Accessibility in Virtual Education

Before we even begin this, I've gotta say it is pretty hard to think of how you can make an already accessible resource even more accessible.

If just about everybody has access to it, doesn't that mean it's accessible?

Yeaaaah, no!

Accessibility refers to the complete ability for individuals to access and or use your content. This includes ensuring that individuals with disabilities are also supported in your resources.

If your students can't easily access or understand what you are saying, or they can't read what you are writing then how are your students going to participate in the course?

Don't get me wrong here, I know that we can't address every single issue in the world. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we want to help those around us we just can't do it all! But there are several things that we can do to help people access our information in many, many ways.

Visual Impairments
For students who are visually challenged, it's important to remember that they have several options available. Today there are braille systems that convert words to braille and lift different dots so the user can read the material. There are apps that read out the words on the page or what the mouse is hovering over! There is a multitude of programs across the Internet that are there to help people read the content that is available. Many phones now have additional options that help visually challenged people to navigate their phones without hardly a problem. Because of technology, those that have disabilities are able to join in and contribute to conversations in more ways than ever before. To further assist these individuals, we can even be sure that we mention we are open to providing options for larger text documents.

Color Blindness
Now, you may not think of it this way, but color blindness can, in some cases, be a disability. For many people, color blindness affects their daily life. Most websites and applications are designed with color blindness in mind. They have a feature that increases the contrast of the colors to make the content more visible.

Many website hosting systems already have this feature built into how they are set up. You can usually find settings available underneath your account settings or website settings. Keep in mind too that many browsers also have the same option available.

Being conscientious of your content contrast and how it affects those with color blindness is another step to making your work more accessible.

Image Description
Believe it or not, Google has accessibility ratings. These ratings are extremely important to pay attention to. They're going to help bring traffic to your website, especially for those who require that type of assistance. If your website is inaccessible, then Google is going to place your website lower in the search algorithm.

Another way to make sure that your website is accessible is to ensure that you have descriptions on every image available on your website. Many websites let you do this by clicking on the images and editing their image text or alt text. To kind of get a feel for how an alt text works, think of it this way.

A reader is going along and trying to find an image for their presentation. They're finding it very difficult because none of the images have alt text so they can't tell what pictures are going to actually work for their presentation. Up pops your website and because you have an alt text available on your images, your website pops up in front of your brand-new prospective client! Not only are you making your content more accessible, but you’re also making it more searchable.

Readability and contrasting colors
Here's more food for thought...what if you have someone who isn't completely colorblind, they can see pretty well, but they can't read your website. The reason may be because you've chosen colors that are too closely related on the color wheel, the contrast is too much or too little, and instead of having a nice visual experience, your potential client has left because the experience gave them a headache!

Readability isn't just talking about colors. It's talking about the different types of fonts that you've used to connect with your students. If you use text that is difficult to read, then they are not going to be able to understand the content as easily. This makes your website inaccessible for pretty much all of your students.

Continually using all caps, flashy, or alternative types of text is a great way to get someone's attention, that is correct. When a student is trying to read something that is for their growth and knowledge, those fancy text types are going to make it hard to stay on track and read the material!

Another thing to consider is the size of your font. If your font is extremely small, then people are going to have to blow up the pages. If they do that, then your page is going to come across as distorted and not well put together. Or they just leave and never return… You reeeeally don't want that.

Accessibility is probably one of the most underappreciated elements of websites because many people don't usually think about individuals with varied needs or bridging accessibility gaps. Thanks to technology, we now have so many ways to connect all students with the information they need, no matter their learning abilities or disabilities. There is no excuse… consider the tips we talked about today: adjust your website colors, add alt text descriptions to your images, adjust the font for readability, and find other ways to bridge the gap…Make your content more accessible today and going forward!