Accessible Course Materials

The world of education continues to change rapidly with learning options. Adding online components to any course gives instructors the opportunity to create something that is not only dynamic but accessible to a variety of students – including those who work full-time, study from a distance, and have disabilities. Though a degree of access can be achieved through accommodations, it is best practice to design an accessible course from the onset.

READ Tips and techniques for creating an accessible online course

Guidelines for accessible course materials

As you are creating your course, it is best to think about inclusive teaching and accessibility strategies from the beginning, to minimize the need for retrofitting in the future. Accessible content can be used by a variety of users, including users with disabilities who may be using assistive technologies, such as screen readers, screen magnification and text-to-speech software, and users who are using tablets and e-readers or who are working from a remote location with a slower Internet connection. Below are elements to consider as you design your course content:

Choose accessible academic technologies

Present your course materials accessibly

Ensure that your course website is accessible

Post Accessible Word, PowerPoint and PDF Documents

  • If you post PDF versions of your PowerPoint, consider posting the PowerPoint file as well to allow students to choose their viewing and printing preferences, and students using assistive technologies can access the text.
  • If you have an image PDF for your article, try to re-download an accessible version of the article directly from the journal or website. Work with UA Library staff to get access to more sources.

Only use or create captioned multimedia content

  • Include the word "captioned" in your search for media online
  • If you are creating your own videos it is a good practice to work from a script. Caption files can be created quickly and easily if a script is available, and a transcript may be an accessible option if there is little visual information conveyed in the video.
  • Resources for captioning your content and automatic, machine-generated captioning/transcript

Use Accessible Textbooks

Resources