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As our reliance on technology in our instructional methods increases, we must keep in mind that not all students have equal access. Therefore, as an institute of higher education, we must provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to obtain the same result, gain the same benefit, or reach the same level of achievement.

This page provides information and resources that you as the instructor can use to make your course content and delivery more accessible to all students.

CETL accessibility online course

CETL has developed an in-depth Accessibility Course. This course walks participants through the reasons why creating accessible instruction is vital, the processes, and how to develop accessible materials.

The Accessibility Course is a university requirement and the resources on this page do not replace the need to complete the course.

To complete the CETL Accessibility Online Course, click this link and contact CETL (cetl@txwes.edu) to be enrolled in the course.

Informational resources

Accessibility Checklist - ADA Compliance for Courses

Text

Use Arial font for easy readability. Recommended body text size is 12 point.
Use dark font colors on light backgrounds for strong contrast. Black text on white background is the best.
Avoid overuse of all CAPS, bold, and italics.
Avoid underlining words as the screen reader can mistake it for a navigation link.

Links and Email

Provide meaningful short descriptions for all links.
Avoid using the phrase, “click here” or “read this” for the links.
If the link opens in a new window, state in parentheses after the link.
For email addresses, write out entire email address. Example: support@cfcc.edu

Images

Images are clear.
Avoid animated or blinking images, text, or cursors.
All images have alt-text with meaningful descriptions. Note: When using alt text, place text in the description box not the title box.

Audio

Audio quality is clear.
A written transcript is provided with all audio files.

Video

Video quality is clear.
Video is accurately closed captioned.

Tables

Use sparingly- screen readers can have a difficult time reading them.
Identify which row contains the column headers.

Word Documents

The document is organized with built-in Heading styles. Lists are structured with bulleted or numbered list options.
Images have a meaningful alt text description.
Run the Accessibility Checker.

PowerPoint Presentations

Each slide is created with the program’s default slide layout such as title and content slide. Do not use blank slides.
Lists are structured with bulleted or numbered list options.
Images have a meaningful alt text description.
Each slide has a unique title.
Run the Accessibility Checker.

Canvas

You should use correct heading structures with text.
Provide alt tags for images. Canvas will prompt you to write alt text when you insert an image.
Check the Accessibility checker at the bottom of the rich text editor for suggestions.

hot tips

Are you working on improving accessibility in your course and are stuck? Follow these tips.

How do I edit an image in the course? (aka. I have added alternate text to an image but now I need to edit that text)

Open the course and click Edit
Click on the image and hover over the image that you want to edit
Click Image Options
Here, you can change the text, adjust the size, and change the dimensions.

How do I automatically add captions to my Yuja video?

(You must first record your video on Yuja)

Open Yuja Dashboard through your Canvas account.
Hover over the recorded video that you want to add captions to and click on "More" on the menu
Click on "Accessibility"
Click on Auto Caption.
When complete, the file will be sent to you and will also be included on your Yuja dashboard.
Students will need to click on the CC button to activate the captioning

What's the best way to transcribe my videos?

This article covers best practices, strategies, and AI tools to use when transcribing videos. How to Transcribe Video for Better SEO, Accessibility, and Engagement: Top Tools & Tips

Did you know that Teams will automatically transcribe your recorded Teams meetings?

To set up a Microsoft Teams meeting to transcribe video, you can:

Start or join the meeting
Click the More icon at the top of the screen
Click the Record and transcribe menu
Click Start transcription

A notice will appear to inform all participants that transcription is being recorded.

You can find the transcript in the Recordings & Transcript tab after the meeting is over. You can also download the transcript by opening the chat and selecting Download.

If you can't start transcription, you might need IT to enable it from the Microsoft Teams Admin center. To do this, you can:

Go to Microsoft Teams Admin Center
Select Teams
Select Meeting policies
Turn on the toggle for Recording & transcription

By default, all Teams recordings expire after 60 days. You can change the default expiration policy for recordings.

This article provides a detailed approach to creating transcriptions and captions in Teams meetings. Manage transcription and captions for Teams meetings.

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