Blog 94

THE 5 MINUTE ACCESSIBILITY MAKE OVER

Maureen Barnes, Director, Student Accessibility Services

 Things you can do immediately - The 5 Minute make over

delivery

  • always face the class and make eye contact when speaking
  • use a microphone when necessary
  • structure class time in a consistent manner
  • post course materials such as syllabi or handouts in WebCT or readings in the Library Online Reserve
  • if you use electronic presentation tools (e.g., PowerPoint) make sure that presentation is legible (minimum 20 pt. font, with a high-contrast colour scheme)
  • provide feedback on work before the next assignment or assessment

materials

  • consider providing lecture outlines (not complete notes) and advanced organizers for lectures that students can annotate during class
  • structure and format material for easy readability
  • provide students with materials in multiple formats: at the very least, provide digital equivalents of  hardcopy handouts
  • ensure that all digital materials you provide to students are in an accessible format (e.g., some PDFs are not accessible)

environments

  • ensure your course website is accessible and usable: use an accessibility checker to identify any potential problems
  • use "ALT" (alternate text) tags for any images on web pages so that they may be identified by text-browsers or by screen-reading programs used by students with disabilities
  • at the beginning of a course and/or in your syllabus, encourage anyone with a disability to come forward and speak with you about it in private
  • ensure people feel free to engage in discussion in your course without fear of ridicule or harassment; encourage the open

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