Creating Accessible Content

Creating accessible course content is an essential part of designing an inclusive and equitable learning environment. This section provides guidance on how to ensure that all students—regardless of ability or access needs—can engage meaningfully with your materials.

These tools can help you identify potential barriers, improve the usability of your materials, and enhance the overall learning experience for every student. By integrating accessibility into your course design from the start, you help create a learning space that is welcoming, flexible, and supportive of diverse learners.

Accessibility Checklist

The Accessibility Checklist serves as a practical guide to help you evaluate and improve the accessibility of your course materials. It outlines key considerations—such as text readability, color contrast, alternative text, captions, and document structure—to ensure your content meets accessibility standards. Using this checklist regularly can help identify barriers early and promote a more inclusive learning experience for all students. To make sure your course content is accessible and usable for all learners, consider the following guidelines:

• Use a font size of at least 12px
• Have sufficient contrast between the text and background
• Use proper heading styles
• Use a logical heading structure
• Add alternative descriptions to images that convey the full meaning of the image
• Use tables for tabular data only
• Ensure that all links have text that describes the target
• Use built-in PowerPoint slide templates
• Don't use scanned PDFs
• Ensure that all PDFs are tagged

Writing Accessible Content 

Writing accessible content involves creating materials that all students can easily read, navigate, and understand. This includes using clear language, descriptive headings, meaningful hyperlinks, and properly formatted lists or tables. Following these best practices not only supports students with disabilities but also enhances clarity and usability for everyone in your course. Use the following recommendations to help ensure that all students can effectively read and engage with your course content: 

• Write plainly
• Have proper heading structure
• Emphasize proper content 
• Use Alternative Text
• Provide descriptive links
• Have proper lists and tables
• Provide keystroke commands
• Caption Videos

Resource:

Accessibility Checklist | Blackboard Help 

Write Accessible Content | Blackboard Help