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Digital AccessibilitySelected resources from Power Learning Solutions on how to maximize Digital Accessibility compliance with your teaching and learning resources.
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I'm by no means an expert in all things Digital Accessibility -- but I am learning, because I think that it is vitally important that I do the things that are easy for me to do, which can have a huge impact for all of my potential learners and colleagues. To that end, this page provides selections of some of the resources that I have created related to things that I do already, and provides some useful tips and tricks to increase your compliance with basic digital accessibility standards.
Blog Posts
From the Power Learning Solutions Blog
- Accessibility in Online Teaching and Learning (2018, June 12)
- Helping Everyone Access Your Online Teaching Resources (2020, February 13)
- Adding Accessibility to Student Feedback (2022, February 16)
Book Chapters
Power, R. (2022). Accessibility in Online Learning. In R. H. Kay & W.J. Hunter (Eds.), Thriving Online: A Guide for Busy Educators (pp. 101-108). Ontario Tech University. https://doi.org/10.51357/ERZM7438
Webinars and Presentations
Digital Accessibility Essentials for Educators
Dr. Rob Power (Power Learning Solutions) and Bradley Sheppard (Sheppard Diversity) recently joined forces for a live webinar and access to a month-long support network on mastering the essentials of making your resources as accessible as possible for your students. This event was a charity fundraiser, with all proceeds going to support the Jesse's Journey 2021 Virtual Walk to Defeat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Registration is Now Closed
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Dyslexia Canada
Dr. Rob Power and Dr. Sandra Jack-Malik from Cape Breton University recently teamed up to host a series of webinars for Dyslexia Canada, focusing on Digital Accessibility standards and digital tools for people with Dyslexia.
Power, R., and Jack-Malik, S. (2021, May 18). Assistive Technology and Tools for Students and Adults with Dyslexia. [Webinar]. Dyslexia Canada.
| References and Resources |
Power, R., and Jack-Malik, S. (2020, October 5). Using Assistive Technology to Create an Inclusive Classroom. [Webinar]. Dyslexia Canada. https://youtu.be/pz68X_q-rS8
Videos
Selected custom videos on Digital Accessibility from the Power Learning Solutions YouTube channel
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Digital Accessibility Cheat Sheet
Here is a Digital Accessibility Cheat Sheet that I put together for a colleague, summarizing some of the key points from one of my blog posts. (Don't worry -- while this image-based version isn't really accessible, the downloadable PDF version is!)
| digital_accessibility_cheat_sheet.pdf |
Learn more about the Digital Accessibility Cheat sheet, and tips on how to comply with these standards, from my Helping Everyone Access Your Online Learning Resources blog post.
Digital Accessibility Checklist
Check out my Adding Accessibility to Student Feedback blog post for information on my free, automated rubrics for providing your students with feedback on Digital Accessibility issues for their assignments, papers, and projects (including a video overview of how to use Microsoft Excel and Word's mail merge features to create your automated feedback)!
Download the Digital Accessibility Feedback Checklist, along with the full APA v 7 Formatting Checklist (which includes the DA Checklist), and an Excel template for use with the mail merge automation feature:
| document_feedback_checklists.zip |
Additional Resources
The following are some additional useful external resources.
Automated Accessibility Checkers
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has compiled a useful list of free automated Digital Accessibility compliance checkers that will help you to run an audit of your website or web-based resources. This can be useful if your platform does not have it's own built-in accessibility checking options.
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How to use the Office 365 Accessibility Checker | Microsoft
Microsoft Helps (2019, November 22) Learn how to improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker. Before sending your email message or sharing your document or spreadsheet, run the Accessibility Checker to make sure your Microsoft Office content is easy for people of all abilities to read and edit. |
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Accessibility Checking (Moodle)
Moodle (2021, June 7) One of the Learn Moodle Basics playlist for the Learn Moodle Basics MOOC on learn.moodle.org. This video demonstrates how to use the Accessibility checking tools built into the Moodle LMS platform. |
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Accessibility Checker | Canvas Essentials
Valencia College Faculty and Instructional Development (2020, December 17) This video demonstrates how to use the Accessibility checking tools built into the Canvas LMS platform. |
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Color Contrast
Color contrast ratios are important for readability. TPGI has an excellent free Color Contrast Analyzer tool that will tell you if the contrast ratio between your text (foreground) and page (background) meets WCAG 2.1 Digital Accessibility standards for readability.
Not the Final Word
Keep in mind that automated Digital Accessibility checking tools are not perfect. They can check for some general issues, but often fall short of very specialized issues. It is always recommended to do a manual audit in addition to using automated tools. More importantly, it is always best to include stakeholders with lived experiences with accessibility issues in order to complete a truly inclusive and effective audit. Essential Accessibility (2018) has shared a useful guide to Understanding WCAG Compliance Checkers and Their Shortfalls.
Accessibility... One Step Closer
You can find more tips, tricks, and resources for making your courses more accessible from the Open Learning team at Thompson Rivers University on their Accessibility... One Step Closer site.
 The works and resources posted to this ePortfolio site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. |
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