Section 5 of the E-Blueprint Course Development Review is for Accessibility encompassing ADA compliance. Teaching and Learning (TLC) staff conduct a review of the course for this section.
Review Item | Example (Possible Evidence) |
★ E.1 Accommodation Statement is present and easily located (e.g., on Syllabus, Home Page or Course Overview, Support and Policies page) |
Recommended Syllabus and Course Home Page includes the following language: Notice of Nondiscrimination: Chesapeake College is an equal opportunity, affirmative action, Title IX, ADA Title 504 compliant institution. |
★ E.2 Color does not overpower the course information. Sufficient contrast between text and background makes information easy to read. Color is not used in isolation to convey meaning (e.g., color and bold are used to indicate importance). Canvas Guide - Accessibility Checker |
Color does not overpower, Additionally, people with color blindness, color sensitivity or color insensitivity may have problems with colors. Using the Accessibility Checker provides assistance when proofing content for color concerns. |
★ E.3 Images are used to support course content (e.g., banners, headings and icons) and accompanied by text descriptions (Alt text) or captions for more complex descriptions. Canvas Guide - General Accessibility Design Guidelines |
Text readers will read the file name if alternate text not provided. Image file names may not be descriptive. |
★ E.4 Styles (e.g. Paragraph, Heading 2, etc) are used to format text with a preference to use sans serif (e.g., Arial or Helvetica) fonts. Canvas Guide - General Accessibility Design Guidelines ---UDL 4.2 Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies |
Using styles available in the content editor and sans serif fonts provides for a clean and simple layout. Easy to read. Text readers will identify headers as “Header.” |
★ E.5 Hyperlink text incorporates the hyperlink destination/purpose (avoid raw URLs, e.g., https://www.canvaslms.com) and include words and phrases to provide context for screen-readers (e.g., use "Canvas Guide - Hyperlink" rather than "Canvas Guide"). WebAim - Introduction to Links and Hypertext ---UDL 4.2 Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies |
Use descriptive text with a hyperlink instead of the actual link. For example Chesapeake College instead of http://www.chesapeake.edu Most text readers say “link” before the text. The latter link would be spelled out if used, h-t-t-p, colon, backslash, backslash…. |
★ E.6 Audio materials (mp3, wav, etc.) are accompanied by a transcript and videos/screencasts are close-captioned. Canvas Guide - Create Caption Files |
Only use external audio/video files that come with a transcript or closed captions. When creating media for a course use native close captioning tools when possible. Contact the Teaching and Learning Center for assistance. |
★ E.7 Tables are only used for tabular data. |
Use tables only to present data and not to format content in pages. |
★★ E.8 Uses formal and/or informal student feedback to help plan instruction and assess the ease of online technology and accessibility of course. |
Use of announcements and comments in discussions to provide feedback. Formal feedback may be planned at the end of modules or topics. Informal feedback is more frequent and spontaneous. |
★★ E.9 Provides visual, textual, kinesthetic and/or auditory activities to enhance student learning and accessibility. |
The course provides content through a combination of text, audio or video, use of visual aids, or activities requiring students to demonstrate physical activity through recorded media. (i.e. demonstrating exercise for a wellness course, conducting a lab experiment, recording a speech) |