Accessible Course Content

Assessment activities often carry the highest stakes in your course, demanding the most significant investment of students' time and attention. Consider the following ideas to plan student assessment with accessibility in mind:

• Incorporate non-traditional assignments. Go beyond traditional papers by using diverse formats like mapping projects, digital stories, in-class presentations, or online exhibitions. This allows students to demonstrate learning in varied ways.
• Encourage non-traditional response formats. Give students options to respond through formats such as podcasts or video recordings, and vary these parameters throughout the semester. This provides flexibility and caters to different learning styles.
• Verify the accessibility of non-traditional tools. When using non-traditional activities, always ensure that the tools and platforms you encourage are accessible to all students.
• Increase the frequency and detail of your feedback. Provide more frequent and comprehensive feedback at all levels and in all contexts of your course. This helps students track their progress and understand areas for improvement.
• Utilize rubrics for transparent feedback. Use rubrics to clearly communicate expectations and provide structured, consistent feedback on assignments.
• Diversify assignment types beyond research papers. Avoid relying solely on research papers. Incorporating a variety of assignment types offers students more opportunities to succeed.
• Provide flexible response options beyond in-class settings. Don't limit student responses to in-class participation only. Offer diverse avenues for students to engage and share their understanding.
• Actively ensure non-traditional activities are accessible. Never assume that non-traditional activities are inherently accessible. Always proactively check and implement accommodations to ensure equitable participation for all students.

More resources

• Assessments: Create assessments that promote learning for all students (30 min. read) offers concrete suggestions for instructors, examples of applications of strategies by UMN instructors, and links to additional resources and references. The content and approaches address different teaching formats so as to be useful whether you teach online, face-to-face, or in a hybrid format.
• Equitable Assessments (30 min. read): This resource provides some suggestions and strategies to consider when creating assessments. Our students come to college from diverse contexts with variable experiences. Some students arrive with or develop physical and mental health challenges. Because of this, it is important to consider if our assessments are equitable and inclusive for all.
• Faculty Guide to Team Projects (30 min. read): This webpage walks instructors through 7 questions to provide effective, research-based practices and resources to help you create, support, and assess team projects in your class, whether it’s online, face to face, or hybrid.
   

The course syllabus communicates more than just due dates and contact information. You can set a tone of respect and inclusivity in your classroom by providing a syllabus that includes the UMN disability accommodation statement with a personalized touch and in an accessible and usable format.

Include a UMN disability accommodation statement

• Include the University Policy Library's recommended disability accommodation statement on your syllabus.
• Personalize the syllabus to your particular teaching, learning, and course context. Tell students exactly how you’ll approach core learning expectations and course processes, and make accessibility and usability a priority. Doing so creates a “warm” syllabus and can contribute to a warm classroom climate.
• Consider also adapting and personalizing the University-mandated policy statement. See the examples below:
  • Example Personalized Accommodation Affirmation
    • If you have a documented disability that may impact your learning and /or participation in this course, please talk with me so that we can develop a plan to effectively support your learning and participation.
    • If you have an undocumented disability you’d like me to know about, or are opting to not register your disability with the university, or just want to talk about learning to learn, you are invited also to set up a conversation so we can plan for ways you might collaborate with me, peers, others on campus, and family members to maximize your learning.
• Example Personalized Instructor Disclosure
  • I have irreparable nerve damage in my arms/shoulders, apparently due to “overuse”: many years of long hours in ergonomically bad computer workstations, or writing by hand. I welcome assistance in lifting, carrying, and door-opening. I avoid writing on whiteboards, which hurts me. Sometimes my chronic pain means that I am unable to give feedback on assignments quickly (or at all), but know that I am doing my best. I am one of many people with invisible limitations and disabilities; if you are another, please feel free to let me know.

Provide a Digital Syllabus

At its core, the syllabus is a simple document. Whether you use Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or create a PDF, you should ensure that students can access a digital copy.

Consider providing the syllabus as a Google Doc to improve usability for your students and yourself:

• You can link to the Google Doc from your course website.
• You can update the document and have it be "live" in your course website without downloading and re-uploading.
• Students can interact with it as a digital resource, without having to download it and keep track of it on their personal device (though they still can download it if they want to).
• Don't provide only paper copies of your syllabus to your students.

Resources for creating an accessible syllabus

• Formatting an Accessible Syllabus Introduction video playlist (2-5 min. videos): This YouTube playlist demonstrates 10 things you can do to make your syllabus more accessible. The link above opens to the entire playlist in order. Otherwise, use the links below to watch smaller segments that you need to review:
  • Introductory video (1:36)
  • White Space Part 1 (1:38)
  • Consistent typeface (0:47)
  • Headings (2:31)
  • Table of Contents (0:52)
  • Color Contrast (4:12)
  • White Space Part 2 (2:08)
  • Hyperlinks (3:37)
  • Lists (1:43)
  • Tables (1:42)
  • Alternative Text for images (1:29)
  • Capstone (0:24)
     

Barriers to information are the primary causes of inaccessible classroom situations. When designing or modifying your course materials, first consider what online and face-to-face classroom barriers your students may face rather than focusing on types of disabilities.

It’s also often more useful to learn about barriers instead, because:

• Students with (or without) various types of disabilities can experience the same barriers in the classroom.
• Barriers can vary significantly from student to student, even when they share the same disability.
• Students may not always disclose their disabilities to you. Students do not disclose disabilities because they may:
  • Not yet be aware that they have a disability
  • Have developed other strategies to navigate their learning
  • Be unaware of the DRC and their role in seeking accommodations
  • Have experienced stigma in disclosing or using accommodations
  • Be concerned that others will think they’re getting a special advantage

Principles to follow for making accessible course materials

1. Provide clear and consistent deadlines and consistent information
   • When you teach the same course semester after semester, or when you inherit the teaching of a course you didn’t design, it’s easy to accidentally expose information left over from a previous semester. Assignment-related information is a particular barrier for students that can lead to confusion, demotivation, and lower grades.
     • For assignments with multiple steps, clearly list the steps for assignments and exact due dates for each step.
     • List exact due dates instead of the day of the week, i.e., write "due February 25," not just "due Monday."
     • When you make a significant change to the syllabus, such as changing an assignment deadline, let students know by using your course website's announcements or messaging features.
     • For downloadable documents, make sure the filename (e.g., final report.docx) is the same as the name of the assignment on the course website, so students can find the downloaded document again on their desktops.
     • Ensure you always refer to an assignment by the same name, e.g., always refer to it as the "final report" rather than variations such as "final research project" and “final assignment.”
     • List all assignments and exact due dates in both the syllabus and on the course website (even if you mentioned them in class, this information should also be on the course website). Double check to make sure you are consistent with your terminology across your course. For example, make sure you have the same title in the syllabus, schedule, discussion, and assignments:
2. Use accessible file formats
   • Some students utilize technology, such as screen readers, text-to-speech programs, or screen magnifiers to read text documents. Adaptive technologies like these can’t read documents that have been saved or reproduced incorrectly. Poor document quality also can affect the extent to which a student can access the material.
     • Use CourseWorks for class textbooks
     • Link to articles from Libraries’ databases, ejournals, digital books, and accessible websites instead of your personal photocopies of course readings. The Libraries will find library-licensed versions of articles and readings for you and place them on an eReserves webpage specific to your course.
     • Use Library Course Reserves and Digital Course Packs. When the library staff creates or receives a new PDF for course reserve or for a course pack, they automatically OCR (Optical Character Recognition) the material to make it possible for students to digitally annotate or listen to it with a screen reader.
     • Make PDFs accessible by running optical character recognition on them.
     • Caption all video content.
     • Caption or write alt text for all images in documents and slide decks.
     • Verbally describe (or ask a student to describe) images, diagrams, and other visuals that are referenced in class.
     • Properly format text-based documents so that students can use adaptive technologies to listen to or read them and easily skim them if not using adaptive technologies.
3. Format and organize your materials
   • Improperly formatted and organized course materials can make it difficult for students to scan and efficiently find the information they’re looking for. Students may therefore miss important details or deadlines. Such materials also can prevent students from being able to focus on the content of your course.
     • Learn how to organize a Canvas site so it is usable and accessible to all students.
     • Create or use multiple means of representation and organize information in a way that empowers students to make connections.
     • Get in the habit of accessibly formatting your course materials. Use descriptive headings, bullets, and section breaks to differentiate content in your syllabus, course documents, course presentations, and Canvas web pages.
     • Don't distribute cluttered, disorganized, and lengthy documents or course pages that are improperly formatted.
     • Don't provide incomplete, unclear, or inconsistent information.
4. Augment text content with multimedia
   • Augmenting your text-based web page or document with media, such as audio, video, or animation, can enhance your content and support student's learning processes better than text alone.
     • Create a script before recording. As you write the script, make sure everything you plan to show on the screen, you also voice in the narration. Not only does a script help you create a more focused recording, but it can then be repurposed as a transcript to accompany audio or captions for a video.
     • Ensure that video with unvoiced content (e.g., information that appears on the screen but is not part of the narrated content) is added to the video file as audio descriptions.
     • Choose a playback tool that is both mouse- and keyboard-navigable, and that allows the user to adjust the quality and speed of playback. 

Tools to help you check that digital course materials are accessible

• UDOIT: UDoIT (Universal Design Online Content Inspection Tool) identifies accessibility issues in Canvas course content and provides resources on how to address common accessibility issues.
• Grackle: GrackleDocs is an add-on within Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. You can use it to check the accessibility of your content and find options for fixing any flagged issues.
• Kaltura Media Captions: At the University of Minnesota, media (video and audio) recordings uploaded to Kaltura in Canvas and Kaltura MediaSpace receive auto-generated captions, which do not meet regulatory and policy requirements. Before publishing a recording, auto-generated captions should be edited by a human to ensure accessibility for all users.
  • Media owners and co-editors can edit the auto-generated captions
  • Consider paying for human-edited captions in Kaltura.
• Office for Digital Accessibility: The Office for Digital Accessibility (ODA) is the systemwide entity designated to provide resources and services to the University of Minnesota community in support of the creation, development, and procurement of accessible electronic content and services. 

Learn more through training opportunities and recorded webinars

• Digital Accessibility Badging Program (self-paced, online training)
• Choose Accessible Learning Content (recorded webinar; 60 min.)
• Real Time Captioning and Media Captioning (recorded webinar; 60 minutes)
• PDFs, RTFs, and BRFs, Oh My! (recorded webinar; 60 minutes)
• Universal Design for Learning: Tips for Improving Accessibility and Engagement in College Coursework  (recorded webinar; 75 minutes)

Barriers to information are the primary causes of inaccessible classroom situations. When designing your course and starting a new term, first consider what online and face-to-face classroom barriers your students may face rather than focusing on types of disabilities.

Then, consider using some good classroom practices that enable you to honor the variability that exists both among students and within each classroom. Acknowledging students’ gifts rather than what may be perceived as limitations helps create inclusive spaces. There is no one best way; vary things. Change it up.

Key Principles for Making Classroom Activities Inclusive and Accessible

1. Create or use multiple means of representation (content)
   • Organize information in a way that empowers students to make connections. Some people would say this is just "good teaching" (and we would say it’s how people actually learn).
     • Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships, especially around points where students may get stuck.
     • Explicitly connect new information to background knowledge.
     • Present concepts and big ideas in simple language before using new vocabulary.
     • Clarify vocabulary, acronyms, and symbols.
     • Use course materials and a variety of media throughout the course, such as video, animations, or other multimedia (and offer these in alternative formats).
     • Don't introduce new vocabulary before students understand concepts and big ideas.
2. Create multiple means of engagement (activities)
   • Consider the multiple interactions that are happening in your classroom at one time. Students should be interacting with each other, with you, with the content, and with the technology (whatever form that takes).
     • Vary types of activities and assignments.
     • Integrate self assessments and reflection opportunities (raising self awareness of learning aids learning).
     • Encourage students to use and apply course information in assignments that are authentic to real-life work.
     • Foster intentional collaboration and community to support students who need that interaction for their learning.
     • Minimize distractions (e.g., use plain and simple writing, minimize the number of decorative elements in your course websites and on your slides, etc.).
     • Don't use technology just for technology’s sake; the technology-driven activities you design should be meaningful and useful in and of their own right.
     • Don't expect students to only access or recall information.
     • Don't have students complete all assignments on their own.
     • Don't use dense language or too many or distracting graphics.
3. Provide multiple means of actions and expression (assessment)
   • Assessment activities tend to have higher stakes in your course. They are where students tend to spend the most time and attention.
     • Use some non-traditional assignments (e.g., a mapping project, digital story, in-class presentation, or online exhibition). Don't assign only research papers.
     • Ask students to respond using non-traditional formats (e.g., a podcast or video recording), and vary these response parameters throughout the semester. Don't ask students to respond only in class.
     • Ensure the tools you encourage for non-traditional activities are accessible. Don't assume non-traditional activities are accessible.
     • Increase the amount and frequency of the feedback you give at all levels and in all contexts.
     • Use rubrics to give feedback.
4. Build accessibility into learning outcomes
   • Get students involved in enhancing accessibility in the course by adopting accessibility best practices such as the seven core skills as a part of the assessment criteria for assignments. For example:
     • Show students how to caption their own video assignments and award points on your rubric for handing in a captioned video.
     • Appoint a class note taker for each class session, who then shares notes with the rest of the class (and assign extra credit points for this task).
     • Model best practices for use of images by including captions or alt text for all the static graphics and images in your documents.
     • Ask the class what else would enhance class accessibility.
5. Offer alternative activities or assignments
   • Not all applications are accessible for students who use assistive technology like screen readers or text-to-speech programs, or who navigate on their computer using voice commands and/or a keyboard (instead of a mouse). Even accessible applications also may have features that are not accessible.
     • Be prepared to offer an alternative choice to assignments that require students to use a particular technology, such as Flipgrid or the discussion tool in Canvas, or a particular mode of expression, such as writing a text response.
     • Don't require students to use an inaccessible tool without considering alternatives.
     • Consult with [email protected] if you’re unsure whether technology or a feature in it you’d like to use is accessible.
6. Contact the following resources for further help with any of these tasks
   • Contact a Disability Resource Center access consultant about specific access needs or about how to reduce barriers more broadly in your course. Follow their guide for Creating Accessible and Inclusive Meetings or Events.
   • If you’re unsure whether a technology or feature in it you’d like to use is accessible, request a consultation by emailing [email protected].
   • Find a list of equipment and technology commonly found in OCM classrooms.
   • Office of Classroom Management (OCM) staff can also help you find a room that meets students’ needs.