Accessibility Resources
As an instructor, you need to ensure that the materials used in your classes are accessible to all students. Ally is available in D2L to check accessibility and provide materials in alternative formats.
Online materials provided by publishers must be accessible. If not, you as the instructor will need to provide an accessible, equally effective learning experience option for each inaccessible one. Ask your publisher these questions before adopting tools and materials.
Defining accessibility
“Accessible” means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use.
Accessibility best practices
Information on the website needs to be available to all visitors, including those with visual, hearing, mobility and cognitive disabilities. Delta is dedicated to serving all students, however there are also legal obligations not to discriminate against people with disabilities. The College standards for web accessibility are from the guidelines found in section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Worldwide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA.
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- Use properly formatted headings to structure the page.
- Format lists as lists.
- Write meaningful link text.
- Create tables with column and/or row headers
- Maintain a proper reading order in documents, web pages and slides.
- Use sufficient color contrast.
- Don’t use color alone to convey meaning.
- Ensure that any action that uses a mouse, can also be completed by keyboard alone.
- Provide alternative text descriptions for images.
- Design clear and consistent navigation.
- Eliminate or limit blinking / flashing content to 3 seconds.
- Don’t require inaccessible applications be used.
- Optional materials must include a balance of accessible options.
- Write math and science equations accessibly.
- Include the Accommodations Statement in your syllabus and link to accessibility or assistive technology user information for software or web applications that are required in the course.
Accessibility tutorials