Accessibility is critical in online education.  Considering that one of the pressing needs for distance learning to begin with was to expand access to education, making that access available to individuals with disabilities is not just a legal requirement, it is a moral obligation (check out this blog post with some information about accessibility.)  It doesn’t have to be overly onerous to course designers, developers and faculty.  When you plan from the beginning with the end in mind, accessibility can help all learners, leaning on the principles of Universal Design. Why do you need to consider online accessibility?  Let’s imagine the experience of taking an online course with a screenreader:

Find a collection of resources on this Pintrest Board:

Find more on this diigo Outliner:  https://www.diigo.com/outliner/afe1r/Accessibility-in-education?key=fa7i9dbaf4

Check out this great and amazing presentation by Colleen Fleming from the Adler School of Professional Psychology.  It provides an overview of the concepts of how to ensure accessibility.

Additional resources are included below:

• What is Universal Design for Learning?
• National Center for Universal Design in Learning
• Accessibility Checklist from Texas A & M
• Ultimate eLearning Design & Development Checklist from Flirting with eLearning
• catea Fact Sheets on Accessible Distance Learning
• catea Access eLearning Tutorial