Federal law requires that course materials be accessible to all learners whenever possible. To learn more, read this statement from Lasell's Senior Director of Academic Achievement, Technology, and Accessibility: ADA rights and responsibilities [of faculty and students at Lasell].

Many factors can affect accessibility. For example, a plain text web page is technically accessible to all learners. However, text-only lessons can be unmemorable. The goal is to add multiple means of representation to our courses without creating barriers. All learners experience disability at times (e.g., we may be tired, injured, or multitasking), so inclusive design benefits all learners. As you prepare your course materials, remember the following four principles. Your materials should be:

Perceivable

Provide closed captions with any video content. This ensures that learners with hearing impairment can still access essential content.
Include alternative or "alt" text with any images. Alt-text describes images for users who are blind or visually impaired. You might use this decision tree as a guideline for what text to add.
Design materials that are easier to scan & read.
- "Chunk" your content into manageable paragraphs.
- Reduce clutter, limit the use of animation, and ensure enough color contrast between text and page backgrounds.
Allow users to control the display of your materials. A scanned textbook chapter or custom label may not work with tools that increase the font size and contrast.

Operable

Design to be accessible even without a computer mouse. Some users can only use a keyboard or voice controls. Check your work by using the "tab" and "enter" keys on your keyboard to scan a page (instead of a mouse).
Use a navigation menu to guide users through your course.
Do not include flashing images that might induce seizures. For more information, read about W3C Guideline 2.3.

Understandable

Design pages to be accessible for both humans and machines to read: bullets, lists, section headers, sentences as brief as possible
Make your interface predictable -- e.g., use a consistent template for your modules.
Make instructions clear and concise as possible without losing meaning.

Robust

Test your course materials using Canvas' Link Checker and Student View before sharing them with students.
Use web page elements for their intended purpose: headers to describe document structure, tables to display data, underlines to indicate links, and images to support content.
Have a backup plan for interrupted quizzes or missed assignments.
Audit the course using Canvas's accessibility checker to ensure your course materials display as intended.