Below is a high-level overview of general guidelines and best practices for digital accessibility that applies to any website content or online documents, including course content in CarmenCanvas. 

Students with disabilities often use assistive technology to turn visual content, including text, into another format they can perceive, such as aural (screen reader) and tactile (braille reader) content. Assistive technology perceives non-text, visual content through the text alternatives that you provide.  

For example: 

• Non-decorative images require equivalent text alternatives, either programmatically embedded or as nearby text

• Media (e.g. audio recordings, videos) require equivalent text alternatives, such as synchronized captions and transcripts for audio recordings and videos

• Text alternatives for media require a description of essential audio elements

• Additional audio descriptions are required for essential visual elements, which should also be included in the text alternatives (e.g., synchronized captions, transcriptions)

Assistive technology makes sense of the structure of documents using the semantic markups that authoring tools provide rather than visual formatting. Semantic markups are a way of writing and structuring your HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) so that it reinforces the semantics, or meaning, of the content rather than its appearance, such as formatting in bold or italics. 

For example, using: 

• Hierarchical headers similar to what you would see in a book (e.g., Title, Unit/Heading 1, Chapter/Heading 2) 

• Lists and tables 

• Links with descriptive text (e.g., don't use "click here", don't use the actual link URL as link text unless the document is meant to be printed) 

There are additional considerations for visual content that can benefit students, including those who have disabilities, such as visual impairments, that do not necessitate the use of assistive technology: 

• Don't use color, shape, or symbol alone to denote meaning 

• Color contrast (e.g., between text and its background) must be sufficient 

• Avoid animations and transitions that are not essential to content 

• Do not use a visual that flashes more than three times in a second 

Many authoring tools, including Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and the CarmenCanvas Rich Content Editor (RCE), have built-in accessibility checkers, which point out many but not all accessibility issues in your content and suggest how to fix them.  

In addition to applying digital accessibility best practices in your course, you might consider implementing Universal Design for Learning when developing your course. Universal Design for Learning is a learner-focused approach to course design that considers your students' diverse characteristics, needs, and preferences.

Learn more about Universal Design for Learning.