Competency 3

Ensure course content, web pages, activities, and assessments are accessible to all students.

Accessibility as Baseline for
Course Design and Implementation

Motivation & Background

My teaching philosophy is that accessibility should not be considered an add-on to our courses, but rather it should be an essential element that we consider and incorporate from the beginning.

In order to create and implement an accessible classroom environment for my students this semester, I followed accessibility recommendations for the materials I used in my course (PowerPoint documents, PDFs, videos, etc.), as well as for the Canvas Learning Management System on which my couse operated. Moreover, I used principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework that aims to minimize learners' barriers to learning by ensuring everyone benefits from a seamless experience in the classroom.

Accessibility in Practice (I): Instructional Materials

I use a variety of materials in my course, such as written materials (Word documents, and PowerPoints) and audio-visual materials (audios and videos), so it is important to make sure to meet their respective accessibility criteria. Additionally, for my course, I use Canvas, so it is equally important to follow and implement accessibility criteria on this learning management system.

1. Written Materials

Throughout the course, I used written materials for a variety of reasons. For instance, I used Word documents (oftentimes saved as PDFs) to provide a copy of the syllabus, to provide transcripts for videos or audios, or when adapting articles from newspapers and other sources to be level-appropriate for the course. I also used PowerPoints for each class session, as a visual support to the instruction.

In order to check that I follow accessibility requirements when using Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, I used the embedded accessiblity checker tool (located for both Word and PowerPoint under the Review tab).

I also set up the accessibility checker to appear on the status bar at the bottom of the document, so that I could easily keep track of accesibility criteria being met.

If no accessibility issues were detected, the accessibility checker would mark the document as "Accessibility: Good to go".

However, if any issues were detected, the accessibility checker would say "Accessibility: Investigate". I would click on the accessibility checker and then a side-tab with more information about accessibility would appear.

In this example, the accessibility checker identified that one of the images used in the document was missing an object description (i.e., alternative text).

Some of the things that I have done to meet accessibility criteria in Microsoft Word are:

Using headings

I set up the appropriate headings hierarchically (e.g., Title, Subtitle, Heading 1) in the Home tab, by going to the Styles section.

While this might seem like a small inconsequential change, identifying appropriate headings is highly important for students who use a screen reader to access written materials.
One important thing to keep in mind is that the accessibility checker does not check that headings are properly selected, so I just had to create a habit for myself to always mark the headings appropriately.
Using an accessible font

I used a sans-serif font, specifically Arial, size 12, with a mininum of 1.5 spacing between paragraphs.
Using alternative text

Whenever I used images in a Word document, I also included alternative text (alt text) that provided a textual description of the non-textual context (i.e., images).

Similarly, if an image does not provide important information and should be skipped by the screen reader, it is important to mark it as decorative.
Setting up the language of the document

At least for my version of Microsoft Word, English was set up as the default language. Since most of the documents for the course were in Spanish, I had to regularly change the preferred language from English to Spanish by selecting the entire text and then going to the "Review" tab, then to the "Language" option, then "Set Proofing Language", and finally choosing "Spanish".
N.B. I should add that having the "wrong" language selected was never marked by the integrated accessibility tool on Microsoft Word as an accessibility issue; however, it was marked as problematic by the Ally accessibility tool integrated on Canvas (see Reflection).

One of the first things I wanted to do when creating PowerPoints for my course was to decide on a template to use throughout the semester that would fulfill accessibility requirements in terms on contrast between text and background. I decided on a simple black and beige/off-white template.

Example of a title slide with course information and "Bienvenides" (Welcome!) message written in the center

Example of a slide with a group activity

Then, another important thing that I wanted to do early in the semester was to ensure that I had an accessible PowerPoint template in terms of layout, since accessibility on PowerPoint is, in my experience, a bit more tricky than on Word documents. So, I made sure I each slide had a slide title that was labeled as such.

After considering these first two requirements/steps, ensuring accessibility on PowerPoint was very similar to the process of ensuring accessibility on Microsoft Word. Some of the steps I tool to ensure PowerPoint documents were accessible were:

Using an accessible font

I used the Arial font, setting the size to a minimum of 24 points so that students could see the text and with a minimum of 1.5 spacing between lines.
Using alternative text

Whenever I used images, I also included alternative text (alt text) that provided a textual description of the non-textual context (i.e., images) if the image was relevant for the PowerPoint, or marked it as decorative if it did not provide any necessary information.
Setting up the language of the document

Again, while having the "wrong" language selected was never marked by the integrated accessibility checkerl as an accessibility issue, it was marked as an issue by the Ally accessibility tool integrated on Canvas. Therefore, I made sure to also select the appropriate language for PowerPoints. In this case, the process was a bit different than for Microsoft Word documents, having to complete the following steps:
(1) Go to the View tab,
(2) Select the Outline view,
(3) Select all the text that appears on the left-hand side as part of the outline,
(4) Go to the Review tab,
(5) Select Language,
(6) Select Set Proofing Language,
(7) Select the appropriate language.
Reading Order

One final accessibility requirement that I had to take into account on PowerPoint was the reading order of elements that appeared on the slide, since that is essential for those using a screen reader. Luckily, I could set up or even fix the reading order using the integrated accessibility checker.

2. Audio-visual materials

Throughout the course, I used different audio-visual materials that were relevant to our course topics.
When using videos in class, I always made sure I enabled the closed captions and, whenever a transcript was available, I provided the transcript to students. When using audios that were not accompanied by videos, I made sure to provide students with a transcript beforehand so that they can become familiar with the main ideas of the audio before listening to it.

Additionally, I also replayed audios and videos twice and, when possible, broke up the audio or video into shorter segments in order to ask students if they had any questions about what they had listened to.

Lastly, when assigning audios or videos as homework assignments, I always made sure that had accurate closed captions enabled and I also provided a transcript.

Accessibility in Practice (II): Canvas

This semester, my course was hosted on the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), so I ensured that this platform was also accessible to mystudents. Luckily, Canvas has an embedded accessibility tool called Ally, which became - no pun intended - a great ally during this semester while ensuring that my course and materials met accessibility standards.

In order for accessibility requirements to be met on Canvas, I made sure that the materials I uploaded were accessible, but also I designed and organized the course page with accessibility in mind.

1. Using headings hierarchically

These screenshots illustrate how different parts were labelled with hierarchical headings (heading 2, heading 3, paragraph) to illustrate the outline of the document.

2. Uploading audio-visual materials through Kaltura

3. Providing accurate closed captions through Kaltura

Throughout the course, I used a variety of audio-visual materials, some used in class and others assigned as homework. Whenever I used a video, I uploaded it to Canvas through Kaltura, since I could request automatic closed captions for Spanish.

Since the closed captions for Spanish were not 100% accurate, I always had to check the captions and edit them to ensure that they reflected the spoken text accurately.

Some of the inaccuracies were easier to fix since there was one or two words that were inacurrate or missing. However, there were other inaccuracies that were completely removed from the original meaning (and oftentimes, very, very funny!)

Initial closed caption provided by Kaltura

Fixed closed caption

Confession time

I have to admit that checking and editing closed captions on Kaltura was the most time-consuming task!

4. Other considerations

One other important element that I always kept at the forefront was consistency. So, I did my best to follow a consistent structure and organization pattern of all components present on Canvas. For instance, all the modules followed the same format with each session's topic listed as a subtitle, followed by the homework assignment/readings (titled "TO DO BEFORE CLASS"), and finally each class's PowerPoint.
I think consistency is essential because it allows student to know what to expect.

Accessibility in Practice (III): Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is defined as " a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn." (CAST) There are several UDL guidelines that deal with engagement, representation, and action and expression. (Check out the UDL guidelines for yourself!)

In my course, I relied on these UDL guidelines as an informal blueprint on how to design my course and the course activities I used. Some of the things that I did that align with UDL guidelines are:

1. I offered alternatives for auditory and visual information.

2. I clarified vocabulary (This is particularly important for a world language class!)

3. I did my best to illustrate through multiple media - For example, when a new word emerged during class discussion, I first offered a verbal definition of the word in Spanish, followed by an image that depicted that word or concept, and finally, if needed, I would also offer the translation in English.

4. I developed self-assessments and reflection - Several activities and assessments included a reflection component. Moreover, participation in this class was evaluated through a combination of students' self-assessment and my own evaluation of their participation, since I wanted to allow students the opportunity to reflect on those participation behaviors that were both visible (e.g., raising your hand to volunteer an answer) and invisible (e.g., listening to your peers, processing information)

5. I varied the methods for response and navigation. For certain assessments and activities, students had the option of choosing whther they wanted to submit their assignments as a written text or a video recording.

Reflection

Ensuring that accessibility requirements were met for my couse was one of the most time-consuming parts of my semester, and at the same time, the most rewarding, since I was able to look at a finalized product (my Canvas course page) and check how well accessibility criteria were implemented and fulfilled.

Overall, at the end of the semester, I achieved a 99% accessibility score as indicated by the Ally Course Accessibility Report. (Some of the remaining issues had to do with the language not being set-up properly on either Word or PowerPoint documents for materials that had both Spanish and English).

I learned so much this semester in (re)designing my course to be more accessible. I learned to think outside of my comfort zone, to anticipate potential issues and to not rely on my own perspective and experience as the norm or the expectation for others. I also developed so many habits that have transferred into other parts of my professional and personal life. For instance, now, whenever I write a Word document, I automatically format it to be accessible (e.g., I use headings, I incorporate alternative text, etc.). Finally, my biggest takeaway is that my work is not over and it is just beginning because I am now committed to promoting, advancing, and ensuring accessibility as best as I can.