This presentation gives a visual overview of the '20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course' by Sheryl Burghstahler, Ph.D. of the University of Washington. This presentation was given to faculty members at Victor Valley College at our Spring 2018 Distance Education Academy

1. ACCESSIBILITY
in Distance Education Courses
Justin Gatewood, M.Ed. (Learning & Technology)
Web, SharePoint & Cloud Systems Administrator
Email: Justin.Gatewood@vvc.edu
VICTOR VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

2. Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 Image courtesy Qeprize.com
-Sir Timothy Berners-Lee
(Inventor of the World Wide Web)

3. Definition of ‘ACCESSIBLE’
• “Accessible” means a person with a disability is afforded the
opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the
same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person
without a disability in an equally effective and equally
integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use.
The person with a disability must be able to obtain the
information as fully, equally and independently as a person
without a disability.”
– U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
http://ed.gov/ocr
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --

4. Don’t be
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
SCARED

5. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
For Course Web
Pages,
Documents,
Images & Videos
With Respect to
Instructional
Methods

6. Basics of Accessibility
Use clear, consistent layouts and organization schemes for
presenting content.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

7. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
How to NOT do that…
Use clear, consistent layouts and
organization schemes for presenting
content.

8. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
How TO do that…
Use clear, consistent layouts and
organization schemes for presenting
content.
Demo

9. Basics of Accessibility
Structure Headings (using style features built into the
Learning Management System, Word, PowerPoint, PDFs, etc.)
and use built-in designs/layouts (for PPT slides, etc.)
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

10. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
How TO do that…
Demo
Structure Headings (using style features built
into the Learning Management System, Word,
PowerPoint, PDFs, etc.) and use built-in
designs/layouts (for PPT slides, etc.)

11. Basics of Accessibility
Use descriptive wording for hyperlink text
(“View the Assignment” rather than “Click here”)
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

12. Basics of Accessibility
Minimize the use of PDFs, especially presented as an image;
(make sure the text is accessible by testing to see if you can
copy and paste it). Always offer a text-based alternative as
well.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

13. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
How to check…
Demo
Minimize the use of PDFs, especially presented
as an image; (make sure the text is accessible by
testing to see if you can copy and paste it).
Always offer a text-based alternative as well.
Accessible Text is selectable
Inaccessible Text is NOT selectable

14. Basics of Accessibility
Provide concise alternative text descriptions of content
presented within images.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

15. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
How TO do that…
Demo
Provide concise alternative text
descriptions of content
presented within images.

16. Basics of Accessibility
Use large, bold fonts on uncluttered pages with plain
backgrounds.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

17. Basics of Accessibility
Use color combinations that are high contrast and can be
read by those who are colorblind (or color-deficient).
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

18. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
How TO do that…
Demo
Use color combinations that are high
contrast and can be read by those who
are colorblind (or color-deficient).

19. Basics of Accessibility
Make sure all content and navigation is accessible using the
keyboard alone.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

20. Basics of Accessibility
Caption or transcribe video and audio content.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

21. Basics of Accessibility
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
FOR COURSE WEB PAGES, DOCUMENTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
How TO do that…
Demo
Caption or transcribe
video and audio content.

22. Basics of Accessibility
Assume students have a wide range of technology skills and
provide options for gaining the technology skills needed
for course participation.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

23. Basics of Accessibility
Present content in multiple ways, such as a combination of
text, video, audio and/or image formats.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

24. Basics of Accessibility
Address a wide range of language skills as you write
content.
Spell acronyms, define terms, avoid or define jargon.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

25. Basics of Accessibility
Make instructions and expectations clear for activities,
projects, and assigned reading.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

26. Basics of Accessibility
Make examples and assignments relevant to learners with
a wide variety of interests and backgrounds.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

27. Basics of Accessibility
Offer outlines and other scaffolding tools to help students
learn.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

28. Basics of Accessibility
Provide adequate opportunities for practice.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

29. Basics of Accessibility
Allow adequate time for activities, projects, and tests.
Example: Give details of project assignments in the syllabus
so that students can start working on them early.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

30. Basics of Accessibility
Provide feedback on project parts and offer corrective
opportunities.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

31. Basics of Accessibility
Provide options for communicating and collaborating that
are accessible to individuals with a variety of disabilities.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

32. Basics of Accessibility
Provide options for demonstrating learning such as
different types of test items, portfolios, presentation and
discussions.
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --
WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

33. Questions?
Email: Justin.Gatewood@vvc.edu
Slides: http://slideshare.net/lightjump
Reference: https://www.washington.edu/doit/20-
tips-teaching-accessible-online-course
- By Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D. (Univ. of Washington)
Distance Ed. Academy | Spring 2018 --