LESSON
4
Applying a
Holistic
Accessibility
Approach to
PowerPoint
Slides
LESSON
5
Applying a
Holistic
Accessibility
Approach to
PDF
Documents
LESSON
6
How to
Generalize a
Holistic
Accessibility
Approach to
Other Types
of
Instructional
Content

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5 Strategies
Pre-
instructional
activity
Content
presentation
Learner
participation /
/ activity
Assessment
Follow-through
through
activity

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Performance Objectives: Lessons 1-3
Lesson 1
Performance
Objective
1. Identify one or more disability
laws and institutional policies
related to accessibility.
2. Distinguish between
permanent, temporary, and
situational disabilities.
3. Select one or more of the laws,
legal decisions, and standards
related to accessibility and
explain, in writing, how they
apply to the learner’s own
instructional content.
4. Recall examples of the “curb
cut” effect.
Lesson 2
Performance
Objective
1. Define the concept of a holistic
approach to developing
instructional content.
2. Construct a plan to incorporate
a holistic approach to their
course design.
Lesson 3
Performance
Objective
1. Incorporate accessibility
features that benefit multiple
disability types and use
cases.
2. Use Word’s Themes and
Styles to create
standardized, accessibility-
ready templates.
3. Identify which Word
formatting features to avoid.
4. Use Word’s Accessibility
Checker to identify and
remediate any accessibility
issues.
5. Apply the SAM methodology
to the instructional design
process.

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Performance Objectives: Lessons 4-6
Lesson 4
Performance
Objective
1. Incorporate accessibility
features that benefit multiple
disability types and use cases.
2. Use PowerPoint’s Slide Master
to create standardized,
accessibility-ready templates.
3. Identify which PowerPoint
formatting features to avoid.
4. Use PowerPoint’s Accessibility
Checker to identify and
remediate any accessibility
issues.
5. Apply the SAM methodology to
the instructional design
Lesson 5
Performance
Objective
1. Incorporate accessibility
features that benefit multiple
disability types and use cases.
2. Create an accessible PDF
from Word and PowerPoint.
3. Use Acrobat’s Accessibility
Check to identify and
remediate any accessibility
issues.
Lesson 6
Performance
Objective
1. Apply the process used
throughout this course to
develop accessible
instructional content using
other apps or services.

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Data Collection Instrument:
Pre- and Post-Intervention
Survey
 A 10-question Likert-style survey was
used to measure faculty confidence
levels.
 Adapted some questions from the
Inclusive Teaching Strategies
Inventory-Distance Education (ITSE-
DE) (Cash et al., 2021) and from

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Data Collection and
Analysis
 Administered the pre-intervention
survey to the 10 study participants
before Lesson 1.
 Administered the post-intervention
survey during Lesson 6.
 Used descriptive statistical analysis to
ascertain a change in the mean
average scores of the two surveys.

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Comparison of Pre- and Post- Survey Mean Scores
The mean average score for
all 10 participants increased
from 2.64 in the pre-
intervention survey to 4.52 in
the post-intervention survey.
This was a 71% increase in
confidence levels related to
creating accessible
instructional content using
Word, PowerPoint, and
Acrobat and understanding
accessibility laws and
requirements.

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Comparison of Pre- and Post- Survey
Mean Scores for Q1 and Q2
133% improvement in
mean confidence level
scores for:
 Q1: Understanding of
the Americans with
Disabilities Act [1990]
[ADA])
 Q2: The legal definition
of disability

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Comparison of Pre- and Post- Survey
Mean Scores for Q3 and Q10
 60% improvement in mean
confidence level scores
regarding Q3: Awareness
of responsibilities as a
faculty member to provide
ADA accommodations
 28% improvement in mean
confidence level scores
regarding Q10: Ability to
review own course
materials in advance to
anticipate instructional
barriers

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Comparison of Pre- and Post- Survey
Mean Scores for Q4
60% improvement in
mean confidence level
scores regarding Q4:
Using a holistic
approach to developing
accessible digital
instructional content

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Comparison of Pre- and Post- Survey
Mean Scores for Q5 and Q7
 28% improvement in mean
confidence level scores
regarding Q5: Use of the
Accessibility Checker in
Word
 133% improvement in
mean confidence level
scores regarding Q7:
Ability to create accessible
Word documents

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Comparison of Pre- and Post- Survey
Mean Scores for Q6 and Q8
 133% improvement in
mean confidence level
scores regarding Q6: Use
of the Accessibility
Checker in PowerPoint
 60% improvement in mean
confidence level scores
regarding Q8: Ability to
create accessible
PowerPoint documents

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Comparison of Pre- and Post- Survey
Mean Scores for Q9
60% improvement in mean
confidence level scores
regarding Q9: Ability to create
accessible PDF documents

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Difference Between Pre- and Post- Averages for Each
Learner
The individual differences
between the average pre-
and post-intervention
results for each learner
showed an overall
improvement of 1.5 or
higher.

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Conclusions
An instructional unit that presented a holistic approach
to creating accessible instructional content increased
confidence levels for faculty who had struggled to make
informed choices and employ effective techniques when
creating materials that comply with accessibility laws
and standards and effectively support students.
Analysis showed significant improvement:
 in confidence for all participants
 for all survey elements

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Strengths
 Significance of the Problem. Lack of accessible instructional content is likely
to be one of several factors causing lower graduation rates for students with
disabilities, and may also negatively affect students with unreported,
temporary, or situational disabilities.
 Methodology. The action research methodology used for this study allowed
the researcher to focus on problems relevant to their instructional
environment, was simple to implement, provided timely feedback, and
supports continuous improvement and professional growth.

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Weaknesses
 Quasi-experimental design. Quasi-experimental research is non-
randomized, which limited the generalizability of results. Also, while the
outcome could be demonstrated to vary statistically with the intervention,
causality could not be proven.
 Instrument. While some survey questions were adapted from previous
studies, the instrument did not include demographic or experience data, and
was not peer-reviewed.
 Sample size. The small sample population of 10 adjunct faculty precluded
randomization and limited variation in demographics and experience.
 Composition of the sample. Nine of the participants had a prior association
with the researcher and all had previously shown an interest in accessibility,

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Application of Knowledge

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References
Blackwell, A. G. (2017, Winter). The Curb Cut Effect. Stanford Social Review.
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_curb_cut_effect#
Cash, C. M., Cox, T. D., & Hahs-Vaughn, D. L. (2021). Distance Educators
Attitudes and Actions
towards Inclusive Teaching Practices. Journal of the Scholarship of
Teaching and
Learning, 21(2), 15–42.
Guilbaud, T. C., Martin, F., & Newton, X. (2021). Faculty Perceptions on
Accessibility in Online
Learning: Knowledge, Practice and Professional Development. Online
Learning, 25(2),
6-35. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v25i2.2233.

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Image Credits
Title slide, Image Credits slide: Public domain photo by Sujira Su:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/stairs-and-ramps-11441014/ on Pexels (modified
with scattered dot overlay and border).
All other images sourced from Microsoft 365 Stock Images.