THE 5 MINUTE ACCESSIBILITY MAKE OVER
Maureen Barnes - 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
