Classes are full of diverse students with unique learning abilities, so it’s important to provide learning content in formats that meet their needs.
As we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day today, we’re sharing ten top tips from academics who have used Blackboard Ally to improve the accessibility of their course content.
- Colour contrast for text
Use colour combinations that have a strong contrast between text, graphics and the background. This is particularly important if content overlaps on a slide. - Reduce the number of PDF files
PDF files are difficult and time-intensive to make accessible. Try uploading Microsoft Office files to Blackboard instead. - Add alt descriptions to images
Adding alternative descriptions to the images on your slides makes a big difference. It’s easy to do: Right-click on the image in PowerPoint or click on the accessible file indicator if it’s on Blackboard. Select Edit Alt Text. Type in your description. - Simple design
A simple design helps to limit the cognitive load on our students. This can be done by breaking content down. For example, not cramming a lot of information on one slide, and labelling your Blackboard resources as ‘required’ or ‘optional’. - Succinct language
Keeping learning content succinct helps reading comprehension, which is important for students with English as a foreign language. Avoid everyday colloquialisms and slang. - Apply heading styles
In Microsoft Office programs, be sure to use the styles gallery to create your headings. This helps to create a structured document with a hyperlinked contents page for increased document navigation. - Mobile friendly
Test how content is presented on mobile devices as well as desktop computers. Students regularly use Blackboard on a mobile device. - Ask students what they want
This is the simplest way to find out how students would like the content presented, plus it can help them feel invested in the learning journey. - Set a threshold
You have probably noticed the Blackboard Ally red/amber/green accessibility file indicators next to all your Blackboard course materials. This indicates how accessible this piece of content is. Set yourself a target to improve. You could start by aiming to get your essential content in the green category. - Use the Blackboard Ally recommendations
Click on ‘accessibility summary’ from the course management tab of your Blackboard dashboard. You’ll see a list of fixes to improve.
These tips are taken from a series of interviews with academic staff who have used Blackboard Ally to improve the accessibility of their course content. Interviews were conducted by Luke Searle, Learning Designer in iSolutions’ Digital Learning team. Find out more from these interviews in the June edition of Staff Matters.
If you would like help improving the accessibility of your learning content, check out the Ally Quick Start for Instructors or book a one to one session with Luke Searle.
