Ensuring Accessibility

 Are you using a sans serif font for the body text such as Open Sans, Ariel, Tahoma, Calibri or Helvetica? Serif text is OK for Headings.
 

 Are you using black or very dark colored text for all text and headers on a white or light background?
 

 Are you using the “Normal Text” or “Normal” font style in the styles dropdown box rather than font sizes like 12px, 11pt or 1em?
 

 Have you broken up content with clear headings and subheadings for new sections, using “Heading” styles from the dropdown box rather than larger bold text sizes? Use headers in descending order without skipping header levels. Heading 1 for page title. Heading 2 for section header and Heading 3 for sub-section header.
 

 Are you using italics ONLY for titles of books, articles, periodicals, films, videos, TV shows et cetera?
 

 Are you using bold for emphasizing text rather than italics, quotations or underlining? You can also use a dark colored text in ADDITION to using bold, but no instead of bold.
 

 Are you only underlining links and no other types of text?
 

 Are your link titles written in words rather than exposing the entire URL, or linked to non-descriptive terms like “click here,” or “for more information,”
 

• Accessible example - Antipsychotic medication in schizophrenia British Medical Bulletin 

• Less accessible examples:

  • http://cannabisproject.ca/wp-content/uploads/is-and-mental-health.pdf

  •  to read the article click here,

  • for more information use this link
     

 Are your document names meaningful in your Brightspace Resources folders or on your Syllabus page or modules? Have you include the file type in the name?

• Better example: BookVoucherForm.pdf

• Less meaningful example: BVF20190707
   

 Have you added alt text to all images except invisible spacers. Offer a full description of the image as if the user could not see it. This is especially important for diagrams and charts. E.g. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs or Blooms Taxonomy etc.
 

 Have you provided closed captions on all videos with audio (even if they weren't made by you). Have you linked to a full text transcript for audio files? All students benefit from closed caption or transcripts, not just students with disabilities. In addition, students with visual disabilities may need text description of the video.
 

 Have you used more than just text color or background to communicate critical information. People with color-blindness may not be able to perceive the different colors.
 

 Have you used tables with rows and columns Only for Data, not page layout? Tables are highly visual and can be difficult to navigate. So only use them when absolutely necessary. For example, does the Week-by-week section of your syllabus NEED to be in a table? Could you design it differently? And when you Do use them be sure to label the header row and column using your text editor.
 

 Are you using real bulleted and numbered lists in MS Word, Google Docs, Mac Pages, or in Sakai's text editor rather than typing numbers or bullets before each item?