5. Materials & Media

Synopsis from Self-Review

Share clear, well-structured documents and provide meaningful “alt-text” (alternative text) descriptions of images. There are different approaches needed to make documents accessible in different formats (e.g. Canvas Pages, PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoints). Provide a statement to clarify the accessibility plan for your course.

How to Put Into Practice

Making Accessible Content

When you are creating your own content, you should create well-structured documents and follow guidelines to improve the accessibility of the content. 

Read detailed guidelines for making documents accessible in these formats:

• Canvas Page Accessibility (Canvas Community)
• Word Document Accessibility (WebAIM)
• PowerPoint Document Accessibility  (WebAIM)
• PDF Accessibility (WebAIM)

Scanned images of text are not accessible.  If you must use scanned documents rather than natively digital documents, they need to be of high visual quality with a resolution of at least 300dpi. Text should not be highlighted or underlined; binding shadows should not be present; lines should not be clipped; and text must be readable, even when enlarged. (See Multimedia and document accessibility).

Make images accessible by using alternative text (alt text). Alternative text describes in words the non-text elements of a web page or document, such as photos, drawings, or charts. How To Write Effective Alt Text For Web Images (Links to DoIT AT User Experience and Digital Accessibility guidelines)  

Plain Language

Using plain language in the parts you write allows your students to focus their energy on learning content. Plain Language began as a US government initiative to improve readability, covering topics that include writing for an audience, organizing information, being concise, and designing for reading.  Cultural and Linguistic Services at UW-Madison offers free Plain Language training that can help you get your message across quickly and clearly. View the full Plain Language guidelines at plainlanguage.gov.

Avoiding Ableist Language

The language you use is a vital part of creating a respectful and inclusive environment. Bias and ableist language can take many forms, and terminology is constantly evolving.  Accessibility@UW highlights some key practices and resources that can help you learn about and frame your writing in a way that supports belonging and avoids bias, including topics such as “avoiding labels”, avoiding “false hierarchies”, and “the “disability community” (see Writing for Inclusion). 

Accessibility Statement

Instructors should include a written accessibility statement in their syllabus and verbally reference it when presenting the course standards to their classes. An accessibility statement clarifies what students’ rights and responsibilities are and what they can expect from an instructor and from the university if they request an instructional accommodation. In addition, instructors should customize the statement to include directions regarding how they prefer students to contact them regarding accommodation requests (e.g., email, office appointment, etc.). Please note that some students whose disability impacts communication abilities (e.g., autism, anxiety) may be more likely to initiate communication via email.

View a sample syllabus statement on the Healthy Academics Toolkit: Accommodations for students with disabilities syllabus statement.  The McBurney Disability Resource Center recommends customizing and sharing this text.  

Accommodations

Accommodations are changes made for individual learners to address a specific need. All approved accommodations that have been requested through McBurney Connect should be implemented by instructors as long as they are timely and reasonable (from Instructor Resources. McBurney Disability Resource Center). If you have a student who uses a screen reader or needs other visual/audio support, you should have received communications from the UW-Madison McBurney Disability Resource Center. For a listing of student accommodations in each section, log into McBurney Connect

Additional Resources

• Read a list of approaches and good practices adapted for different document formats. Creating accessible online course content (Links to KB Document)
• Read more detailed information about alt text and accessibility for images. Alternative Text (Links to WebAIM)
• Use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to identify ways to share materials and assignments via multiple means.
• Accessibility@UW highlights these resources to help you communicate inclusively and avoid ableism in writing.
• Learn more about UW-Madison’s policies regarding Digital Accessibility and requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.