Accessibility in Blackboard courses

1. Accessibility in Blackboard Courses
Summer Institute 2017
Nicole Trudell & Mahfuja Malik

2. • Accessibility refers to creating information and environments
which can be used successfully by people with a wide range of
disabilities.
• The principles of universal design take accessibility further by
recognizing that modifications made to improve accessibility for
people with disabilities actually benefit all users.
• By incorporating these principles of universal design instructors
can provide flexible ways for all students to access material,
communicate, and participate in class.
What is Accessibility?

3. “Sacred Heart University is committed to providing an
equal educational opportunity for all students regardless
of disability status. The Office of Special Learning
Services provides instructional accommodations and
services for students with documented disabilities in
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.”
Sacred Heart University Policy

4. Accessibility Features in
Blackboard

5. • The My Blackboard menu collects
information from across Blackboard and
places it in one central location.
• From this place users can get an overview of
everything related to various tools and
courses.
• Having a single place to go can simplify the
experience of students with disabilities.
My Blackboard

6. • With adaptive release, instructors can create individualized learning paths for
students.
• Adaptive release controls the release of content to students based on a set of
rules an instructor creates.
• The rules may be related to availability, date and time, individual users, group
membership, scores or attempts on any Grade Center item, calculated
columns in the Grade Center, or review status of an item in the course.
• Instructors can use adaptive release to target alternative content formats or
additional materials directly to the students who need them.
Adaptive Release

7. • Settings appear on the Test and Survey Options pages called Test/Survey
Availability Exceptions.
• With these settings, instructors can select one or more groups or students
and make a number of exceptions to the already established availability
settings for a test or survey.
• Exceptions provide an accommodation to a student with a disability, such as
allowing more time or attempts on the test, or providing accommodation for
technology and language differences.
Test Exceptions

8. What You Can Do!

9. • Course Navigation is key to an accessible course
• To make a course easy to navigate it is important to plan out your course
before building it
• Use concept maps or diagrams to help lay out the course.
• Consider how many clicks it would take for a student to access the material.
• Be consistent and concise in naming content areas
Plan Before You Build

10. Which Would You Prefer?

11. • Material should be grouped together in some relevant way
• When using Folders or Learning Modules, be sure to use the description
feature to tell students exactly what is contained in each of the locations.
• Name all content, folders, and modules in a clear and concise manner
• Remain consistent
Organize Your Material

12. Which Would You Prefer?

13. • Use descriptive text when using hyperlinks
• When linking to other websites in your course materials, make sure you put
some description in the link itself so that it provides a clear description of the
page that will load when following a link.
• A link that does not provide any information as to where they will be directed
to, such as instructions to just “Click here,” will not be effective for students
and will slow down their navigation of the course page.
• For students using assistive technology such as screen reading software,
these links will be presented to them in a list format and may be reading
these out of order.
Working With Links

14. Good Link, Bad Link

15. • When adding images in Blackboard, make sure to add
the ALT text for the image so that students using
assistive technology will be able to access the image
as well.
• Alternative text serves several functions:
• It is read by screen readers in place of images
allowing the content and function of the image to
be accessible to those with visual or certain
cognitive disabilities.
• It is displayed in place of the image in browsers if
the image file is not loaded or when the user has
chosen not to view images.
Accessible Images

16. • Make sure to use easy to read fonts (san-serif works best) such
as Aria, Helvetica, or Verdana
• Use dark color font that is easy to read on a white background or
a light color font that is easy to read on a dark background
• Avoid the red/green or blue/yellow combinations where possible
since colorblind individuals have issues distinguishing those colors
from one another
• Avoid extreme patterns that may make text hard to read
Fonts and Colors

17. 20% of the population
typically has temporary or
permanent disability
(Brogan, 2009)
Types of Disabilities in Higher Education
• Source: HEATH Resources Center, American Council on Education

18. "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United
States . . . shall solely by reason of her or his disability, be
excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
subjected to discrimination under any program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance . . . ."
Section 504 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973

19. • Active Learning Platform – Echo 360
• Recording audio and video materials and make
them available online for students to access has
significant benefits (Williams & Fardon, 2005)
• lecturecapture@sacredheart.edu
Lecture Capture Solution

20. Lecture Capture Solution

21. Questions?