1. ADA COMPLIANCE

2. UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING
• Based on the Seven Principles of Universal Design
• Developed at the Center for Applied Special Technology
Provide Multiple Means of Representation
Provide Multiple means of action and expression
Provide multiple mean of engagement.
“Accessible course content can be used by everyone, to the greatest extent possible, regardless of age, ability,
or situation. Awareness of some of the potential barriers and challenges students face in can help you create
an online learning environment that accommodates individuals with disabilities, older people, children, novice
technology users and others in ways that benefit all users “
http://ondemand.blackboard.com/r91/documents/getting_started_with_accessible_content.pdf

3. DRC AT FIU
• The Disability Resource Center at FIU guides and supports students with disabilities throughout their
college experience from pre-admission through graduation, including but not limited to students whose
disabilities fall under the following categories:
• Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Blind or low vision
• Hard of Hearing
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Orthopedic
• Psychological, Emotional, or Behavioral
• Speech/Language
• Learning Disabilities
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Medical
http://drc.fiu.edu

4. YOUR ROLE AT FIU
Access is a University-wide responsibility. Ensuring meaningful access to the academic environment requires the
active participation of each instructor and often includes collaboration with the DRC. The University is committed
to the design of fully accessible learning experiences.
The following are minimum steps that all faculty members and course instructors should take to create an
accessible classroom experience for all students, including those with disabilities. DRC staff is available to
provide support and/or consult.
• Include an access statement on your course syllabus
• Work in partnership with the DRC to ensure all student assessments are accessible
• Post class notes or assist the DRC in locating a volunteer classmate to provide notes when requested
• Identify your reading schedule early so that materials can be made available in an accessible format
• Ensure that Sign Language Interpreters or CART writers have appropriate seating in the classroom
• Confirm that all videos shown in class are captioned when a deaf or hard of hearing student is
registered (the DRC can help)

5. GOALS
Perceivable
• Provide text alternatives for nontext content.
• Provide captions and alternatives for audio and video content.
• Make content adaptable; and make it available to assistive technologies.
• Use sufficient contrast to make things easy to see and hear.
Operable
• Make all functionality keyboard accessible.
• Give users enough time to read and use content.
• Do not use content that causes seizures.
• Help users navigate and find content.

6. GOALS
Understandable
• Make text readable and understandable.
• Make content appear and operate in predictable ways.
• Help users avoid and correct mistakes.
Robust
• Maximize compatibility with current and future technologies.

7. BEST PRACTICES
• Use meaningful links to aid in navigation.
• Choose color and font carefully (most common color blindness is red and green) and don’t
use color only to convey meaning.
• Minimize blinking, flashing, or other distracting features.
• Ensure that images have alt text specified, which allow screen readers to replace the
image with descriptive text.
• If using a synchronous tool, such as Adobe Connect, record the meeting so that students
can access it later.
• Include transcripts with all videos.
• If you have timed presentations (slides), allow for users to pause them.
• Allow for content to be added in different formats

8. DRC VIDEO
http://vimeo.com/29624756#at=0

9. MEANINGFUL LINKS

10. ADDING ALT TEXT

11. FORMATTING IN MICROSOFT WORD
• In Microsoft Word, using headers and other styles in Microsoft Word allows users of
screen readers to more easily navigate through a document. Be sure to organize
documents using these tools.

12. SAVING OFFICE FILES IN ACCESSIBLE VERSIONS
• Make sure to include Microsoft Word and
PowerPoint presentations in a PDF format
in addition to the original file and a
streaming version. To save Microsoft Office
files as a PDF, choose the "Save As Adobe
PDF" option in the File menu.